Setting Up Online Payments with Stripe

Getting paid faster starts with making it easy for clients to pay. BuilderMate integrates with Stripe Connect to let your clients pay invoices online with credit cards or ACH bank transfers — right from the invoice link you send them.

Who Can Access This

• Admin only — for connecting Stripe and configuring payment settings.
• Clients — access payment pages via invoice links in the Client Hub.

Connecting Your Stripe Account

1. Navigate to Settings from the sidebar.
2. Click Integrations.
3. Find Stripe and click "Connect Stripe Account".
4. You'll be redirected to Stripe's onboarding flow. Complete the following:
   • Business information — Your company details
   • Bank account — Where you want funds deposited
   • Identity verification — Required by Stripe for payment processing
5. Once you've completed Stripe's onboarding, you'll be redirected back to BuilderMate.
6. The integration will show "Connected" when everything is set up.

Good to Know: The Stripe onboarding process is handled entirely by Stripe. BuilderMate doesn't see or store your banking details — that's all managed securely on Stripe's side.

Configuring Payment Settings

Once connected, you'll see configuration options:

• Accept Card Payments — Toggle on/off to allow credit and debit card payments.
• Accept ACH Payments — Toggle on/off to allow bank transfer payments.
• Who Pays Stripe Fees — Choose between:
  • "Contractor" — Your business absorbs the processing fees
  • "Customer" — The fee is added to the client's payment total

Pro Tip: ACH payments typically have lower processing fees than credit cards. If you're working on large projects with big invoices, enabling ACH and setting fees to "Customer" can save your business a meaningful amount over time.

How It Works for Your Clients

Once Stripe is connected, here's what the payment experience looks like from the client's side:

1. You send an invoice from BuilderMate (see Creating and Sending Invoices).
2. The client receives an email with a "Pay Online" button.
3. Clicking the button opens a payment page in the Client Hub.
4. The client enters their credit card details or connects a bank account for ACH.
5. The payment is processed through your Stripe account.

That's it — no back-and-forth with checks, no chasing wire transfer confirmations.

Automatic Payment Recording

When a client pays online, BuilderMate handles the bookkeeping automatically:

• The payment is auto-recorded on the invoice.
• The invoice status updates (Unpaid → Partial or Paid).
• Payment details are visible on the invoice, including:
  • Stripe payment status
  • Payment method (card or ACH)
  • Amount
  • Date

No manual recording needed — it's all handled for you.

Payouts to Your Bank Account

Stripe deposits funds to your bank account on their standard schedule:

• Credit card payments — Typically 2 business days
• ACH payments — Typically 5 business days

You can manage payout schedules, view transaction history, and handle disputes directly through your Stripe Dashboard at dashboard.stripe.com.

Disconnecting Stripe

If you ever need to disconnect:

1. Go to Settings > Integrations > Stripe.
2. Click to disconnect your account.

Be aware that existing payment links will stop working once disconnected. Any invoices you've already sent with "Pay Online" links will no longer be payable through Stripe.

Related Articles

• Creating and Sending Invoices
• Recording Payments and Payment History
• The Client Hub