How to create a one-off invoice without triggering an automatic payment

Last updated: June 24, 2026

When you create a one-off invoice for a customer with a connected payment provider (Stripe, GoCardless, or Adyen) and automatic payments enabled, Lago immediately attempts to collect the amount. One-off invoices are finalized on creation, so unlike subscription invoices there is no draft stage in which to intervene.

The supported way to skip this is the API parameter skip_psp: true, set at the invoice level of the request (alongside currency and fees, not inside the fees array, where it is ignored). The invoice is still created and finalized, but its payment status is set to pending and no payment is attempted. Note that skip_psp only skips the charge at creation time; if you later retry payment on the invoice, Lago will send it to the provider. To settle it instead, record a manual payment against the invoice or set its payment status to succeeded via the API. The dashboard also has a Record a payment action for this.

Dashboard-only options

skip_psp is API-only, and there is no dashboard equivalent and no customer or organization level "manual collection" setting. The only thing that gates the automatic charge is whether the customer is linked to a payment provider, so the workarounds all control that link:

  • Unlink the provider before creating the invoice. With no linked provider, Lago issues the invoice as pending and does not charge the card. Collect payment outside Lago, record it on the invoice, then reconnect the provider if you want auto-collection for their other invoices (reconnecting does not retroactively charge the existing invoice). While unlinked, none of that customer's invoices auto-charge, including subscription invoices, so do this in a controlled window if they have active subscriptions.

  • Keep manually-billed customers unconnected by design. If a customer always pays by transfer or check, don't connect them to a provider at all. Their invoices stay pending and you record payments as they arrive.

  • If you only need to verify a card, create a $0 plan with no charges, assign the customer to authorize the card, then cancel the subscription.

Setting a payment term is not a workaround: it changes the due date but does not defer or skip the automatic charge.

This article reflects guidance drawn from customer case resolutions. It is not officially supported documentation and may not apply to all situations.