📝 Overview
This guide covers how to integrate Stripe as a payment processor in your account. Stripe allows you to accept credit and debit card payments from your customers quickly and securely.
Once Stripe is integrated, your customers can pay by card at checkout and save their card details for future purchases.
💡 Stripe Transaction Fees are separate from your regular subscription fees, and are deducted directly from payments and transactions being processed.
⭐ Benefits of Using Stripe
Stripe is one of the most widely used payment processors and offers several benefits when integrated with your account.
Click the arrow to learn more about the benefits of Stripe
Click the arrow to learn more about the benefits of Stripe
Quick and secure – Stripe provides a fast, secure way to accept credit and debit card payments online. Stripe exceeds the most stringent industry standards for security. For more on Stripe's security standards, visit Stripe Security.
Fast payouts – Funds are automatically sent to your bank account. For details on payout timing, visit Stripe Payout Timing.
Competitive fees – No hidden fees. You only pay transaction fees on the payments you take.
Wide card support – You can charge most major credit and debit cards. For a full list of supported card types, see Stripe Payment Features.
Easy for your customers – Customers can store their card details for future purchases, making repeat bookings faster.
🛠️ How To Set Up Stripe
Integrating Stripe with your account is quick and straightforward. Follow the steps below to get started.
Click the arrow to view the setup steps
Click the arrow to view the setup steps
1. From your dashboard, navigate to Settings ➜ Collect Payments ➜ Manage Payment Methods ➜ Stripe - Integrate.
2. Click Enable Stripe.
3. You will be redirected to Stripe to create a new account or sign in to an existing one.
Once Stripe is integrated, customers will be able to select Stripe as a payment method when making a purchase.
💡 You can enable or disable Stripe for specific purchase types (recurring memberships, non-recurring memberships, classes, appointments, courses, and store purchases) by going to Settings ➜ Collect Payments ➜ click 'Edit' next to Stripe.
For guidance on which payment types to enable for Stripe vs. GoCardless, see the GoCardless vs Stripe guide here.
🔍 Troubleshooting Stripe Payments
If you encounter issues with Stripe payments, the sections below cover the most common scenarios and how to resolve them.
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Click the arrow to view troubleshooting guidance
A payment shows as "Retrying" or "Failed" in my dashboard
When a Stripe payment fails, the system will automatically retry the payment. Retrying payments appear under To-Dos ➜ Open Invoices. Once the retry limit is reached, the payment moves to To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments and needs to be resolved manually.
💡For step-by-step guidance on resolving retrying or failed Stripe payments, see the guide on resolving retrying payments here.
A payment shows differently in Stripe than in my dashboard
In rare cases, a payment may show as successful in your Stripe Dashboard but appear as retrying, failed, or missing in your dashboard. This can happen due to a temporary sync issue between the two systems.
If you notice a discrepancy, you can verify the payment status directly in your Stripe Dashboard:
1. Log in to your Stripe Dashboard.
2. Search for the payment by customer name, email, or amount.
3. Check the payment status in Stripe (succeeded, failed, or pending).
4. Compare it to the status shown in your dashboard under To-Dos or Billing/Revenue.
If the statuses do not match, contact our support team through the chat widget on your dashboard and provide the Stripe charge ID or payment intent ID so the team can investigate and reconcile the payment.
⚠️ Stripe is the authoritative source for whether a charge was processed. If you are unsure whether a customer was actually charged, check the Stripe Dashboard first.
💡 For a detailed walkthrough of checking and comparing payment statuses between Stripe and your dashboard, see the guide here.
Customers are reporting errors during checkout
If your customers are seeing error messages, error screens with reference codes, or "something went wrong" messages during checkout or sign-up, there are a few things to check.
First, ask the customer for the following information:
What they were trying to purchase (membership, class, pass, etc.)
Whether they saw an error message or error screen (and any reference code if shown)
Whether they were charged (check their bank statement)
Then, check your Stripe Dashboard to see if a charge was created for that customer. If a charge shows as Succeeded in Stripe but no purchase is showing in your dashboard, see the guide on what to do when a customer was charged but did not receive their purchase here.
If no charge was created in Stripe, the payment was not processed. The most common reasons include insufficient funds, an expired or declined card, or a bank-side restriction. In these cases, the customer can try again with a different card or contact their bank for more information.
💡 If multiple customers are reporting checkout errors at the same time, this may indicate a broader issue.
Please contact our support team through the chat widget on your dashboard and include the approximate time the errors began, what customers were trying to purchase, and any error messages or reference codes that were shared with you.
💡 For instructions on locating your Stripe invoices and tax documents, see the FAQ on finding your Stripe invoices in the section below.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Find answers to common questions or additional details that may not be covered in the main instructions.
Click the arrow to view frequently asked questions
Click the arrow to view frequently asked questions
Which cards and payment types can I accept with Stripe?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
With Stripe, you can accept a wide range of payment methods, including major credit and debit cards such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, Diners Club, and UnionPay. You can also accept eligible prepaid and gift cards that are issued by supported card networks.
In addition to card payments, Stripe supports a variety of alternative payment methods, depending on your region and account configuration. For a complete list of supported cards and payment types, see the guide on accepted payment methods.
Can I use Stripe alongside GoCardless?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Yes. Many businesses choose to use both processors in parallel. A common setup is to enable GoCardless for recurring payments and Stripe for both recurring and non-recurring payments.
For more information on how to configure this, see the GoCardless vs Stripe guide here.
How do I change the bank account my Stripe payouts go to?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
You can update your bank account details directly from your Stripe Dashboard. For step-by-step instructions, see the guide on changing your bank account here.
How long do Stripe payouts take?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Stripe payout timing depends on your region and account setup. For detailed information on payout timing, visit Stripe's payout timing documentation. You can also view your payouts within your dashboard under Billing/Revenue ➜ Payouts.
Where can I find my Stripe invoices?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
To download your invoices, go to Settings ➜ Collect Payments ➜ click 'View tax invoices' under 'Stripe'.
From there you will have a list of your invoices. Depending on when you started, you will either see all of your invoices here:
Or you will see recent invoices here but be directed back to Stripe for historical data:
In some cases, you may still be on the original Stripe account, in which case you will have a link taking you to your Stripe dashboard where you can download your invoices.
💡 The details of the Stripe account linked to your account are not visible on your dashboard. If you need to confirm which Stripe account payments are paid out to, you can check this directly in your Stripe dashboard by logging in and reviewing your payments, or you can ask our support team to confirm this for you.
A Stripe transaction doesn't have a customer name listed. How do I find the customer?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Sometimes a transaction in your Stripe dashboard may not list a customer's name. This can happen when the customer has updated their card details, so their name is no longer attached to the previous card.
To identify who the card belongs to, you can use the Transactions report. Navigate to Billing/Revenue ➜ Reports ➜ Transactions ➜ Download CSV, then open the file and use CTRL-F to search for the last 4 digits of the card number.
Does Stripe work with a card reader?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Yes. Stripe Terminal allows you to accept in-person card payments, as well as Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay. For setup instructions, see the Stripe Terminal setup guide here.
What should I do if a customer's Stripe payment fails?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
For Stripe payments on recurring memberships, the system will automatically retry the payment. If the payment continues to fail, you can take manual action from To-Dos ➜ Open Invoices or To-Dos ➜ Failed Payments. For a full guide on resolving retrying and failed payments, see here.
A payment was successful in Stripe but is not showing in my dashboard. What should I do?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
In rare cases, a temporary sync issue may cause a payment to appear successful in Stripe but not reflect correctly in your dashboard. If you notice this, contact our support team through the chat widget and provide the Stripe charge ID or payment intent ID. The team can investigate and reconcile the payment for you.
A payment shows as "Retrying" in my dashboard but there is no corresponding retry in Stripe. Why?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
In some cases, your dashboard may display a payment as "Retrying" even though no corresponding retry or payment attempt appears in your Stripe Dashboard. This can happen when the initial payment attempt did not reach Stripe, or when a previous sync issue caused the dashboard to display an outdated status.
To resolve this, first check your Stripe Dashboard to confirm the current status of the payment. If no payment or retry attempt appears in Stripe for that customer, contact our support team through the chat widget on your dashboard with the customer's name, the payment amount, and the date. The team can investigate and reconcile the status.
For a detailed walkthrough of comparing statuses between Stripe and your dashboard, see the guide here.
What does "Checkout Pending" mean on my class list?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
"Checkout Pending" means a customer has started the checkout process and a spot is being temporarily held for them while their payment is being processed. The booking is not confirmed until the payment completes successfully. If the payment fails or the customer does not complete checkout, the spot is released. This status is not specific to any particular purchase type, it can appear during any checkout flow.
My customers are seeing error messages during checkout. What should I do?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Ask the customer what they were purchasing, what error they saw, and whether they were charged. Then check your Stripe Dashboard to see if a charge was created. If a charge succeeded but the purchase is missing from your dashboard, see the guide on resolving this here. If no charge was created, the payment was not processed and the customer can try again. If multiple customers are affected at the same time, contact our support team.