Stripe
Connect your Stripe account so customers can pay invoices online by card
Let customers pay invoices online with a card. The money goes straight to your own Stripe account, and SettleWise records and matches each payment for you.
Online card payments through Stripe are included in the Premium plan.
What You Get
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Pay buttons in invoice emails | Every sent invoice and payment reminder includes secure buttons to pay online |
| Direct deposit | 100% of each payment goes to your Stripe account; SettleWise adds no platform fee |
| Automatic matching | Stripe payments are matched to the invoice and recorded without manual entry |
| Destination register | Every Stripe payment lands in the register you choose |
| Optional card surcharge | Pass eligible credit-card costs to the payer, shown before they authorize |
Connect Your Stripe Account
Open the Stripe Payments tab
Go to Settings → Integrations and open Stripe Payments.
Click Connect Stripe
You are sent to Stripe. Sign in as your business and select your existing Stripe account. If you don't have one yet, Stripe walks you through creating it.
Finish anything Stripe still needs
Back in SettleWise, the tab shows your account name and the status of CHARGES and PAYOUTS. If Stripe still needs information (for example an identity document or a bank account), the tab lists it and shows Continue Onboarding.
Choose the destination register
Under Stripe destination register, pick the USD register where Stripe money should be recorded and click Save register. Saving also assigns that register to older Stripe payments that were still unassigned.
Connect the lodge's own Stripe account, never one created for SettleWise. If you pick an account that was created during the connection or that uses SettleWise's business details, SettleWise refuses it and revokes access. Sign in as your business and select its existing account.
When the account is ready, the tab shows Your Stripe account is fully connected and ready to accept payments. Use Test connection at any time to check it.
How a Card Payment Flows
- You send an invoice (or SettleWise sends a reminder). The email includes pay buttons.
- The customer clicks a button and pays on a secure page. No account is needed.
- Stripe confirms the charge and SettleWise records the payment in your Stripe destination register.
- SettleWise matches it to the invoice and updates the invoice status.
- The customer gets a receipt by email, and your team gets a notice: matched, or needs review when the payment could not be matched automatically.
A Stripe payment that cannot be matched (for example the amount differs or the invoice was already paid) waits in Unmatched Stripe Payments with the reason. Someone on your team chooses Match to Invoice, Mark Resolved or Reject.
Pay Buttons and Links
The buttons in each email depend on the invoice:
| Invoice | Buttons in the email |
|---|---|
| Two-phase, nothing paid yet | PAY 50% (amount) for the deposit and FULL PAY (amount) for everything |
| Two-phase, part of the deposit paid | PAY FIRST PAYMENT BALANCE (amount) and PAY REMAINING (amount) |
| Single payment | PAY IN FULL (amount) |
| After any payment has arrived | PAY REMAINING (amount) |
The percentage on the deposit button follows your payment configuration.
How long a link works
- A link is valid until the end of its due date, and always for at least 72 hours.
- After that it keeps working while the invoice is still open, so a late payer is never locked out.
- If part of the invoice was paid in the meantime, the payment page charges only the remaining balance and says so.
- A link stops working once it is used, or when the invoice is paid in full, voided, replaced or refunded. The customer then sees Payment already processed, Invoice already paid or Payment link expired.
If a bank declines the card, or the customer leaves before paying, the same link lets them try again with another card.
Credit Card Surcharge (Optional)
You can pass eligible credit-card costs to the payer. Go to Settings → Preferences → Payments → Stripe credit card surcharge:
- Turn on Enable credit card surcharge.
- Set the Surcharge percentage: your real card acceptance cost, up to 3%. No fixed fee is added.
- Confirm the compliance statement and save.
When it is on:
- The invoice email and payment page explain that only surcharge-eligible credit cards are accepted. Debit cards, prepaid cards and non-card methods are not accepted.
- After Stripe identifies the card, the customer sees Invoice amount, Credit card surcharge and Total charge before clicking Pay.
- The surcharge applies only to eligible USD credit-card payments.
SettleWise does not register you with card networks or acquirers. Keep the surcharge off until your organization has completed the required notices, registrations and waiting periods.
Fees
Stripe deducts its standard processing fees before the money reaches your bank. SettleWise does not add transaction fees. Check your Stripe dashboard for your exact rates.
Refunds
Return card money from your Stripe dashboard. Then record the refund in SettleWise from the invoice (Refund) so the invoice, register and QuickBooks show the same result. See Cancel and Refund.
Disconnecting
Click Disconnect on the Stripe Payments tab. Once disconnected, customers can no longer pay invoices through Stripe. Payments already recorded stay in SettleWise. You can reconnect at any time.