Key concepts and terminology
Every REDA Pay article uses a small set of terms. Each one is a record type you will see as a tab in the REDA Pay app (open the App Launcher, the nine-dot grid at the top left of Salesforce, and search for REDA Pay). This article explains what each one is for and how they connect, using one running example: Meridian Properties, a property manager that collects rent and deposits.
The REDA Pay app. Every concept below has its own tab.
The setup records
These are created once by an administrator and then rarely change.
Pay Profile
A Pay Profile connects Salesforce to one Payload account. It holds the Payload API key — stored encrypted, and entered only through the Update API Token button — and the address Payload uses to send status updates back. An org can have several Pay Profiles, for example one per company or brand. Each profile has a short, unique Pay Profile Code that you use to restrict which profiles a payment screen offers.
Example: Meridian Properties has one Pay Profile, named "Meridian Properties", connected to its Payload account.
Processing Account
A Processing Account is a merchant account at Payload: the account that payments are paid into and payouts are paid from. You do not create Processing Accounts by hand — the Sync Processing Accounts button on the Pay Profile reads them from Payload. You then configure each one in Salesforce: whether it accepts receipts, disbursements or both; which payment methods it accepts; its currency; how long a payment link stays valid; and the logo, header and footer the payer sees. Most of your rules live here — see Configure a processing account.
Example: "Meridian Operating Account" receives rent; "Meridian Fee Account" receives convenience fees.
Fee Setup
A Fee Setup is a convenience-fee rule under a Processing Account — for example "3% on all cards" or "$1.75 per bank payment". The fee is added to the payment amount, and can be routed to a different Processing Account — see Set up convenience fees.
The records created while you work
Pay Customer
A Pay Customer is the person or company you take money from or pay, as known to one Pay Profile. You rarely create one by hand: the first time you open the payment screen from an Account, Contact or Lead, REDA Pay creates the Pay Customer from that record. The record you started from is called the parent record, and the Pay Customer keeps a link to it. A Pay Customer can carry its own rules, such as which payment methods it may use — see How Pay Customers are created.
Pay Method
A Pay Method is a card or bank account belonging to a Pay Customer. Once registered with Payload, its name changes to Payload's description, such as "Visa x-4242" or "Checking x-7890". Salesforce stores a token and descriptive details, never the full card number, security code or bank account number. A method can be the customer's default, and can be saved for reuse (Keep Active) or used once.
Pay Order
A Pay Order is the instruction to move money: who, how much, from which Processing Account, with which Pay Method. Pay Orders are numbered P-000000. Two settings define every order:
| Setting | Values | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer Type | Receipt · Disbursement | A receipt brings money in; a disbursement pays money out (bank accounts only) |
| Order Type | Immediate · Schedule · Link | Immediate is processed now; Schedule repeats on a schedule; Link creates a payment link the customer opens |
The Status field combines the two, for example Immediate - Processed, Schedule - Active or Link - Active. Order and transaction statuses lists every value.
Example: Order P-051847 asks for $1,250.00 rent from a resident's checking account; with the $1.75 bank fee, the Net Order Amount — what is actually charged — is $1,251.75.
Pay Transaction
A Pay Transaction is what Payload did with a Pay Order. Transactions are numbered T-0000000 and sit under their order. One order can have several: a failed attempt, then a successful payment, then a refund. Each transaction has a Type (payment, refund, credit), a Status (such as processed, declined, voided, rejected or refunded) and a Funding Status (such as pending or batched).
Statement Activity
A Statement Activity is one deposit into, or payout from, your bank account, as reported by Payload. Its Transaction Activities list the individual payments the deposit contains, so finance can match each deposit to the payments behind it — see Reconcile deposits and payouts.
REDA Pay Log
A REDA Pay Log records a background job that hit an error, with the failures attached as a file. Administrators receive an email when one is created — see When a payment fails.
How they connect
Pay Profile ── Processing Account ── Fee Setup
│
├── Pay Customer ── Pay Method
│ │ │
│ └──── Pay Order ────── Pay Transaction
│
└── Statement Activity ── Transaction Activity ──→ Pay TransactionA Pay Customer, Pay Method and Pay Order also link back to the Account, Contact or Lead they came from, and a Pay Order can link to an Opportunity, so payments appear on the records your team already works with.
Three more terms you will meet
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| User type | REDA Pay records who processed each order: Internal (a Salesforce user), Community (a logged-in portal user) or Guest (an anonymous visitor on your public site). Several rules, such as geolocation and earnest money deposits, can be switched on per user type |
| Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) | A flag on a bank receipt marking it as a good-faith deposit — see Take earnest money deposits |
| Webhook | The message Payload sends to Salesforce when a payment's status changes. REDA Pay uses it to update Pay Transactions automatically — see Set up webhooks |
Mistakes to avoid
| Mistake | What happens | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Creating a Processing Account by hand | It has no link to a Payload account and cannot take payments | Use Sync Processing Accounts on the Pay Profile |
| Typing the API key into the API Token field | The value is not encrypted and REDA Pay cannot read it | Use the Update API Token button |
| Leaving Allowed Pay Methods blank on a Processing Account or Pay Customer | No payment method can be used | Choose Card, Bank Account (ACH) or both |
| Treating the Principal Amount as the amount charged | The payer is charged the Net Order Amount, which includes the fee | Read Net Order Amount when reconciling |
FAQ
The Pay Order is your instruction; the Pay Transaction is Payload's result. An order that failed once and then succeeded has two transactions: one failed and one processed.
The Pay Customer holds what Payload needs — its customer identifier, allowed payment methods and default method — for one Pay Profile. If you use two Pay Profiles, the same Contact can have two Pay Customers.
That account can both receive payments and send payouts. A Pay Order is always one or the other.
Where to go next
- Who can do what: permission sets — give each role the right access.
- Setup roadmap — the steps to your first payment.