When (and whether) to connect Stripe
What you unlock, what it costs, what you can do without it.
What connecting unlocks
- “Pay now” buttons on the invoices you send. Customers click, pay, you mark it paid automatically.
- Booking deposits — collect a card upfront when a customer requests an appointment.
- An on-site Stripe Payment Element on the hosted invoice (`/invoice/<token>?pay=1`).
- The Payments dashboard inside Seenly — a single ledger for everything you’ve received.
What it costs
- Stripe’s standard processing fee (~2.9% + 30¢ per US card charge). Same as charging on your own.
- A small Seenly platform fee per transaction (shown at checkout). Your customer doesn’t see it.
- No monthly or per-account fee. You only pay when you actually charge.
What you can do without it
Plenty. You can still send invoices — they just go out as a hosted view the recipient prints to PDF and pays you outside Stripe (check, ACH, cash, your existing payment processor). Bookings still work; you just don’t take a deposit. Skip Stripe Connect if you already have a payment processor you’re happy with.
still stuck?
Write us — a person will reply.
Goes to support@seenly.biz — same-day reply on weekdays. Include screenshots or your business name if it helps us find your account faster.