StudioPlus Payments is an optional payment integration powered by Stripe. This add-on is currently only available in Stratus with the Spectra release coming soon. Click here to learn more.

Onboarding

There are two locations to start the StudioPlus Payments sign up process:

• Home screen in the Services widget. Click "Sign Up For StudioPlus Payments" to get started.
• Maintenance > Preferences > Company Preferences > Payments tab. Click the "Sign Up" button at the top.

Existing Stripe Users

Step 1: Sign Up Form

Complete the StudioPlus Payments signup form in Stratus before continuing to the next onboarding step. This form collects the basic business details needed to begin setup.

• Type: Select the business type and country.
• Legal: Enter the legal business information for the entity that will own the account. 
• Profile: Enter the business website and the support email and phone number used for Stripe profile and customer-facing support information.
• Review: Confirm the information, accept the Terms of Use, and click Finish to continue.

After the signup form is submitted, continue to the next step to complete Stripe onboarding and provide any remaining required information.

Step 2: Stripe's Onboarding Form

After finishing the initial signup form in Stratus, Stratus will take you to our internal checklist to finish getting Stripe set up. First and foremost on that checklist is to finish Stripe's online onboarding. In the first section, click to Open Link in a browser. You'll be sent to Stripe's onboarding portal. Follow the prompts to fill out necessary information about your business. 

Step 3: Checklist

After filling out Stripe's onboarding information, return to Stratus' "checklist" to finish the remaining steps to get started with StudioPlus Payments.

The checklist opens after Stripe onboarding is finished in a web browser. If the checklist is not open, reopen it from the Service widget on the Home page or from the Payments tab in Company Preferences. Progress is saved automatically, so setup can be finished later if needed.

Finish the setup checklist

Complete the steps below in any order. Steps 3 and 5 are optional.

1. Complete Stripe Onboarding

• Use the button in this section to open Stripe’s onboarding page.
• Complete any identity or tax information Stripe still needs.
• Return to Stratus after the Stripe steps are finished.
• This step stays incomplete until Stripe no longer needs additional information for the account. If it still shows incomplete, follow the link and look for any "Next Steps" or "Needs Attention" warnings.

2. Create Stratus Payment Method

StudioPlus Payments needs a special Stripe payment method in Stratus.

• Leave the Description field set to Stripe.
• Set your own GL Deposit Account if you use any of our accounting tools (e.g. Quickbooks integration). If you don't use any accounting tools in Stratus, this can be left blank.
• Click Create Payment Method to create the payment method and complete this step.

3. Enable Surcharging (Optional)

Use this step only if you want to add credit card surcharge to all credit card transactions.

• Select Enable automatic surcharge to enable the feature.
• Enter the Surcharge percent. Example: 3% is entered as .03.
• Enter the Surcharge Label. This is the label clients see on online booking, InspiredByYou, invoice printouts, and any other client-facing areas.
• Within Stratus, the fee will always appear as Surcharge.
• Click Save Settings to finish this step.

Important: Review local surcharge regulations before turning this feature on. Some regions limit surcharges, do not allow them in some situations, or do not allow them on debit cards. Stratus is designed not to apply the fee when a debit card is detected.

4. Select HTML Emails

Select your default HTML emails when giving clients online payment access.

• Choose a template for Client Form, Invoice Form, and Payment Form.
• To use the ready-to-go templates, click Use Defaults. This will override all fields, so if you already have a template for some forms, but not others, select the new defaults manually.
• To build custom templates or modify the defaults, go to Tools > Design Tools > HTML Email Builder.
• Click Save Settings to complete this step.

5. Purchase Card Reader (Optional)

If you want to use a card reader terminal for in-person transactions, you can purchase it from this shortcut. To help lower processing costs, we highly recommend considering adding a terminal to your workflow. Current Stripe pricing shows terminal-processed fees as $.05 + 2.7%.

• Supported Stripe card readers are the S700 and S710.
• Click Order Now to visit Stripe's online shopping site and order a reader.

6. Go Live

StudioPlus Payments is ready to go!

• If transitioning from Cayan (TSYS), Global Payments, or eWAY and have existing payment plans or subscriptions that still need to process, select the checkbox in this section to keep those existing plans processing with the current provider until the client provides a new payment method in StudioPlus Payments. Note: old saved payment methods will no longer be visible on the client's File Menu. If you need to access this information, make sure you move it before clicking "Go Live Now." For any questions or concerns about this, contact Support.
• From this point forward, any newly created payments after go-live will be processed with Stripe.
• After the required checklist steps are complete, click Go Live Now to activate StudioPlus Payments!

Note: If Go Live Now is grayed out, one or more required checklist steps are still incomplete.

Make a Payment

Next step - create a new payment for $1 and charge your card to test the connection.

One thing to be aware of: Your first payout with Stripe is usually 7 business days after the first payment. So taking your first $1 payment starts that clock right away! After that first payout is paid, Stripe's standard is 2 business days to receive your payout. 

If you have questions or concerns about the actual payout process, please review with Stripe. StudioPlus has no control or guarantees on actual payout distribution. 

Updating Settings

To modify most of the features from the onboarding checklist, you can update your settings at Maintenance > Preferences > Company Preferences > Payments tab.

• Surcharging - Use this setting if you want to start applying surcharges to credit card transactions to help offset processing fees. Note: Research your region's laws about applying surcharges to clients. Some have limits on how much you can charge clients and when it can be applied. For example, surcharges cannot be applied to debit cards.
• Surcharge Label - Enter how you want the surcharge to be presented on anything client-facing. This includes printed invoices, web portals, etc. Internal software will always read as "Surcharge."
• Tip Amounts - If you'll be using Stripe's S700/S710 terminal, check here if you want to accept tips during checkout. Additionally, you can pre-determine tip amounts for customers to select.
• "Process Payment Plans using legacy provider" - If you are transitioning from one of our previous credit card processors to StudioPlus Payments and have pre-existing payment plans in the system, check this box to have Stratus keep processing your old payment plans while you transition customers to the new provider.

Next Steps?

Ready to start using StudioPlus Payments? Check out our other materials to get started:

• Start Here: StudioPlus Payments Guide
• If you're transitioning from a legacy provider, visit this page to see what changes to expect: Transitioning to StudioPlus Payments
• Want to use the Online Payments ability to its full potential? Visit here: Online Payments
• Got your card reader? Go here for set-up instructions: Stripe Card Readers
• Do you use our accounting link to track payments? If so go here for important information: Managing Payouts
• For any other questions you might have, visit here: StudioPlus Payments FAQs