This guide is for anyone who has been asked to pay for a course by invoice. That includes people who chose to pay by invoice when booking, and people whose course provider created the order and sent an invoice or a payment link.
It explains the invoice emails, how to pay online, what the messages on the payment page mean, and how to get your invoice or receipt.
A course provider is the business running your course. The course provider issues the invoice, sets the amount and the due date, and chooses which payment methods you can use. Cademy is the booking system the course provider uses. Cademy sends the invoice emails and hosts the payment page.
If you chose a deposit or monthly payments when booking, see Pay a Course Deposit and the Remaining Balance or Pay for a Course in Monthly Instalments.
The invoice email
When you book by invoice, or when the course provider creates an order for you and requests payment, Cademy emails the invoice to the order owner. This is the person who booked, or the person the course provider created the order for. If the order has a separate billing email address, that address receives a copy.
The subject of the standard email starts with Payment required for, followed by the invoice number and the course provider’s name. If the course provider approves invoice orders before issuing the invoice, the subject starts with Invoice for instead.
The email shows:
the course or courses the invoice covers
the total cost and the invoice number
the date payment is due
a button to download the invoice as a PDF, labelled Get Invoice or Download Invoice
a Pay Now button, when the course provider shows online payment links and accepts online payments
To contact the course provider, reply to the email.
If the course provider invoices each course in your order separately, the first email lists the later invoices under “Future invoices for this order”, with the amount of each one. You receive another email when each later invoice is issued.
If the due date passes and an amount is still unpaid, the invoice becomes overdue. When the course provider has overdue reminder emails switched on, Cademy sends an email with a subject that starts with Payment overdue for. It has a Download Invoice button and, when the course provider shows online payment links and accepts online payments, a Pay Now button.
No Pay Now button in the email? The course provider either does not show online payment links or does not accept online payments through Cademy. Download the invoice and follow the payment instructions on it, such as bank details. If it has none, reply to the email and ask the course provider how to pay. A course provider who accepts online payments can also send you a payment link directly.
Pay the invoice online
Use these steps when your email has a Pay Now button, or when the course provider has sent you a payment link. While an amount is due, the invoice PDF has the same link, labelled Complete Payment, when the course provider shows online payment links and accepts online payments. You do not need to log in or have a Cademy account.
Select Pay Now in the invoice email, or open the payment link the course provider sent you. The payment page opens on the course provider’s own site.
Check the invoice summary. It shows the invoice number, its status, the due date, the courses and items the invoice covers, and the Total. Paid and Credit applied appear when a payment or credit has already reduced the invoice. Amount Due is what this payment collects.
Under Pay followed by the amount, choose how to pay: Card / Apple Pay / Google Pay or PayPal. Only the methods the course provider accepts are listed. If there is only one, it is already selected.
For a card payment, enter your details and select Pay. For PayPal, select the PayPal button and follow PayPal’s steps.
Payment Received appears and confirms the amount and the invoice number. Select Download Invoice to save the PDF. If the PDF still shows an amount due, download it again later. When Back to Your Order is shown, it returns you to the payment page for the whole order.
If your order was waiting for this payment before it could be confirmed, Cademy sends your order confirmation email once the order is paid. If your order was confirmed before payment, Cademy sends no further confirmation email when you pay. In both cases the PDF is your proof of payment, as described in “Get your invoice or receipt” below.
Anyone who has the payment link can open the page and download the invoice, so you can forward the link to the person or department that pays. Share it only with people who should see the invoice.
If the course provider sent a link for part of the amount
A course provider can send a payment link for a set amount that is less than the full invoice. Cademy calls this a payment request. On that link’s page, the Pay heading and Amount Due show the set amount, and that is the amount collected. Total still shows the whole invoice.
After a part payment, the rest of the invoice is still due. The invoice’s own payment link, which is the Pay Now button in the invoice email, collects whatever remains. If you open a part-payment link that has already been paid, the page shows Nothing to Pay.
If the page lists several invoices
A payment link for a whole order lists its invoices under Invoices when the order has more than one invoice to pay, or has an invoice that is still to come. The Pay Invoice button on the confirmation page shown after booking is a link of this kind.
Select Pay beside the invoice you want to pay. An invoice that has not been issued yet is listed as Upcoming Invoice and cannot be paid yet. Your Order shows the amount Due now and the amount Invoiced later.
If online payment is not available
If the course provider cannot take a card or PayPal payment for this invoice, the page says that online payment isn’t available for this invoice and asks you to contact the course provider to arrange payment. Download the invoice and check it for payment instructions, or reply to the invoice email.
If you see Unable to start the payment, refresh the page and try again. If it happens again, contact the course provider and give them the invoice number and the payment method you chose.
If the page shows a message instead of a payment form
A payment link that cannot be paid, or cannot be paid yet, shows one of these messages.
Nothing to Pay - the invoice has already been settled, or the link was a payment request (a payment link for a set amount) that has already been paid. The page has a button to download the invoice or receipt.
This Invoice Is Not Ready Yet - the invoice has not been issued. The message gives the issue date when one is set. You receive the invoice email when the invoice is issued.
This Invoice Was Voided - the invoice was cancelled and no longer needs to be paid. If the invoice was replaced, the old link opens the replacement invoice automatically and you do not see this message. If you were not expecting it, contact the course provider.
This Payment Request Was Cancelled - the payment request the link was created for has been cancelled and can no longer be paid online. If you were not expecting this, contact the course provider.
This Payment Request Is No Longer Available - the invoice balance has changed since the link was created, so the link can no longer be paid. Ask the course provider for a new link.
This Order Was Cancelled - the order was cancelled and can no longer be paid online. If you were not expecting this, contact the course provider.
Your Invoice Is Being Prepared - the invoice for the order is not ready yet. Select Refresh to check again.
We Couldn’t Find That Page - the link does not match an invoice, a payment request or an order. Check the link in your email, or contact the person who sent it to you.
Get your invoice or receipt
The invoice and the receipt are the same PDF. While an amount is still due, the PDF is titled Invoice and shows the due date. When nothing is left to pay, the same PDF is titled Receipt. After a part payment it is still an invoice, and it lists Paid and Amount Due.
You can download the PDF from these places:
After booking - the confirmation page for an order placed by invoice has a Download Invoice button.
From the invoice email - select Get Invoice or Download Invoice.
From the payment page - select Download Invoice (PDF) in the invoice summary.
From your Cademy account - follow the steps below.
To download the PDF from your account:
Log in, open the My Account menu, then select My Courses & Bookings. If you need help logging in, see Log In and Find Courses You Are Attending or Bookings You Made.
Select Orders & Billing, then select the order.
Under INVOICES, select Download PDF beside the invoice. When the invoice still has an amount to pay and the course provider shows online payment links, Pay Invoice appears beside it and opens the payment page.
Orders & Billing lists only the orders that belong to the account you are logged in to. If someone else booked for you, the order is in their account. If the order has no INVOICES section, or a download button is missing, ask the course provider for the document. Find Your Orders, Invoices and Payment Details explains the rest of the order page.
You cannot change an invoice yourself. If the billing details on it are wrong, contact the course provider.
If the invoice changes or money is returned
The course provider decides changes to your order, cancellations and refunds. This is what you receive when they happen:
The invoice is replaced - the replacement has a new invoice number. The old payment link opens the replacement automatically. When the course provider chooses to send the updated invoice, you receive a new invoice email.
A credit note is issued - a credit note is the document that records an amount taken off an invoice. Cademy sends an email with a subject that starts with Credit note. It shows the amount credited and what happened to the money, for example returned to the payment card, returned to PayPal, restored to a gift card, or held as credit on your account with the course provider. The email says that a card refund can take 5 to 10 business days to show, and a PayPal refund a few days. It has a Download Credit Note button.
The order is cancelled - Cademy sends an email with a subject that starts with Order Cancelled. A payment link for that order then shows This Order Was Cancelled.
Credit is refunded later - when the course provider refunds an amount that an earlier credit note already covered, Cademy sends an email with a subject that starts with Refund issued for. When a refund is made together with a new credit note, the Credit note email above is the one that tells you about it.
For questions about amounts, due dates, refunds or cancellation terms, contact the course provider. They manage the billing for your booking.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Cademy account to pay an invoice?
No. The payment link opens without logging in. You need to log in only to find the invoice under Orders & Billing.
Can someone else pay the invoice for me?
Yes. Forward the invoice email or the payment link to the person paying. Anyone with the link can open the payment page and download the invoice. If a billing email address was given for the order, that address receives its own copy of the invoice email.
Can I pay by bank transfer?
That depends on the course provider. If the invoice PDF has bank details or other payment instructions, follow them. If it has none, ask the course provider. When the course provider records your payment in Cademy, the invoice shows it.
I paid, so why is the PDF still titled Invoice?
The PDF is titled Receipt only when the whole invoice is settled. After a part payment it is still an invoice and lists Paid and Amount Due. If you have paid the full amount and the PDF still shows an amount due, download it again later. If it has not changed, contact the course provider and give them the invoice number.
Why can’t I open my course before paying?
Unless the course provider gives access before payment, an order placed by invoice is confirmed when it is paid. Until then, when you open the course from your account, the page shows Please Complete Payment. On the course’s Content page or on a lesson, the message can instead read Your Place Is Awaiting Approval, which is also shown while payment is outstanding. If the page with the message has a View Invoice or Pay Now button, you can use it. Otherwise, open the order under Orders & Billing, as described in “Get your invoice or receipt” above, to find the invoice and, where it is shown, the Pay Invoice button. If you select View Details and the page says No Order Found, open the order under Orders & Billing in the same way.
The amount or the due date looks wrong. Who do I ask?
The course provider. They set the price and the due date, and they can correct or replace the invoice. Reply to the invoice email to reach them.