Paying an Invoice
Sometimes a tournament organizer needs to collect a payment from you after you have already registered. They do this by issuing an invoice — a separate, one-off charge with its own payment link. This page explains what that invoice is and how to pay it.
What Is an Invoice?
An invoice is an additional charge an organizer sends you after your initial registration is complete. Common reasons include:
- A membership or rating fee that needs to be collected separately
- A late-entry surcharge
- A corrected or balance amount
- Any other agreed-upon extra cost
First time? An invoice is not the same as your entry fee. You already paid your entry fee when you registered. An invoice is an extra payment your organizer is requesting on top of that.
How Paying an Invoice Differs from Registration Payment
| Registration payment | Invoice payment | |
|---|---|---|
| When | During the registration form | After you are already registered |
| How you reach it | The Payment step at the end of registration | A link in an email from the organizer |
| What it covers | Your entry fee for the section | A separate additional charge |
| Sign-in needed? | Yes | Yes |
For the entry-fee flow, see Payment and Invoices.
Before You Start
- You must be signed in to your ChessRoster account. If you are not, the page sends you to sign in first.
- Have the email with your payment link handy — that link is how you reach the invoice.
- You can pay with a PayPal account or any major credit or debit card — a PayPal account is not required.
Paying the Invoice
Open the payment link
Click the link in the email the organizer sent you. It opens a page titled Additional Tournament Payment with a Payment Required badge.
Review the invoice details
The page shows the details of what you are paying:
- Tournament and Section — which event and division the charge is for
- Player — the registered name the invoice applies to
- Tournament Date — when the event takes place
- Description — the organizer’s note about what the charge is for (if provided)
- Due Date — when payment is expected (if set)
- Amount Due — the total you will be charged
Pay with PayPal
Click Pay with PayPal. You are redirected to PayPal to complete payment securely with your PayPal account or a credit or debit card.
Return and confirm
After payment, you are sent back to a confirmation page that says Payment Successful!. A confirmation email is sent to your registered address, and the invoice is marked Paid.
If you are not ready to pay, use the Back to Tournament button to return to the tournament page. The invoice stays open and you can return to the same link later.
Invoice Statuses
What you see on the page depends on the invoice’s status.
| Status | What you see | Action needed |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | The Additional Tournament Payment form with a Pay with PayPal button | Pay the amount due |
| Paid | An Invoice Already Paid message with the date it was paid | None — already settled |
| Cancelled | An Invoice Cancelled message | None — the organizer cancelled it |
If the due date has already passed, the date is shown in red and marked (Overdue), with a reminder to pay as soon as possible. An overdue invoice can still be paid normally.
The Confirmation Page
After a successful payment you land on a confirmation page. It shows:
- A Payment Successful! heading
- A note that a confirmation email has been sent to your registered email address
- A Payment Details summary — tournament, section, player, amount paid, and payment date
- A View Tournament button to return to the event page
You will also receive a separate payment receipt directly from PayPal. Keep both the ChessRoster confirmation email and the PayPal receipt for your records.
Troubleshooting
- “Invalid Invoice Link” or “Invoice Not Found” — the link is incomplete or the invoice cannot be located. Re-open the original link from your email, or contact the organizer for a fresh one.
- You were asked to sign in — invoice pages require a signed-in account. Sign in with the account you registered under, then re-open the link.
- “Payment was cancelled” — you backed out on PayPal before finishing. The invoice is still open; click Pay with PayPal again to retry.
- An error message after returning from PayPal — a problem occurred while finishing the payment. Wait a moment and try again from the same link. If it persists, contact ChessRoster support.
Related Topics
- Payment and Invoices — entry-fee payment, refunds, and how invoices fit into the bigger picture
- My Registrations — check the status of your registrations
- ChessRoster Support — get help if a payment will not go through