Pay Before Download requires an Agent to pay their Invoice before they can download media or view the property website for an Order. Until the Invoice is paid, the Agent sees watermarked photo previews on the payment page.
Overview
Pay Before Download is an Agent payment plan. You can make it the default for all Agents, set it for individual Agents, and turn it on or off for a single Order using Force Payment.
Pay Before Download is only available for Agent-paid charges. Companies are billed on a weekly, monthly, or custom schedule and can't use it.
How to set Pay Before Download as the default for all Agents
Navigate to Settings → Invoicing → General.
Select Pay Before Download from the Default Agent Payment Plan dropdown.
Scroll down and click Save Changes.
How to set Pay Before Download for an individual Agent
Navigate to Clients → Agents, select the Agent, and click Edit (pencil icon) on the Agent Info card to open Edit Agent Profile.
Turn off Use default agent payment plan under Payment Plan Type.
Select Before Download - Prior to Media Download from the dropdown.
Click Save Changes.
How to turn Force Payment on or off for an Order
Force Payment controls the lock for a single Order. It starts on for Agents whose payment plan is Pay Before Download or Pay Before Order Submission.
Navigate to Orders and open the Order.
Click Force Payment under Delivery Page to turn it on or off.
The Agent Invoice status is shown in the order Timeline. Force Payment is also available in the Property Website Editor.
Turning Force Payment off doesn't record a payment. It removes the lock and moves the Order's charges to a weekly Invoice. If the Agent has already paid you another way, use How to Mark an Invoice as Paid instead.
Understanding the Agent's payment experience
When the Agent opens the download link or the property website, they're taken to the payment page. The page shows the amount due and watermarked previews of the photos. Videos, floor plans, and 3D tours aren't previewed.
Agents can pay with or without logging in. Logging in lets them use a saved payment method and applies any available credits automatically.
As soon as the payment goes through, the media and property website are unlocked. The Agent returns to the Invoice page and can reopen the download link to access their media. Spiro also emails a paid copy of the Invoice to the Agent's billing email addresses. Your payment gateway may send its own receipt as well.
Notes
Pay Before Download requires a connected payment gateway. It can't be selected until Stripe, Square, or Titus is connected. See Payment Gateway Integrations.
Only Admins and Super Admins can change Force Payment. It becomes available once the Order reaches Pending Delivery.
Force Payment is disabled after the Agent's Invoice is paid.
Turning Force Payment off always moves the Order to a weekly Invoice, even if the Agent is normally invoiced monthly or on a custom schedule.
If a Company pays part of the Order, only the Agent's portion is locked. The Company's charges stay on the Company's Invoice. To move charges between them, see How to Move Charges from Agent to Company Pay.
If you add a service to an Order the Agent has already paid, the Order locks again until the new balance is paid. The Agent isn't notified; they'll see the payment page on their next visit. This doesn't happen if Force Payment was turned off before payment, or if the new charge goes to the Company.
A payment marked as paid manually unlocks the Order, but only when it matches the Invoice total exactly. A partial payment leaves the Order locked.
When you're logged in as an Admin, you always see the full download page and property website. To preview what the Agent sees, open the link in a private/incognito window or a different browser.
If Force Payment is turned on after photos were uploaded, the payment page may show placeholder images until the watermarked previews are generated.