Connecting Stripe and recording payments

1. Open Settings in the menu (on a phone, open the menu with the ☰ button at the top of the screen). The Payment Settings card is below Company Information and Onboarding & Help; on a phone, Payments in the row under the heading jumps straight to it.
2. Turn on Accept Payments. The badge in the corner of the card changes from Tracking Only to Payments Enabled. With the switch off, CertClass still records every registration; it just never asks anyone for money.
3. Pick a Payment Timing and, if you want one, a default deposit. Both are explained in deposits and paying up front.

There is no save button to find. Switches and menus save as soon as you change them, and amounts save when you leave the field. The line under the card title confirms each save.

Until your Stripe account is connected, the card shows a Stripe Connect Required notice. That is expected. Students cannot be charged until the next step is done.

Right below Payment Settings is the Accept Payments Securely card. Stripe is the payment company behind the scenes: it takes the card payment, deposits the money in your bank, and handles the security so CertClass never sees a card number.

1. Tap or click Connect with Stripe. CertClass creates a Stripe account for your business and sends you to Stripe's own pages.
2. Fill in what Stripe asks for. Stripe collects what it needs to pay you and stay compliant, typically your business details, the identity of the business owner, and the bank account where payouts should go. The card says it takes about five minutes.
3. Stripe sends you back to CertClass, which checks the account and shows one of three states:
   • Stripe Connected with an Active badge. You are done.
   • Account Under Review with a Pending badge. Stripe is still verifying your information. The page says most approvals take a few minutes and that you can safely close it; CertClass emails your contact address when the account is ready. You can also choose Check Status yourself. If Stripe needs something more from you, a Complete Setup button takes you back to Stripe.
   • Still not connected, because you left Stripe's form before finishing. Choose Continue Stripe setup to return to Stripe's form where you left off. If Stripe filled in the wrong business, see use a different Stripe account.

Once connected, the Stripe card changes to Stripe Connected with an Open Stripe Dashboard button. That opens Stripe's own site, where you sign in with your Stripe login to see payouts, download statements, and manage the account.

The Payment Processing page (the Set Up Payments link on the in-app Help page takes you there) adds a Stripe snapshot: an Available Balance card, a Pending Balance card, and a Recent Transactions list with a refresh button. Once Stripe is connected, its How Payments Work box sums up the flow:

• Students pay when registering through your booking page or widget.
• Payments go directly to your connected Stripe account. CertClass does not hold your funds.
• CertClass charges $1.00 per online payment plus Stripe's standard 2.9% + 30¢, or you can pass a flat booking fee to students instead.
• Stripe deposits funds to your bank account automatically on a rolling two-day basis.

If CertClass is connected to the wrong Stripe account, or you move your business to a new one, you can disconnect it and connect another. The Stripe card on Settings and on the Payment Processing page has a Use a different Stripe account button at the bottom, whether the account is active, under review, or only partly set up. The same button appears on the Stripe step of the setup wizard.

1. Tap or click Use a different Stripe account. A dialog shows the Stripe account ID that will be disconnected and what changes.
2. Choose Disconnect this account. The card goes back to Connect with Stripe.
3. Tap or click Connect with Stripe and sign in to, or create, the Stripe account you want to use. CertClass emails you when the new account is ready, just like the first time.

What to expect after you switch:

• Payments you already received stay in the old Stripe account. They are still on your CertClass Payments page, and you can still refund them from CertClass. The refund comes out of the account the student originally paid.
• CertClass does not close or delete the old account. If you no longer need it, close it from Stripe's own dashboard once any refunds and payouts are settled.
• New payments go to the new account once it is active. The balance and Recent Transactions cards on the Payment Processing page show the new account only, so use the old account's Stripe dashboard for its history.
• Between disconnecting and the new account being approved, students cannot pay online. Classes that need payment at registration show students an error until then, so switch at a quiet time.

Payments in the menu is the ledger of every student payment, online or offline. Four cards at the top summarize it: Total Revenue counts successful payments (refunds excluded), Pending is money still processing, Failed counts declined payments, and Refunded totals refund activity.

Below the cards:

• Search by student name, email, class title, or Stripe payment intent ID.
• Status filter: Succeeded, Pending, Failed, or Refunded.
• Type filter: Full Payment, Deposit, Balance, or Refund.
• Sort by date, amount, student name, class, or status.
• Sync (shown once Stripe is connected) pulls the latest status of online payments from Stripe.
• Export downloads every payment that matches your search and filters, across all pages, as a CSV spreadsheet.

The list loads 100 payments at a time. Search and the status and type filters cover every payment in your account, and the pager at the bottom moves through the matches. Sort orders the page you are on. The summary cards always cover every payment on record.

Each payment shows the student, the class, the amount and type, the payment method, the date, and a payment ID. Online payments also get a View Receipt button that opens Stripe's receipt. View Student jumps to the student's record and View Details opens the payment.

Not every student pays online. When someone hands you cash at the door or mails a check, record it so their balance and status stay right.

1. On the Payments page, tap or click Record Manual Payment.
2. Search for the student by name, email, or class and pick them. The form shows the class price, what they have already paid, and the balance due.
3. Enter the Amount. The form previews the new balance as you type.
4. Choose the Payment Method: Cash, Check, Bank Transfer, or Other.
5. Leave Payment Type on Auto-detect, or set it yourself to Full Payment, Deposit, or Balance Payment. Auto-detect compares the amount to what is still owed: an amount that covers the rest is a Full Payment (or a Balance Payment if the student had already paid something), and anything smaller is a Deposit.
6. Add a note if you like (check number, who took the cash), then tap or click Record Payment.

The payment is saved as Succeeded right away, the student's paid amount, balance, and status update, and if your Payment Confirmation email is turned on the student gets one. There is no CertClass per-payment fee on manual payments.

You can also do this from a class roster or a student's record: the card icon next to a student who has not paid in full opens Process Payment, a shorter version of the same form with Cash, Check, and Bank Transfer.

With Payment Timing set to Payment After Class and no deposit, students register without paying anything online. Their seat is held as soon as they register, so a class never books past its maximum, and they pay the full price in person.

• The booking page and widget show Pay $X at class under the price, and the registration confirmation email states the amount due at class. If you pass the booking fee to students, the listing adds or online (+ $1.00 booking fee).
• Anyone who would rather pay ahead can use the secure pay-online link in their registration confirmation and class reminder emails. No login is needed. That payment records against their registration automatically and counts as one online payment ($1.00 CertClass fee). If you pass the booking fee to students, the student pays a $1.00 booking fee on top of the class price instead, which covers that $1.00. The email, the payment page and the payment link all show the fee and the total before they pay, and the registration still counts toward your monthly usage.
• When a student wants to pay by card on class day, open the class roster and tap or click the QR code icon next to their name (on a phone, tap Payment link on their card). The Payment link window shows the amount due and a large QR code. When you pass the booking fee to students it also shows the $1.00 booking fee and the total they will pay online, so you can tell them before they scan. The student scans it with their phone camera and pays on their own phone through the same secure page, so their card never passes through your hands. You can also Copy link to text it, or choose Email link to student. The same button is on the class session page and the student's record, and instructors see it when they have View Financial Information. Their status changes to Paid as soon as the payment goes through, and it counts as one online payment ($1.00 CertClass fee, or the student's booking fee when you pass it on).
• When a student pays you cash on class day, open the class roster and tap or click the card icon next to their name. Process Payment opens with Cash selected and the class price filled in. Adjust the amount if needed and save. (On a phone, use Record Manual Payment on the Payments page instead.) Cash and check payments carry no CertClass fee and no booking fee.

Until they pay, these students show as Pending. The full setup is in deposits and paying up front.

To let each student decide between paying online when they register and paying at class, turn on Let students choose: pay now or pay at class on the class. It works under either Payment Timing. See letting students choose.

Tap or click any payment to open its detail page. The first card shows the amount, type, method, date, any notes, and for online payments the Stripe references. The Related Information card links to the student and the class and shows a Payment Summary for that enrollment: total paid, balance due, and the student's payment status. When a student has more than one payment on the same class, a Payment History for this Enrollment list appears below. On a phone the same details are split into Student Information, Class Information, Payment Details and Payment Summary cards.

Edit Payment lets you correct a record you typed in yourself: the status, the amount, the payment method, and the notes. Use it for typos. For a check that bounced, correct the amount or mark it Refunded so the student's balance updates. Online payments should be left as Stripe reported them.

To refund an online payment, open the payment and tap or click Refund. The button appears on any successful Stripe payment. Choose Full (labeled Remaining if part was already refunded) or Partial, enter the amount for a partial refund, pick a reason, add a note if you want one, and confirm. CertClass sends the refund to Stripe and then:

• adds a Refund line to the Payments page for the amount, shown in red as a negative number, and marks the original payment Refunded once the whole amount is back;
• recalculates the student's total paid and balance, and sets their status to Refunded (full) or Partial Refund;
• emails the student a Refund Issued or Partial Refund Issued message with the amount, the class, and a note that the money returns to their original payment method, typically within 5 to 10 business days;
• checks the waitlist and offers the seat to the next person in line if the refund opened one.

A full refund also returns the booking fee when the student paid it. A partial refund returns class money only. The fee comes back with the refund that returns the rest of the class money, whether that is one refund or several. The dialog spells out the exact amount going back to the student before you confirm.

You can also refund from Stripe instead. Tap or click Open Stripe Dashboard, find the payment, and refund all or part of it there. Stripe tells CertClass about the refund and CertClass records it the same way, including the email to the student and the waitlist offer.

For a cash or check payment, hand the money back yourself, then open the payment, choose Edit Payment, set the status to Refunded, and save. CertClass adds the negative refund line and updates the student's balance and status. The Refund button is not offered on cash and check payments because no card is involved. A Stripe payment cannot be marked Refunded by hand, so the money always moves before the record changes.

What happens to fees on a refund, including the booking fee when you pass it to students, is covered in how you are billed.

Every registration carries one payment status. You will see it on the Students page, on class rosters, on the student's record, and in the Payment Summary on a payment.

• Pending: registered, nothing paid yet (the normal state under Payment After Class, where the student pays at class).
• Deposit: a deposit is in, the balance is still due.
• Paid: paid in full, online or by hand.
• Failed: the online payment at registration was declined. A declined payment through a pay-online link leaves the status as it was, so the student keeps their seat and can try again.
• Partial Refund: some money was refunded and some kept.
• Refunded: everything was refunded. Class reminders skip these students.

Students in an organization-billed class show as Paid from the start, because the company is invoiced instead. See billing an organization.