Parent article: Altium Dashboard
Altium's Online Payments facility (Altium Online Payments) provides a secure system with which to streamline the payment of your subscriptions for Altium design solutions. As part of your Altium Dashboard, you can setup and manage your financial profile, including your preferred payment method. With this information in place, you are then able to quickly:
- Pay for your subscriptions for licenses.
- Browse financial activity, including access to listings of invoice and payment histories.
This functionality puts you, as an administrator for your Altium account, in the driving seat - providing the means to keep the payment of subscriptions for your organization's licenses up-to-date. Streamlined, secure payment online, without having to contact your usual sales channel.
Note that all Group Administrators for your Altium Account can access and update the financial profile, and have the ability to pay for license subscriptions.
Altium's Online Payments facility is currently only available for customers residing in the United States. The facility will be rolled out to other countries in due course.
Creating Your Financial Profile
In order to use the online payments facility, you first need to create a Financial Profile. This process is performed on the Payments page of the Dashboard, which is accessed by:
- Clicking the Payments link in the banner of the Dashboard.
- Clicking the banner advertisement that is presented on the Dashboard's Overview page (displayed only if the financial profile has not yet been created).
On accessing the Payments page, you are presented with an introductory screen that outlines what the system is, and what it offers. This screen only presents while the financial profile is not yet created.
Set up your Financial Profile on the Payments page of the Dashboard.
Creating the full Financial Profile involves two steps - creating a financial account, and then registering one or more payment methods to that account. Click the OK button on the intro screen to proceed.
The Payments page now displays controls for entering your account and address information. This is the base information required to create your financial account.
Use the available fields to supply account and address information with which to create your financial account.
The following information is presented:
- Altium Account Name - this entry is not editable, and simply reflects the name of your Altium Account.
- First Name - the first name of the financial account holder.
- Last Name - the last name of the financial account holder.
- Email - the email address of the financial account holder. It is important to ensure a correct email address is used, since emails regarding subscription payments will be sent to this address.
- Currency - this field will ultimately allow you to specify the currency for online payments. Note that currently, online payments can only be made in US Dollars.
By default, the First Name, Last Name, and Email fields will be prefilled, based on the AltiumLive profile of the currently signed-in administrative user.
- Contact Address - use the fields presented on the right-hand side to supply your company's general contact address information.
If information has already been defined for your company's Shipping Address - on the Profile page of the Dashboard - then this information will be used to pre-fill the fields for your company's general address, in the financial profile.
With the information supplied as required, click the link to the End User License Agreement (EULA). Once read, enable the option to indicate that you have read and agree with the EULA, and click the Create button. Your financial account will be created, and the Payments page refreshes to present your entire financial profile.
With the finance account created, the Payments page shows the full profile - you'll then need to add a default payment method.
You now need to add a default payment method - manually registering a credit card - to your financial profile. This will be used as the default payment method for the Auto Pay subscription feature.
To be able to make subscription purchases through the online payments facility, you need to define at least one payment method. To do this, simply click the Add New Card button, in the Payment Methods section of your financial profile. This will give access to the Card Info dialog.
Define a payment method, with which to facilitate your purchases.
The top half of the dialog contains fields for entering the name and address of the card holder (i.e. the billing address). The fields will be pre-filled with the information from the Account Summary & Contact Info section of the financial profile.
The name of the cardholder (entered in the top-most field), must be the same as that appearing on the credit card itself. The address information must be the address to which the card is registered. If this information is not correct, there can be problems when processing payments from your card's financial institution.
The lower half of the dialog is where you specify your payment method. Payment is by a nominated credit card, and utilizes secure 128-bit SSL-encryption. If you have used other websites that offer online payments, specification of credit card details will be very familiar, with the following required:
- Card Type - click on the icon for the card type you wish to use. Supported card types are: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover Card.
- Credit card number - enter here, the 16-digit long card number located on the front of your card, with no spaces or hyphens.
- Expiration date - use the drop-down fields to enter the month and year, for the expiry date of your card.
- Security code CVV - enter here, the security code for your card. For a Visa Card, MasterCard, or Discover Card, this is the last 3-digit number found on the back of the card. For an American Express card, this is the 4-digit number found on the front of the card.
With the card details filled in as required, click the Save button. The registered card will be listed in the Payment Methods section, back on the main Payments page.
The initial defined payment method, added as an entry to the Payment Methods section. This will be used as the default payment method when purchasing subscriptions.
That's it. Your financial profile is now complete, and ready for you to make payments for license subscriptions from Altium.
Creating Your Financial Profile as Part of Making Your First Payment
You can also create your financial profile and pay the subscription for a license in one process, through use of the Altium Online Payments wizard. This is only possible when first using a Pay Now command and the financial profile has not already been created. You will find a command to pay in various places, summarized here:
- Next to the entry for a license, in the applicable Notifications region of the Overview page of the Dashboard.
- On the associated drop-down for the desired license, on the Licenses page of the Dashboard.
- From the detailed License Management page for the desired license.
The wizard consists of the following four pages - click Next to step through these pages and provide the information as required:
This is the initial page of the wizard, and simply outlines what the facility is, and what it offers.
Use the Altium Online Payments wizard to quickly set up your Financial Profile and pay for your first license subscription, in a single streamlined procedure.
Use this page of the wizard to enter your account and address information.
Altium Online Payments wizard - Create Finance Account page.
If information has already been defined for your company's Shipping Address - on the Profile page of the Dashboard - then this information will be used to pre-fill the fields for the company's general address, in the financial profile.
Click the link to the End User License Agreement (EULA). Once read, enable the option to state that you have read and agree with the EULA.
By clicking Next at this stage in the wizard, the financial account will be created. The wizard momentarily closes, and then reappears.
If you click
Cancel at this stage in the wizard, the financial account
will not be created. You will need to access the main
Payments page of the
Dashboard and create the account from there. You will then need to manually register a credit card. For more information, see the section
Managing Your Financial Profile, later in this document.
Use this page of the wizard to specify, and enter the details for, your chosen payment method. Once added to your profile, this will be used as the default payment method for the Auto Pay subscription feature.
Altium Online Payments wizard - Credit Card page.
The name of the cardholder (entered in the top-most field), must be the same as that appearing on the credit card itself. The address information must be the address to which the card is registered. If this information is not correct, there can be problems when processing payments from your card's financial institution.
If you click
Cancel at this stage in the wizard, you will need to access the main
Payments page of the
Dashboard. While the financial account
will have been created, there will not be a default payment method defined. You will then need to manually register a credit card, by clicking the
Add New Card button, in the
Payment Methods section. For more information, see the section
Managing Your Financial Profile, later in this document.
Use this page of the wizard to confirm your purchase (using the credit card specified for your profile on the previous page).
Altium Online Payments wizard - Payment Confirmation page.
The page shows the total purchase price, which is the calculated subscription cost (based on the license for which subscription is being purchased, and the number of seats involved), plus the tax on this purchase. The Enable Auto Pay option is enabled by default. Leaving this enabled means that subscription for that particular license will be automatically payed at its expiration date - using the default payment method specified for your financial profile.
After clicking Confirm on the last page of the wizard, payment of the license subscription fee will be effected. The wizard will close and you will be taken to the Payments page of the Dashboard, which now provides a summary of your created financial profile, along with information about this initial purchase.
An example full financial profile, presented on the Payments page of the Dashboard after having used the Altium Online Payments wizard through to completion.
Entries for the invoice and payment for the subscription purchased through the wizard are presented in the Invoice History and Payments History sections respectively.
As you have purchased Altium Subscription, an email from Altium Support will automatically be sent to the email address specified in your financial profile. This includes details of the license for which subscription has been purchased, as well as a PDF-formatted copy of the transaction invoice.
With your financial profile now complete, you can now proceed to pay for other license subscription purchases.
Managing Your Financial Profile
Your financial profile, once created, can always be accessed from the Payments page of the Dashboard. In its entirety, the page presents four distinct sections of information, as illustrated in the following image, and detailed thereafter.
An example of the Payments page when fully populated with the various elements of information that it can present.
- Account Summary & Contact Info - this region presents the general financial account contact and address information. For editable fields, information can be changed as required. Changes are effected by clicking the Update button.
- Payment Methods - this region presents the credit cards currently linked to your financial profile. At least one card must be registered before online payments can be performed, but additional cards can be added at any time. To add an additional card, simply click the Add New Card button. The Card Info dialog will appear. Use this to enter the name and address for the card holder, and the details for the card itself. After clicking Save, the entry for the new card will appear in the list of payment methods.
Add additional credit cards to facilitate a variety of payment methods.
- Invoice History - this region presents an historical listing of purchases, in terms of invoices. The invoice for the latest purchase appears at the top of the list. Use the associated Download control to obtain a copy of the invoice in PDF format.
The PDF invoice that you download here is identical to that attached to the email sent by Altium Support when the transaction is processed.
- Payments History - this region presents an historical listing of the purchases you have made.
One-Off Subscription Payment
With your financial profile defined, manually paying the subscription for a license - or 'one-off' single payment - is a straighforward affair. Your payment method is already defined through your financial profile, so you simply need to choose which subscription to pay, and then pay the calculated cost - simple, fast, and secure.
If subscription for a license has expired, and that expiration date was 30 days or more ago, you will not be able to pay for that subscription through the online payments facility. Instead, you will need to contact your local Altium Sales Representative, to get your license subscription re-activated.
The act of paying the subscription for a license can be performed in the following ways:
- Clicking the Pay Now command associated with the desired license, in the applicable Notifications region, on the Overview page of the Dashboard.
Pay for your subscription from the notification entry for the license.
- Clicking the Pay Now command available from the associated drop-down for the desired license, on the Licenses page of the Dashboard.
Pay for your subscription from the overview for the license (roll the mouse over the image to reveal the Pay Now command on the drop-down menu).
- Clicking the Pay Now command available from the detailed License Management page for the desired license.
Renew your subscription from the detailed management view for the license.
Whichever method you choose, the Confirm Your Purchase dialog will be presented. This summarizes the calculated cost of paying for Altium Subscription for the chosen license, and the method of payment (the credit card) that will be used. To proceed, click the Confirm button.
Confirm your purchase to effect payment of your license's subscription.
Things to be aware of:
- Subscription is purchased for 1 year, from the expiry date of the previous subscription for that license.
- The option to Enable Auto Pay is enabled by default. Leaving this enabled means that subscription for that particular license will be automatically payed at its expiration date - using the default payment method specified for your financial profile.
- Evidence of your purchase will be added to the Invoice History and Payments History listings, back on the Payments page of the Dashboard. An email summary of the transaction will also be sent from Altium Support, to the email address defined in your financial profile.
Paying Subscription with Auto Pay
Automatic payment is a concept that is commonly employed in many areas of our lives today - from important insurances for the car and home, to subscriptions to your favorite technology magazine, or membership dues to professional institutions. This concept is also available as part of the Altium Online Payments facility, and gives peace of mind by ensuring that Altium Subscriptions associated with the licenses of your Altium design solutions never expire - allowing you to enjoy the many benfits of continued subscription, without having to remember when to manually pay subscription fees.
Enabling Auto Pay
The license subscription auto pay facility can be enabled for a license in the following ways:
- When manually paying subscription for a license, as detailed in the previous section. In the Confirm Your Purchase dialog, simply keep the Enable Auto Pay option enabled (the default state).
Enabling Auto Pay when making a one-off license subscription payment.
- Clicking the Auto Pay command available from the associated drop-down for the desired license, on the Licenses page of the Dashboard. The Auto Pay Confirmation dialog will be presented. Click Yes to confirm and have auto pay enabled. This status is reflected by the appearance of the icon, to the right of the license name.
Enable subscription auto pay from the overview for the license (roll the mouse over the image to reveal the Auto Pay command on the drop-down menu).
- Clicking the Auto Pay command, or the Change button associated with the Auto Pay field - both available from the detailed License Management page for the desired license. The Auto Pay Confirmation dialog will be presented. Click Yes to confirm and have auto pay enabled. This status is reflected by the appearance of the icon, and the entry for the Auto Renew field having changed from Disabled to Enabled.
Enable subscription auto pay from the detailed management view for the license.
Things to be aware of:
- When changing the auto pay state for a license, an email will automatically be sent from Altium Support. The mail simply contains the change details, and in particular, the Auto Pay entry will have changed from NO to YES.
- With auto pay enabled, an invoice with your finalized subscription cost will be sent by Altium Support to the email address defined in your financial profile - 45 days before, and then again 5 days before, the invoice due date.
- Auto pay cannot be enabled directly for a license whose subscription has already expired. In this case, you will need to manually pay the subscription, and while doing so, can then enable the auto pay facility.
Disabling Auto Pay
The license subscription auto pay facility can be disabled for a license in the following ways:
- When manually paying subscription for the license. In the Confirm Your Purchase dialog, simply disable the Enable Auto Pay option.
Disabling Auto Pay when making a one-off license subscription payment.
- Clicking the Auto Pay command available from the associated drop-down for the desired license, on the Licenses page of the Dashboard. In the subsequent dialog that appears, click Yes to confirm and have auto pay disabled. This status is reflected by the removal of the icon, to the right of the license name.
Disable subscription auto pay from the overview for the license.
- Clicking the Change button associated with the Auto Pay field, available from the detailed License Management page for the desired license. In the subsequent dialog that appears, click Yes to confirm and have auto pay disabled. This status is reflected by the removal of the icon, and the entry for the Auto Pay field having changed from Enabled to Disabled.
Disable subscription auto pay from the detailed management view for the license.
Things to be aware of:
- When changing the auto pay state for a license, an email will automatically be sent from Altium Support. The mail simply contains the change details, and in particular, the Auto Pay entry will have changed from YES to NO.
- With auto pay disabled, automated subscription payment reminders will be sent by Altium Support to the email address defined in your financial profile - 45 days, and then 5 days, prior to the current subscription's expiry date.