Stripe
Stripe is a powerful payment platform used by millions of businesses worldwide. It handles online payments, subscriptions, invoicing, and fraud prevention with clean APIs and transparent pricing. Whether you run an e-commerce store or a service business, Stripe gets you paid securely.
Getting Started in 5 Steps
Create your Stripe account
Sign up at stripe.com. Stripe is developer-friendly but also offers no-code options. Verify your business details to start accepting live payments.
Set up Stripe Payments
Use Stripe's prebuilt checkout page or Payment Links to start accepting credit cards immediately: no website integration required for simple use cases.
Connect Stripe to your online store
If you use Shopify, WooCommerce, or Squarespace, install the Stripe plugin in minutes. Payments flow directly into your Stripe dashboard.
Configure payouts and reporting
Set your payout schedule (daily, weekly, or manual). Use Stripe's reporting tools to reconcile transactions, handle refunds, and prepare tax documents.
Explore advanced features
Set up subscriptions for recurring billing, invoicing for B2B clients, and Stripe Tax to automatically calculate and collect sales tax.
Pro Tips for Small Business Owners
- Use Stripe's test mode to simulate transactions before going live: practice refunds, disputes, and failed payments safely.
- Enable Stripe Radar to block fraudulent transactions automatically using machine learning.
- Set up webhook notifications so your other tools (CRM, accounting) update instantly when a payment succeeds or fails.
- Review Stripe's transparent fee structure: 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction for cards, with volume discounts available.