Basecamp

If you already run client work in Basecamp, your invoices can live there too. Link a client to one of their Basecamp projects and PayPolka posts to that project’s message board when you send an invoice, and again when it’s paid. Setup happens in Settings → Integrations.

This only works with Basecamp 4.

What the connection does

Information travels one way. PayPolka writes into Basecamp and never reads your projects, to-dos, files, or messages back out. There’s nothing to install or configure on the Basecamp side — no webhook, no app, nothing to paste. You sign in on Basecamp’s own site once and approve the connection there.

Only invoices post. Estimates, reminders, and late fees never show up in Basecamp.

Before you start

• You need to be an admin. Settings is admin-only. Operators can still link clients to projects afterwards — they just can’t make the connection itself.
• Sign in with a Basecamp login that can see every project you bill for. PayPolka pulls your project list using whichever login approves the connection, so it can only ever show projects that login can see.
• Each project needs its Message Board turned on. That’s where the invoice message goes. Projects without one won’t appear in PayPolka’s list at all — this is the most common reason a project seems to be missing.

Connecting your Basecamp account

1. Go to Settings and open the Integrations tab.
2. Find the card headed Basecamp. The label in its top-right corner shows where you stand — Not connected means you’re ready to go.
3. Click Connect Basecamp. You’ll land on Basecamp’s own sign-in page.
4. Sign in if you need to, then approve the request. Basecamp sends you back.
5. If your login belongs to more than one Basecamp account, pick the one you bill from. This choice expires after ten minutes — if you wander off, just start again. With a single account, this step is skipped.
6. You’ll come back to Settings → Integrations and see Basecamp connected.

Finish the whole thing in one go: same browser, same session, signed in as the same admin who started it. Switching browsers or signing out partway lands you on a page-not-found screen. Nothing’s broken — go back to Settings and click Connect Basecamp again.

If the card reads Not configured, Basecamp hasn’t been switched on for this installation and there’s nothing you can do from your side. Get in touch and we’ll sort it.

What the connected card shows

Once you’re connected the card lists which Basecamp account you’re on, the login that approved it under Connected by, and a Projects count.

That count isn’t your total project count. It’s how many projects PayPolka can actually post to, which means projects with a Message Board. It also tells you how long ago the list was fetched.

PayPolka stores that project list and never refreshes it on its own. Create a new project in Basecamp, or turn on a Message Board for an existing one, and you’ll need to click Refresh projects before it shows up.

Linking a client to a project

Connecting on its own posts nothing. Each client has to be linked to one project. Anyone on your team can do this.

1. Go to Clients and open the client, then click Edit.
2. Scroll to the card headed Basecamp at the bottom of the form.
3. Click the box under Basecamp project. It reads Not linked until you pick something.
4. A panel slides in from the right with a search box. Type to narrow the list, then click the project you want.
5. Leave Post invoice updates to Basecamp ticked. It’s on by default.
6. Click Save changes. Nothing is saved until you do.

The link then shows on the client’s Details tab. Repeat for each client you bill through Basecamp — one project per client, and there’s no way to send an individual invoice somewhere else.

To pause a client without losing the link, untick Post invoice updates to Basecamp and save. Their Details tab will show the project name followed by (posting paused).

Importing clients from a spreadsheet can’t set this. Imported clients always have to be linked by hand.

When PayPolka posts

Two moments, and only for clients that are linked and not paused.

The first time an invoice goes from draft to sent. That covers emailing it and marking it sent by hand from the Actions menu. Worth knowing: Mark as sent posts to Basecamp too, and doesn’t warn you first — only the email dialog mentions it. Resending an invoice later never posts a second message.

When the invoice is marked paid. Automatically once the balance hits zero, or straight away if you mark it paid yourself. Writing an invoice off or reopening it posts nothing.

Recurring invoices arrive as drafts, so they post when someone sends them.

What your client sees

The message subject reads like Invoice INV-0042 — $1,250.00, due Aug 12. Inside is a short greeting naming your business and a link to View and pay invoice, which opens the public invoice page where they can pay.

Underneath, if they have other unpaid invoices or have paid you in the last ninety days, PayPolka adds a short account summary — open invoices with what’s still owing, plus anything recently paid. First invoice with nothing else outstanding, and the summary is left out.

Read this before you switch it on. The message shows the client’s whole open balance with you, not just the one invoice, and it’s posted to the project message board marked visible to client-side people. Anyone with access to that project can read it. If you share a project with several people at a client’s company and would rather they didn’t all see the balance, untick Post invoice updates to Basecamp for that client.

When the invoice is paid, PayPolka adds a comment to that same message saying so, with a refreshed summary. This is separate from the emailed thank-you note — the Send thank you button on a paid invoice sends an email only and never touches Basecamp.

Checking it worked

Posting runs in the background, so the message won’t be there the instant you click send. Give it a moment and reload the invoice. Once it’s through you’ll see a blue Posted to Basecamp panel naming the project, usually with a link straight to the message. The same events show up under Invoice history further down.

Troubleshooting

A project is missing from the list

Work through these in order:

1. Does it have a Message Board? By far the most common cause. Turn it on in Basecamp, then click Refresh projects.
2. Was it created after you connected? PayPolka doesn’t refresh on its own. Click Refresh projects.
3. Can the connecting login see it? The list is pulled using the login shown under Connected by. If that person can’t see the project in Basecamp, PayPolka can’t either.

I picked a project but nothing changed

Choosing a project in the side panel doesn’t save it. Click Save changes at the bottom of the client form and look for the Client updated. confirmation.

A project shows “(unavailable — refresh projects)”

The project isn’t in PayPolka’s stored list any more, usually because it was archived or deleted in Basecamp. PayPolka leaves the link alone rather than quietly clearing it. Click Refresh projects — if it comes back, the label disappears. If it doesn’t, link that client somewhere else or untick posting, or their invoices will fail.

The invoice sent, but nothing appeared

Reload the invoice page first — posting is a background job. Then check the client is linked and not paused on their Details tab. If it failed, Invoice history on the invoice shows it in red with the reason.

Once the underlying problem is fixed, open the invoice and choose Post to Basecamp from the Actions menu.

That option only appears when the invoice is still Sent, the client is linked and not paused, the connection is healthy, and nothing’s been posted for it yet. That’s deliberate — you can’t accidentally post twice. If it’s missing, one of those isn’t true.

The card says “Reconnect needed”

Basecamp has stopped accepting the connection, usually because whoever connected it left, lost access, or revoked PayPolka in Basecamp.

Nothing posts while it’s in this state, and nobody is told. No email, no dashboard warning. Invoices still email normally, so it’s worth glancing at Settings → Integrations now and then.

An admin should click Reconnect Basecamp and sign in again. Reconnecting to the same Basecamp account keeps every client’s link. Anything that failed meanwhile isn’t caught up automatically — use Actions → Post to Basecamp on the invoices that missed.

Connecting a different Basecamp account clears every link

This is the one to be careful with. Reconnect and choose a different account and PayPolka clears the project link on every client, because those projects don’t exist in the new account. You’ll be told how many were cleared, and you’ll need to link them all again. Pause settings survive.

Disconnecting

Disconnect stops posting immediately, but your client links are kept and come back if you reconnect the same account. While you’re disconnected the client form hides the project picker.

Invoices I sent before connecting

Nothing posts retroactively. Invoices still in Sent status can be posted one at a time with Actions → Post to Basecamp. Ones already paid or written off can’t be posted at all, and there’s no bulk option.

The pay link in Basecamp stopped working

Regenerating an invoice’s public link kills the old one, including the link sitting in the Basecamp message. PayPolka doesn’t go back and update it. Use Copy invoice link on the invoice and paste the new one into the thread yourself.

I deleted an invoice that had been posted

The message stays in your client’s project and its pay link stops working. PayPolka never removes or edits anything in Basecamp, so trash the message yourself if you want it gone. The delete confirmation warns you about this.

Next, see Clients & contacts for the rest of the client form, or Invoices for sending and tracking.