How to choose between one-time charges and one-off member/household invoicing?

How to Choose Between One-Time Charges and One-Off Member/Household Wallet Invoicing

Your invoicing-and-payments toolkit includes One-Time Charges (OTCs) as well as one-off invoices (created through Member and Household Wallets). How do you choose between these two alternatives to conventional Dues & Fees invoicing? The answer depends on what you're trying to accomplish.

Quick Summary

Use a One-Time Charge (OTC) when you need to accept payment from non-Members or people who aren't logged in, need flexible/variable payment amounts, want to collect sales tax, or want the option to remain open for repeated/multiple payments.
Use a one-off Wallet invoice when the payment is only for a specific logged-in Member or Household, requires a due date and possible late fees, or needs to be trackable as an individual outstanding obligation.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	One-Time Charges	One-Off Invoices
Who can pay	Non-Members and people who are not logged in (e.g., sponsor payments from outsiders)	Only Members; can require login to pay
Payment methods	Credit/debit card, ACH, or Wallet balance (Member or Household)	Credit/debit card, ACH, or Wallet balance — but the Wallet type must match the invoice type (Member or Household)
Payment amount	Can be set up with no fixed amount, to accommodate amounts that vary per Member (e.g., water/cable bills, carryover balances)	Must be set up to bill a specific amount
Invoice generation	Does not generate invoices; available for non-recurring and/or on-demand use	Generates an individual, non-recurring invoice
Multiple instances	Can allow payment for multiple instances of the same item (e.g., several pool passes paid at once)	Only accommodates a single obligation or lump-sum amount due
Where it appears	Must be attached to a specific website page template to show on the public site; automatically appears on Member Portal and mobile app	Automatically appears on the public website's payments page (relies on a specific template), Member Portal, and mobile app
Transaction fees	Can be set up to collect processing fees from the payor	Can be set up to collect processing fees from the payor
Sales tax	Can be set up to collect sales tax from the payor	No explicit sales tax option — tax must be built into the billed amount
Due dates / late fees	No due dates; does not support late fees	Can include one or more flat and/or interest-based late fees (recurring or one-time), which the Admin can waive if needed
Setup location	Admin Dashboard at Payments > One-Time Charges; not tied to a specific individual, so no import/CSV needed	Can be set up by importing payor information and amounts via CSV file
Availability	Remains available to accept payments as long as it's active online	Issues a single one-time invoice and does not recur
Due status	Not tied to a specific person, so technically not due in the invoiced sense	Remains due until paid online, marked paid in the Admin Dashboard, or voided

Questions to Ask Yourself

Use these questions to decide which option fits your situation:

Do you need to invoice a specific amount, or a variable amount?
Should the payment option be available to outsiders, or only to logged-in Members?
Do you want greater payment-option flexibility, or do you want to restrict payment options?
Do you need to accommodate variable payment amounts, or require a specific amount?
Do you need to collect payment for multiple instances of an item, or for a single item?
Do you need to automatically collect sales tax on a taxable sale of goods/services?
Do you need to establish a due date, or allow for on-demand payment?
Do you need to add one or more late fees to an obligation with a specific due date?