What the Merchant View shows

Purpose of the Merchant View

The Merchant View shows how LayBy plans are managed after checkout when using LayBy powered by FlexiLay.

This view is designed to give merchants:

• Visibility over customer payment progress
• Clear indicators of what requires attention
• Control over plans, payouts, and cancellations

Understanding LayBy plans

Active LayBy plans

An Active LayBy plan means:

• The customer has paid the deposit
• One or more future payments are still outstanding
• The plan is progressing normally

No action is required while payments are up to date.

Completed LayBy plans

A Completed LayBy plan means:

• All scheduled payments have been successfully processed
• The plan is paid in full

Only after completion should goods or services be delivered.

Plans needing attention

A plan may show as Needs attention when:

• A scheduled payment has failed
• A customer needs to update their payment method
• Manual follow-up may be required

This helps merchants quickly identify issues.

Payments & payouts

How merchants get paid

All LayBy payments are processed through Stripe.

This means:

• The deposit is charged immediately at checkout
• Each scheduled payment is charged automatically on its due date
• Merchants receive payouts via Stripe as payments are processed
• FlexiLay does not hold or store funds

From a payments perspective, LayBy transactions behave like standard Stripe card payments.

Collected vs outstanding amounts

• Collected: Payments that have been successfully processed
• Outstanding: Remaining balance yet to be paid by the customer

These figures update automatically as payments occur.

Failed payments & retries

What happens if a payment fails

If a scheduled payment fails:

• Stripe retry logic is applied automatically
• The customer is prompted to resolve the issue
• Payment status updates in the Merchant View

Most failed payments resolve without merchant involvement.

When merchants should step in

Merchants may need to act when:

• Multiple retries have failed
• The customer does not respond
• The plan cannot continue under merchant policy

FlexiLay provides visibility so merchants can decide the next step.

Early payouts, cancellations, and refunds

Early payout

Customers may choose to:

• Pay out their LayBy plan early
• Complete the plan ahead of schedule

This immediately finalises the plan.

Cancellations

Merchants can cancel LayBy plans:

• In line with their business policies
• Before goods or services are delivered

Deposits are non-refundable unless the merchant’s policy states otherwise.

Refund handling

Refunds:

• Follow normal Stripe refund processes
• Are governed by merchant policy
• Should be handled before delivery if the plan is not completed

Delivery rules (important)

When to deliver goods or services

Merchants should only deliver when:

• The LayBy plan is paid in full
• All scheduled payments have completed successfully

This is a core rule of LayBy and should be followed consistently.

Using this page for training

This Merchant View page can be used to:

• Train staff on how to read LayBy plans
• Explain payment statuses to customers
• Set expectations around delivery and refunds
• Support merchant onboarding

This page pairs with How It Works to form the complete LayBy training guide.