Payments and Stripe

BookFlow uses Stripe Connect for payment processing. This is the same system used by Lyft, Shopify, and Substack. Stripe handles your money; BookFlow never touches it.

Why Stripe Connect

• You hold the money in your own Stripe account (not BookFlow's). If BookFlow disappears, your money is safe.
• You get payouts directly from Stripe to your bank account.
• You see the full transaction history in your Stripe dashboard.
• You can refund from BookFlow or from Stripe — same result.
• PCI compliance is handled by Stripe (BookFlow never sees card numbers).

Connect your Stripe account

Go to /dashboard/settings/payments and click "Connect Stripe". You'll be redirected to Stripe's onboarding flow (5 min):

• Email and password (or sign in)
• Business type (sole proprietor, LLC, corp, etc.)
• Business address, tax ID, bank account
• ID verification (driver's license or passport) — required for some countries

Once done, you'll be redirected back to BookFlow. The "Payments" tab now shows "Connected to Stripe".

Accept deposits

Set a deposit requirement per service (in Services). When a customer books, Stripe charges the deposit and holds it in your account. At the appointment, the customer pays the remaining balance directly to you (cash, card, anything).

Payouts

Stripe pays out your deposit balance to your bank account on a rolling basis (default: every 2 days). You can change this in your Stripe dashboard. Standard Stripe processing fee applies: 2.9% + 30¢ per charge (US/Canada). International cards: +1.5%.

Refunds

Two ways to refund a deposit:

• From BookFlow: booking detail page → "Refund deposit". Refund goes back to the original card in 5–10 business days.
• From Stripe: find the charge in your Stripe dashboard, click "Refund". Same outcome.

Reports

The Reports tab (in Settings → Payments) shows:

• Total deposits collected (this month, last month, all time)
• Net after Stripe fees
• Refunds issued
• Average deposit size
• Forecast for next 30 days

For deeper analytics (revenue by staff, by service, by day of week), go to your Stripe dashboard or upgrade to Pro for BookFlow's built-in analytics.

API

Common questions

• When do I get paid? Default is 2-day rolling payouts. Configurable in Stripe.
• Can I set the deposit to a percentage? Yes, in service settings. 10–100% allowed.
• Can I charge no-show fees? Yes. Set the no-show fee in Settings → Policies. The fee is charged at the time of the no-show action, not before.
• What if Stripe is down? BookFlow will still let customers book, but the deposit step will show "Payment processing is temporarily unavailable — try again in a few minutes". No booking is created without a successful payment.
• Can I use my existing Stripe account? Yes. Use "Sign in" instead of "Sign up" in the onboarding flow. Your existing customers and saved cards are available immediately.