Audience: Billing, Revenue, and CSR staff · Product: Flywire Part of: Making Changes to a Patient's Payment Plan
This article lists every way a staff user can change a patient's payment plan in Flywire, grouped by what the change does. For when to use each one, see Use Cases. For how, see Step-by-Step: How to Perform Each Payment Plan Change.
All of these start from the patient's Payment Plans tab, using either the two payment buttons (Pay Next Installment, Pay Full Balance) or the Payment Plan Actions menu.
1. Change the plan's terms — Modify Payment Plan
The single most powerful change. Modify Payment Plan lets you rebuild the plan's schedule. Inside this flow you can change one or several of the following:
| What you can change | Field name in Flywire |
|---|---|
| How many monthly payments are left | Number of Installments |
| The dollar amount of each monthly payment | Monthly Installment Amount |
| When the next payment comes out | First Installment Due Date |
| The total balance (by adding bills — see #2) | New Plan Balance (shown as a result) |
When you save, Flywire re-amortizes the plan — it recalculates the remaining schedule based on your changes and replaces the future installments.
Available for: Provider plans only. (Financed/PayZen plans cannot have their terms modified in Flywire.)
2. Add a bill or balance to an existing plan — Modify Payment Plan
If a patient has a new charge, you can roll it into their existing plan rather than starting a second plan. This is done through the same Modify Payment Plan flow, where you select the additional bills (or offers) to add. The total balance and monthly schedule recalculate to include the new amount.
Available for: Provider plans.
3. Forgive missed installments — inside Modify Payment Plan
While modifying a plan, staff with the right permission can check Forgive Missed Installments. This forgives payments the patient has missed so they aren't carried forward as past-due.
This is the closest thing to "skipping" a payment. Flywire does not have a button to skip a single specific future installment. To give relief, you either forgive missed installments, pause the plan, or modify the terms.
Available for: Provider plans.
4. Waive the service fee — inside Modify Payment Plan
If your organization charges a service fee, staff with the Waive Service Fee permission can remove it during plan setup or modification.
Available for: Provider plans.
5. Pause the plan — Pause Payment Plan
Puts the plan on hold. While paused (the system calls this status frozen):
- Payments are suspended
- No payments will be due
- No statements are mailed to the patient
- The patient receives an email notification
When you pause, you must select a reason (for example, a financial assistance application that is Requested or Under Review).
Available for: Both provider and financed (PayZen) plans.
6. Resume a paused plan — Resume Payment Plan
Brings a paused (frozen) plan back to active. Any scheduled, missed payments from the pause period are added to the end of the plan. The plan keeps the status it had before the pause, and the patient gets a confirmation email.
Available for: Both provider and financed plans.
7. Cancel / close the plan — Cancel Payment Plan
Closes the plan entirely. This:
- Cancels future scheduled payments and turns off autopay
- May reverse a staff-negotiated discount that was applied
- Requires you to select a reason (for example, Financial Assistance Approved or Other)
A plan must be active or paused to be cancelled — you can't cancel one that's already cancelled or in default.
Available for: Both. (Provider plans use the Cancel Payment Plan permission; financed plans use a separate PayZen cancel permission and route the cancellation through PayZen.)
8. Turn on automatic payments — Turn On Autopay
Enrolls the plan in autopay so installments are drafted automatically from the patient's chosen payment method. Appears only when autopay is currently off.
Available for: Both.
9. Change the payment method on file — Change The Way You Pay
Updates the card or bank account used for the plan's payments. (Patients see this same option labeled Manage Autopay; for financed plans it's labeled Manage Payment Method.)
Available for: Both.
10. Turn off automatic payments — Cancel Auto Pay
Stops autopay so payments are no longer drafted automatically. This requires a stricter permission than turning autopay on. (Autopay can also be turned off while modifying a plan.)
Available for: Both.
11. Take a payment now — Pay Next Installment
Processes the patient's next scheduled installment immediately (for example, when they call in to make this month's payment). Supports card, e-check, and — with the right permissions — cash/check.
Available for: Both.
12. Pay the plan off in full — Pay Full Balance
Collects the entire remaining balance in one payment. Once everything is paid, the plan completes on its own (this can take about 30 minutes to reflect as closed).
Available for: Both.
13. Cancel future scheduled payments — Manage Scheduled Payments
Cancels upcoming one-time scheduled payments tied to the account or plan. This does not change the plan's terms — it only removes the future scheduled charges.
Available for: Both.
14. Change the pay-in-full discount on an active plan — Alter Pay In Full Discount
Adjusts the discount a patient would receive if they pay the plan off in full. Only appears when your organization allows pay-in-full discounts on active plans and the plan isn't completed.
Available for: Provider plans.
15. Remove a bill from a financed plan — Remove Bills
For financed (PayZen) plans only, removes one or more bills from the plan (the plan must keep at least one bill). Requires the Remove Bills permission and the feature to be enabled for your organization.
There is no equivalent button to remove a bill from a standard provider plan. To reduce a provider plan, use Modify Payment Plan instead.
Available for: Financed (PayZen) plans only.
16. Combine multiple plans into one — Combine Plans (Coming Soon!)
If a patient has more than one active plan at the same organization, staff can combine them into a single plan, merging the balances and cancelling the extra plans.
Available for: Provider plans.
17. View-only options (not changes, but in the same menu)
These let you review a plan without changing it:
- View Offer Terms — see the original terms the plan was based on (provider plans)
- View Financed Payment Plan Details — see PayZen details (financed plans)
- Plan History / View Activity — see the full history of changes and payments
What Flywire does not offer staff
So you can set patient expectations correctly:
| Patient asks for… | Reality in Flywire |
|---|---|
| "Skip just next month's payment" | No single-installment skip button. Use Pause, Forgive Missed Installments, or Modify Payment Plan. |
| "Transfer my plan to my spouse/another account" | No transfer feature. |
| "Remove one bill from my regular plan" | No remove-bill button on provider plans. Use Modify Payment Plan. |
| "Change the terms of my financed (PayZen) plan" | Not possible in Flywire — must go through PayZen support. |