Accepting Online Payments with Stripe

HomeWatcher uses Stripe to give your clients a simple, secure way to pay by credit or debit card. Once you connect your Stripe account, every invoice you send includes a Pay now link — your client clicks it, pays online, and the money lands directly in your own account. HomeWatcher never touches your clients' funds and takes no cut of your invoice payments.

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How to Connect Stripe

This is a one-time setup that takes about five minutes.

1. Open the Billing page (from the Settings / user menu).
2. Find the Accept Online Payments card and click Connect Stripe.
3. You're taken to Stripe's secure setup. Sign in to your existing Stripe account or create a new one — creating one is free.
4. Complete Stripe's onboarding (your name, address, a bank account for payouts, and a few business details). Stripe requires this to comply with financial regulations.
5. Once Stripe finishes onboarding you, you're returned to HomeWatcher and the card shows you're connected.

That's it — no per-invoice configuration. Every invoice you send from then on carries a Pay now link automatically.

Note: the Pay now link turns on only after Stripe has fully approved your account for charges. If you stop partway through Stripe's onboarding, invoices behave as "not connected" (see below) until you finish.

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What Your Clients Experience

When you send an invoice:

1. Your client receives an email with a Pay now button (it's in the email itself, and on the invoice in their client portal).
2. They click it and land on a secure Stripe-hosted checkout page.
3. They pay the outstanding balance by card.
4. They see a friendly Payment received confirmation, and a receipt is emailed to them.
5. The invoice in HomeWatcher is automatically marked Paid, and the payment appears in your Finance → Payments ledger.

If the invoice is already paid when they open the link, they see an "already paid" message. If you haven't finished connecting Stripe, the page shows your business contact details so the client can arrange payment another way.

The Pay now link lives in the emailed invoice and the client portal — not embedded in the downloadable PDF. So always send the invoice (or point clients at their portal) rather than just handing them the PDF, if you want them to pay online.

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Recording Payments You Take Offline

Not every payment comes through Stripe. When a client pays by check, cash, or bank transfer, record it so your books stay accurate:

1. Open the invoice and click Record payment.
2. The Amount pre-fills with the balance due.
3. Choose the Payment method (check, bank transfer, cash, card, or other) and add a note if useful — a check number, for example.
4. Click Record. Full payment marks the invoice Paid; a partial payment marks it Partially Paid, and you can record the rest later.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does HomeWatcher charge a fee on Stripe payments? No. HomeWatcher takes no cut of your invoice payments — funds route directly to your connected Stripe account. Stripe charges its own standard processing fee per transaction (around 2.9% + 30¢ for US cards), the normal cost of card processing.

Can I accept card payments without Stripe? Not online. Stripe is the processor HomeWatcher uses for the Pay now link. Without it, invoices show your contact details so clients can arrange payment, and you record those payments manually.

What if I already have a Stripe account? Sign in to it during setup — HomeWatcher connects to your existing account and starts using it right away.

Do I set anything up per-invoice or per-client? No. Once Stripe is connected and approved, every invoice you send includes the Pay now link automatically.

What happens when a client pays — do I need to do anything? Nothing. HomeWatcher marks the invoice Paid and records the payment in your Finance ledger automatically. You'll also see the charge in your Stripe dashboard.

How do I refund a card payment? Refunds are issued from your Stripe dashboard at stripe.com, not inside HomeWatcher. Once you refund in Stripe, HomeWatcher records the refund against the invoice automatically when Stripe notifies it. (There's no in-app "refund" button — this keeps the money movement in one place: Stripe.)

When does the money reach my bank? On Stripe's standard payout schedule — typically within 2 business days in the US. You control this in your Stripe dashboard.