> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.shorpay.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Automating Payments

> Turn on auto-funding and auto-payments for a hands-off payroll cycle.

If you'd rather not click through payroll every cycle, Shor can run it for you. Two toggles in **Settings → Payments** control how hands-off your payroll becomes.

## The Two Toggles

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Automatic Funding" icon="building-columns">
    When enabled, your linked bank account is automatically debited to cover upcoming payment obligations, plus any standing reimbursement float you've set in Settings → Payments. Funds are transferred the evening before payments are due so they settle overnight.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Automatic Payments" icon="wand-magic-sparkles">
    When enabled, pending payments for eligible contracts are processed automatically on their due date, with no manual confirmation needed.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

Both are **off by default** and require your explicit opt-in.

## Turning Automation On

<Steps>
  <Step title="Connect a Bank Account">
    Automation requires a connected funding source. Go to **Finance → Connections** and confirm you have an active bank connection.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open Settings → Payments">
    From your workspace settings, go to the **Payments** tab.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Toggle Automatic Funding">
    Turn on **Automatic Funding** first. This is the debit side: money moves from your bank into your Shor virtual account before the pay date.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Toggle Automatic Payments">
    Turn on **Automatic Payments**. Once the funds are in place, Shor processes the underlying payments on the due date.
  </Step>
</Steps>

You can turn either toggle off at any time. Changes apply to future cycles; anything already in flight follows the setting that was active when it kicked off.

## What's Always Manual

Not every payment gets automated. Some things should always have a human in the loop:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Milestone Payments">
    Milestones are paid when you (or an approver) mark them complete. Auto-pay doesn't release milestones on its own; that would defeat the whole point of milestone-based work.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Pay-As-You-Go Timesheets">
    PAYG contractors submit timesheets for your approval. Those approvals are always manual: Shor won't pay hours you haven't approved.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="One-Off Payments">
    Bonuses, commissions, reimbursements, and ad-hoc payments still go through the manual payment flow. The wizard surfaces them in **Finance → Payments**.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="First Payments of a New Contract">
    When a new contract activates, its first scheduled payment always needs your review before it processes, even if auto-pay is on. If you backdate a contractor's start date to earlier in the current month, each pay period that's already elapsed also gets its own payment held for review, so you can confirm the backdated amounts before anything is paid. After that, subsequent cycles auto-process if auto-pay is on.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Per-Contract Control

Beyond the workspace-level toggles, you can override auto-pay per contract from the Payroll page. This is useful for situations like:

* A contractor you want to review every time before paying
* A new hire whose payments you want to eyeball for the first couple of cycles
* A sensitive payment you want to always approve manually

## What to Watch For

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Funding Cutoffs" icon="clock">
    Automatic funding needs your bank to clear debits in time. Keep an eye on the bank you connected, especially if you switch primary accounts.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Bank Detail Changes" icon="bell">
    If a worker updates their bank details, Shor pauses the next payment for them so you can confirm. Auto-pay resumes once the new details are verified.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Failed Payments" icon="circle-exclamation">
    Auto-pay doesn't silently retry failures. Anything that fails stays on the Payroll page with an error badge, waiting for you to fix and retry.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Insufficient Funds" icon="ban">
    If your virtual account runs low, the next auto-fund debit may fail. Shor emails you before and after, and pauses subsequent payments until funding is healthy again.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Visibility

Automated payments appear in the same **Finance → Payments** and **Finance → Transactions** views as manual ones, with the same detail: amount, rate, reference, destination, timestamps. You can filter, sort, and export them exactly the same way.

## Turning Automation Off

Flip either toggle off in **Settings → Payments** at any time. From that point, payroll returns to manual mode for new cycles. Any payments already scheduled for auto-processing finish on their existing setting.

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Payroll" icon="money-check-dollar" href="/employer/payroll">
    How the Payroll page works day-to-day.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Funding" icon="building-columns" href="/employer/funding">
    Connect and manage funding sources.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>