What Pay Later is
Pay Later is a client financing option built into your 8am LawPay checkout, powered by Affirm. Your client chooses Pay Later when paying their invoice, completes a short application with Affirm, and gets a real-time decision without leaving your payment page. If approved, Affirm pays your firm the invoiced amount, and your client repays Affirm on a schedule they choose. Affirm carries all of the repayment risk, not you.
Why firms use it
At its core, client financing helps people afford the legal services they need. The client pays over time, so a fee that would otherwise be out of reach becomes a monthly payment. Firms offer it for many reasons:
More clients say yes when a large fee can be paid over time.
Fewer balances go unpaid, because you are paid in full at the start.
Your staff never runs a payment plan or chases an installment, because Affirm handles repayment.
Try it: Click the demo below to walk through what your client sees.
The quick facts
What | Detail |
Your firm's fee | 5.95% per transaction, and it cannot be passed to the client |
When you get paid | The full amount by ACH within 1 to 5 business days, depending on account type |
Transaction range | $150 to $30,000 per transaction |
Client financing terms | 0% to 36%, set by Affirm by eligibility, over 3, 6, 12, 18, or 24 months |
Client credit impact | Checking options is a soft credit check with no impact. Only late or missed payments can affect a client's credit. |
Trust and operating | Supported for both, and fees are never debited from your trust account. |
How you get paid
1. Your client selects Pay Later when paying an invoice or quick bill and completes a short application with Affirm.
2. Affirm approves the application in real time.
3. Affirm pays you 100% of the amount. Funds settle in your bank account by ACH within 1 to 5 business days, depending on your account type.
4. Your client repays Affirm in installments over 3, 6, 12, 18, or 24 months. Repayment happens entirely between your client and Affirm. Your staff never runs a payment plan, sends a reminder, or chases an installment.
How do I enable or disable Pay Later
How do I enable or disable Pay Later
To activate Pay Later on your account, submit a request here. To remove it entirely, email [email protected].
How refunds work
How refunds work
Refunds work the way they normally do. Your firm can refund the full amount or a partial amount of the original transaction. The refund is issued to the client and debited from your firm in the amount of the refund. If a client replenished a retainer with Pay Later and part goes unused, it refunds like any other payment method.
Where Pay Later is not available
Where Pay Later is not available
Pay Later does not apply to Scheduled Payments, Card Vault charges, or payments made through an integrated partner unless that partner has activated the feature.
Why you won't see the Pay Later button
Why you won't see the Pay Later button
Pay Later only appears on the secure payment page your client sees. You and your staff will not see it when running a card manually, logging a payment inside LawPay, or previewing an invoice internally. To confirm Pay Later is on, check the payment method customization options when creating an invoice. Clients only have access to Pay Later if it is checked.
Where to go next
Ready to offer it and get more clients using it? See How to offer and promote Pay Later to your clients, which includes a script, a one-pager, and where to surface it.
Not sure who qualifies? See Who qualifies and how approval works.
Wondering how you will know when a client uses it? See How to know when a client uses Pay Later.