Connecting Stripe

Connecting a Stripe account lets your studio accept card and bank (ACH) payments from families and have funds deposited directly to your bank. Trio uses Stripe Connect with Express accounts - your studio is the merchant of record, so funds go to you, not to Trio.

Where to Connect

Open Owner Settings and select the Payments tab. The Payment Processing card shows your current Stripe status.

Stripe Connect is available on the Pro and Max plans. On the Free plan, the Payments tab shows an "Accept online payments" prompt instead - upgrade your plan to unlock it.

Connection States

The Payment Processing card displays one of three states based on your Stripe account.

Not connected

You see "Payment account not yet connected" with a Connect Stripe Account button. Clicking it opens Stripe's hosted onboarding, where you provide your business details, bank account, and verification documents.

Connected but incomplete

If Stripe has accepted your application but is still missing required information, you see "Stripe account connected but setup is incomplete" with a Complete Stripe Setup button. The card lists which items are still pending - such as Charges, Payouts, or Account details. Click the button to return to Stripe and finish.

Connected and ready

When charges, payouts, account details, and verification are all complete, you see "Stripe account connected and ready to accept payments." The card also shows:

Available balance
Pending balance
Last payout amount

A Stripe Dashboard button opens your Stripe Express dashboard in a new tab, where you can view full payout history, customer charges, and disputes.

If the Onboarding Link Expires

Stripe's onboarding links are short-lived. If you leave Stripe mid-flow and return later, you may see a warning that "Your Stripe onboarding link has expired. Please generate a new one below." Click Connect Stripe Account or Complete Stripe Setup again to generate a fresh link and continue.

Why You Need It

Without a connected Stripe account, families cannot pay invoices online and you cannot use:

Online card and bank (ACH) payments on invoices
Autopay (card and bank)
Refunds initiated from Trio
Automated payment reconciliation

You can still record manual cash and check payments against invoices without Stripe, but the rest of Billing automation depends on a connected account.

To let families pay straight from a bank account, see Accepting Bank (ACH) Payments. Bank payments need an extra ACH verification step on your connected Stripe account.

Stripe Account vs. Trio Subscription

The Stripe Connect account on the Payments tab handles payments from your families. Your Trio platform subscription - what you pay to use Trio - is managed separately on the Subscription tab of Owner Settings. These are two distinct billing relationships: keep them separate when troubleshooting.