Accepting client payments via Stripe Connect

Stripe Connect lets your clients pay invoices online — credit card or ACH — with money landing in your account. Setup runs through Stripe's onboarding (KYC for your business), then payments flow with one click from the owner email.

Onboarding

1. Go to /settings/integrations/stripe.
2. Click Start Stripe onboarding.
3. You are redirected to Stripe's hosted onboarding flow. Complete the business info (EIN, address, banking, beneficial owners).
4. Stripe runs an instant verification on most submissions. High-risk verticals may need 1–3 business days for review.
5. Once approved, you return to Buildra with a “Stripe connected” badge.

Configuring payouts

Default payouts are daily, two business days after the customer charge clears. You can change this to weekly or manual under /settings/integrations/stripe → Payouts. We recommend daily — it is friction-free and keeps cash moving.

Configuring fees

Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per card transaction and 0.8% (capped at $5) per ACH transaction. By default, Buildra passes these fees to the client as a line item, which is industry-standard for B2B invoicing. You can opt to absorb the fees under the same Stripe settings page.

Tip: Pass card fees to the client, absorb ACH fees yourself. ACH is cheap enough to absorb and incentivizes clients to use the lower-cost option.

How clients pay

When you send a pay application to an owner, the email includes a Pay onlinebutton. The owner clicks, picks card or ACH, enters payment info on Stripe's hosted page, and submits.

Stripe charges, then notifies Buildra via webhook. The pay app moves to Paid in your dashboard within a minute. The money lands in your bank per the payout schedule.

Pairing payments to specific pay apps

Every Stripe payment is tagged with the source pay app via the Stripe metadata field. You can confirm the link by opening the pay app and checking the Payments tab. Reconciliation is automatic; no manual matching.

Refunds and chargebacks

• Refunds:Issue from the pay app's Payments tab. Click Refund, enter the amount and reason. The refund is processed by Stripe within 5–10 business days.
• Chargebacks: If a client disputes a charge, you receive an email with the dispute details and a link to upload evidence (the signed contract, signed pay app, delivery confirmation). Buildra has a pre-formatted dispute response template that pulls the relevant project documents automatically.

Disconnecting

Go to /settings/integrations/stripe and click Disconnect. Stripe's relationship with your business remains (managed in your Stripe dashboard); the Buildra integration just stops sending new transactions.

Common questions

• Can I use my existing Stripe account? Yes. The onboarding flow detects an existing Stripe account by email and links to it.
• Is Stripe required for client payments? No. You can mark a pay app paid manually if the client paid by check or wire. Stripe is a convenience, not a requirement.
• Foreign clients? Stripe supports international cards. ACH is U.S.-only.