📝 Overview

This guide explains how to verify a payment's status directly in your Stripe Dashboard and compare it to what you see in your dashboard. This can be helpful when a payment appears to be in a different state in Stripe than what is shown in your dashboard, or when a customer reports that they have been charged but their purchase is not showing.

Stripe is the authoritative source for whether a charge was processed. If you are unsure whether a customer was actually charged, checking the Stripe Dashboard is the most reliable way to confirm.

💡 This guide applies to businesses using Stripe as a payment processor. If your customers pay through GoCardless, you can check payment statuses in your GoCardless dashboard instead.

🔍 When To Check Stripe Directly

There are several situations where checking the Stripe Dashboard directly can help you understand what happened with a payment.

Click the arrow to view common scenarios

A payment has been retrying for an extended period – You want to confirm whether Stripe is still actively attempting to collect the payment, or whether the charge has already succeeded or failed on Stripe's side.

A customer says they were charged but the purchase is not showing – The customer may have a charge on their bank statement, but the corresponding membership, class registration, or purchase is not appearing in their profile.

The dashboard status does not match what you expect – For example, a payment shows as "Retrying" or "Failed" in your dashboard, but you believe the charge may have been processed successfully.

You want to confirm the failure reason – Stripe provides detailed information about why a payment was declined, which can help you advise the customer on next steps.

🛠️ How To Check a Payment in Stripe

Follow the steps below to locate a payment in your Stripe Dashboard and check its status.

Click the arrow to view the step-by-step process

1. Log in to your Stripe Dashboard.

2. Click Payments in the left-hand navigation.

3. Use the search bar or filters to find the payment. You can search by customer name, email address, or payment amount.

4. Click on the payment to open its details. Here you will see the payment status (such as Succeeded, Failed, or Incomplete) along with additional information including the date, amount, and failure reason if applicable.

5. Compare the status in Stripe to the status shown in your dashboard. If the statuses match, no further action is needed. If they do not match, see the section below.

💡 If you need to share payment details with our support team, the most useful information to provide is the Stripe charge ID (which starts with "ch_") or the payment intent ID (which starts with "pi_"). Both can be found on the payment detail page in Stripe.

📊 Comparing Stripe and Dashboard Statuses

Once you have confirmed the payment status in Stripe, you can compare it to the status shown in your dashboard. The table below shows where different payment statuses appear in your dashboard and what they mean.

Click the arrow to view the status comparison

Stripe Status	Dashboard Status	Where to Find
Succeeded	Paid	Billing/Revenue ➜ Reports
Failed	Failed or Retrying	To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments or To-Dos ➜ Open Invoices
Incomplete	Retrying or Pending	To-Dos ➜ Open Invoices or Billing/Revenue ➜ Pending

⚠️ If a payment shows as Succeeded in Stripe but does not appear as Paid in your dashboard (or is missing entirely), this may indicate a sync issue.

Please contact our support team and provide the Stripe charge ID or payment intent ID so the team can investigate and reconcile the payment.

✅ What To Do Next

After checking the payment status in Stripe, the action you take depends on what you find.

Click the arrow to view recommended next steps

If the Stripe status matches your dashboard

No further action is needed regarding the sync. If the payment is in a "Retrying" or "Failed" state, you can resolve it using the steps in the guide on resolving retrying payments here, or the guide on failed payments here.

If Stripe shows "Succeeded" but the dashboard shows something different

Contact our support team through the chat widget on your dashboard. Provide the Stripe charge ID (starts with "ch_") or payment intent ID (starts with "pi_") along with the customer's name or email. The team can investigate and reconcile the payment.

If Stripe shows "Failed" and you need to collect payment

The failure reason shown in Stripe can help you advise the customer. Common reasons include insufficient funds, expired card, or a bank decline. You can ask the customer to update their payment details, or you can change the payment method on their membership from your dashboard.

If a customer reports being charged but no purchase is showing

First, confirm the charge exists in Stripe by searching for the customer's name or email. If you find a successful charge with no corresponding purchase in your dashboard, contact our support team with the Stripe charge ID so they can link the payment to the correct purchase.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Find answers to common questions or additional details that may not be covered in the main instructions.