Payments, payouts and refunds

In Settings, select Connect with Stripe to link your business's own Stripe account. Payments then go straight to your Stripe account, and you can still record cash and check payments either way.

The card shows whether you are Connected, whether the account is in Test mode, and a warning if Stripe has not enabled charges. Disconnecting asks you to confirm.

Stripe is required for card, bank and wallet payments, saved cards, Tap to Pay on iPhone, refunds, disputes and payouts. Cash, check and other payments work without it.

Every invoice has a private pay link. The page shows the invoice number, Billed to, the due date, the line items, Total, Paid and Balance due.

Under How would you like to pay? the customer picks Card, Bank transfer (ACH) or More ways to pay, which lists the extra methods you turned on. The payment form is on the page itself, and the footer says payments are processed securely by Stripe.

• With tipping on, the page shows Add a tip (optional).
• With fees passed on, each option shows its processing fee and total before the customer picks, and a Total due line updates.
• After paying, the page says the invoice has been paid and thanks the customer.
• After a bank payment, the page instead says the payment was submitted and is processing, that it can take a few business days to clear, and that no further action is needed.
• Without Stripe, the page says online payment is not available and asks the customer to contact you.

A bank payment stays pending until it clears, and only then counts toward the balance. If the bank returns it, the payment is marked failed with a plain reason and you get an email.

The pay page always charges the full remaining balance. A customer cannot choose a partial amount there. To collect part of the balance, record the payment yourself. See Invoices.

Open Payments, then the Settings tab.

The tab also links to Stripe for your payout schedule, fraud rules, Stripe's own emails and the full method list.

• The fee depends on the method: card, bank transfer or in person. No fee is added to More ways to pay methods.
• The fee appears on the pay page, in the dialogs your team uses to take a payment, and on receipts.
• Tips are tracked separately and do not reduce the invoice balance.
• A tip is split evenly across the employees assigned to the job.

The Payment receipt email is off by default. When on, it is sent automatically after a successful card, cash or check payment. A matching text switch exists.

• A receipt shows the amount, tip, processing fee, total paid, method and date. It ends with the remaining balance and a View Invoice button, or a message that the invoice is paid in full.
• Automatic receipts go out once per payment and respect each customer's notification preference.
• Resend receipt sends to any email address. The dialog shows where the receipt was last emailed and last texted.
• Receipt emails are recorded in the Email Log.

The Payments tab lists the payments your customers have made. It shows the most recent 200.

• Search by customer or invoice number.
• Filter by All payments, Online and card, Pending, Refunded, Disputed or Failed.
• Badges mark Bank payment pending, Failed (with the bank's reason in plain English), Refunded, a partly refunded amount, and dispute states.
• Row actions are Respond to dispute, Refund, Resend receipt and View invoice.

1. Find the payment on the Payments tab or in the payments table on the invoice.
2. Select Refund.
3. Enter the full amount or part of it.
4. Choose a reason: Customer asked for a refund, Duplicate payment or Fraudulent payment.

• Online and card payments can be refunded.
• The money goes back to the card or bank account the customer paid with, usually within 5 to 10 business days.
• Stripe keeps its processing fee on refunds.
• A partial refund is split in proportion across the invoice amount, tip and fee, so the customer's Lifetime value stays accurate.
• Refunds issued directly in Stripe sync back on their own.
• A payment taken through a previously connected Stripe account is never refunded against the account you use now.

The Disputes tab lists each dispute with the customer, status, Respond by date and amount. The reason is written in plain English, for example that the customer says the service wasn't provided.

1. Select Respond.
2. Check what MeridianOS™ filled in from the invoice and job: the customer's name and email, the date of service and what was provided.
3. Fill in How the customer was told your refund policy and Anything else the bank should know.
4. Add files (PDF, JPG or PNG, 4.5 MB maximum) under Receipt or invoice, Proof the work was done, Messages with the customer, Signed agreement or approval and Other file.
5. Select Save draft, Submit evidence or Accept dispute.

Evidence can be submitted only once, so MeridianOS™ asks you to confirm before it goes.

A lost dispute marks the payment refunded and removes it from your totals. A win keeps it. If an outcome is later reversed, the money is put back.

The Payouts tab shows Available to pay out, On the way from Stripe and Recent payouts. Each recent payout lists its arrival date, status, bank name with the last four digits, and amount.

• The dashboard Payments card repeats these figures and adds a count of bank payments that are clearing.
• Your payout schedule and bank account are changed in the Stripe Dashboard, which the page links to.

Each customer record shows Lifetime value and Open balance. Lifetime value adjusts on payments, payment edits, refunds and lost disputes. Collected payments and outstanding balances also feed the KPI page. See KPIs and profit.