Accept online payments

Tidyflow uses Stripe to collect online payments. Once connected, your emailed invoices include a secure payment page, contacts with billing access can pay from the client portal, and clients save a payment method when they accept a proposal. Payments are recorded in Tidyflow automatically, and payouts go straight to your bank account from Stripe.

Online payments are included on every Tidyflow plan. Connecting Stripe requires the account owner or a user with billing permission.

Turn on online payments

1. Go to Settings and open Billing
2. In the Online Payments section, click Enable Online Payments
3. Complete the Stripe onboarding form

You do not need an existing Stripe account. Tidyflow creates a Stripe account for your firm as part of setup, and Stripe’s onboarding form collects your business details, identity verification, and the bank account your payouts should go to. If you already use Stripe, sign in with your existing Stripe login during onboarding and the new account is added alongside your other accounts.

When you finish, you return to Tidyflow. The Online Payments section shows Connected once your account is fully active, with a Stripe Dashboard link for opening the account whenever you need to manage it.

Verification and account status

Stripe verifies new accounts before enabling payments. The Online Payments section in Settings under Billing shows where you stand:

• Pending verification means Stripe is reviewing your information. This can take a few minutes to a couple of days. No action is needed.
• Action needed means Stripe requires more information before you can accept payments. Click Complete Setup to finish the outstanding items, or open View on Stripe to resolve them in your Stripe Dashboard.
• Connected means your account is active and clients can pay online.

Tidyflow emails the account owner when the account becomes active, and again if Stripe later asks for more information.

Payment options for your clients

Which payment methods your clients see at checkout is managed in your Stripe account, not in Tidyflow. Sign in to your Stripe Dashboard (or use the Stripe Dashboard link in Settings under Billing) and go to Settings, then Payment methods, to turn methods on or off.

• Card payments are enabled from the start and confirm instantly.
• Bank debit is available for US firms (ACH) and Canadian firms (pre-authorized debit) and can be turned on in the same Stripe payment method settings. Bank payments cost less in fees but take a few business days to clear. While a bank payment is settling, the invoice shows as processing and the client cannot accidentally pay it a second time.

Invoices are charged in the invoice’s currency.

Fees and pricing

Tidyflow does not add any fee or markup on payments. You pay Stripe’s standard processing fees only, which Stripe deducts before paying out to your bank account.

Stripe sets processing fees by country, payment method, and account. Card payments usually confirm fastest, while bank debit can cost less on larger invoices but takes longer to clear. Check Stripe’s pricing page for current rates and method details.

Payout timing is controlled by Stripe and shown in your Stripe Dashboard.

Pass the card processing fee to clients

US and Canadian firms can add the card processing fee to card payments instead of absorbing it. In Settings under Billing, click Pass on card fees in the Online Payments section, accept the acknowledgment, and save.

The option appears once bank debit is enabled in Stripe and your billing currency matches your country, because a fee is only fair when clients always have a free way to pay. With the fee on, clients choose at payment: bank debit at the invoice amount, or card with the fee added. The fee is fixed at the card processing rate for your country and is shown to the client before they pay and on their receipt.

Card network rules allow fees on credit cards only, so when a client pays with a debit or prepaid card, the fee is refunded to them automatically. Quebec does not permit card fees; as the merchant, you are responsible for the card fee rules that apply to your firm.

The fee never applies to bank payments or proposal acceptance payments. Automatic charges of a saved credit card include the fee, and proposals that save a payment method state this before the client accepts. When a client has both a bank account and a card saved, automatic charges use the bank account, so no fee arises.

How clients pay

Once Stripe is connected, every invoice you email includes a link to a secure payment page showing the invoice details and a PDF copy. Your client clicks Pay and completes payment on Stripe’s checkout page. No Tidyflow login is needed.

Contacts with billing access can also see outstanding invoices in the client portal and pay them with Pay now.

The portal’s Billing page shows invoice dates, totals, outstanding balances, and payment status. Contacts can select an invoice to open its PDF.

Online payments are recorded in Tidyflow automatically, and the invoice status updates to Partially Paid or Paid. Payments made outside Tidyflow can still be recorded manually; see Create and send an invoice.

Saved payment methods and auto-charge

When a client pays an invoice online or accepts a proposal, their card or bank account is saved for future use. Proposals request payment details at acceptance by default, so most clients have a method on file before any work starts; see How proposal invoicing works. The saved payment method appears on the client’s Billing tab, including expiry warnings for cards.

A client who saves a payment method through a proposal also gets Auto charge invoices turned on, which pre-selects charging their saved method whenever you send them an invoice. You can turn this on or off per client on the client’s Billing tab.

You can charge a saved payment method without waiting for the client:

• When emailing an invoice, turn on Charge saved card to charge the client’s payment method on file immediately.
• On a recurring invoice, turn on Charge automatically so each generated invoice charges the saved payment method instead of waiting for payment.
• A proposal line billed On completion is invoiced and charged automatically when its job is completed.

If a client has no saved payment method yet, invoices are sent normally until they pay online for the first time.

Contacts with billing access can add or replace their payment method themselves in the client portal: open Billing, then Payment methods.

Turn off online payments

In Settings under Billing, click Disconnect in the Online Payments section. Your clients can no longer pay invoices online, and auto-charge stops working. Disconnecting removes the Stripe account Tidyflow set up for you; if you enable online payments again later, a new account is created and your clients are asked for their payment details again the next time they pay.