Setting up online deposits with Stripe and PayPal

How it works

You connect your own account at Stripe and/or PayPal. Your clients then pay the deposit with one tap – in their customer area, on the appointment page, right after booking online and via the Pay online now button in the email. Once the payment is in, the deposit in the appointment is set to paid automatically – with the payment method “Online (Stripe)” or “Online (PayPal)” and an entry in the log. A reserved online booking is then confirmed.

• No commission: the money goes straight to your account. Inkfuchs earns nothing on your deposits and never sees card or account details.
• Fees: Stripe or PayPal charge their payment fees directly to you – according to your contract with them.
• Notification: when a deposit is paid online, you can get a notification on your phone (notifications), and your client gets a confirmation by email.

Connecting Stripe

1. Open Settings → Deposits and tap Connect Stripe under Online payment.
2. Stripe guides you through sign-up: details about your studio, the bank account for payouts, confirming your identity. If you already have a Stripe account, you can sign in there.
3. You then come back to Inkfuchs. The card shows Connected once your account can accept payments.

Which payment methods your clients see – card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna, SEPA direct debit – you set in your Stripe dashboard under payment methods. Inkfuchs automatically shows whatever your account offers.

Connecting PayPal

1. Tap Connect PayPal under Online payment.
2. Sign in to PayPal with your business account (or create one) and allow Inkfuchs to accept and refund payments for you.
3. Back in Inkfuchs, use Check status to see whether everything is complete. Your email address must be confirmed at PayPal.

Once PayPal online is active, it replaces your paypal.me link – your clients then only see the “Pay with PayPal” button, and the payment is recorded automatically.

What the labels mean

• Setup in progress: you've started but haven't finished everything at Stripe or PayPal. Use Continue setup to pick up where you left off.
• Details missing: the provider still needs something from you (e.g. a document). Until then the account can't accept payments – Inkfuchs won't offer it to your clients.
• Connected: your account can accept payments. Below it you see whether payouts to your bank account are active.
• Offer to customers: with the switch per provider you decide whether your clients see it – for example only PayPal, even though both are connected. Don't forget to save.

Only people with the “Manage subscription” permission – the owners by default – can connect and disconnect.

Direct debit: “processing”

If your client pays by SEPA direct debit, it takes a few days for the bank to confirm. Until then the deposit shows Processing: the spot stays reserved and isn't released. Once the bank confirms, it's “paid”. If the debit bounces, the deposit is open again, the spot is reserved with a new deadline, and your client gets an email with Pay again. You get a notice by email.

Refunding a deposit

Open the appointment – below the deposit you'll find Online payment with the provider, payment method and a short form of the payment ID (to find it in your Stripe or PayPal account). Tap Refund, choose the amount (in full or in part) and confirm. The money goes back from your account to your client, who gets an email.

• Fully refunded: the deposit shows “refunded”.
• Partly refunded: the deposit stays “paid”, and the appointment shows how much you refunded.
• Who can do this? The “Refund online deposits” permission belongs to owners and studio managers by default. Under Team → member → Permissions you can grant it per person (team and roles).

You don't change deposits paid online to “open” or “refunded” by hand – otherwise it would say something different from what happened on your account. By hand you can only set Forfeited (e.g. for a no-show) and back.

Disconnecting

With Disconnect, Inkfuchs no longer offers the provider and open payment pages expire. Your Stripe or PayPal account and deposits already paid stay as they are – you can still refund them in the appointment (as long as the provider allows it) or directly in your Stripe or PayPal account.

Frequently asked questions

What does online payment cost me at Inkfuchs?

Nothing. Inkfuchs takes no commission. Only the fees of Stripe or PayPal apply, charged directly to you.

Can my client pay twice?

There's only one open payment page per appointment. If your client switches from Stripe to PayPal, the old one expires. If you mark the deposit as paid by hand, an open payment page expires too. If money still arrives twice, you get a notice and refund it in the appointment.

What if my client pays after the reservation expired?

While your client is on the payment page, Inkfuchs holds the spot. If the payment only arrives after the cancellation, it shows as “paid” in the cancelled appointment and you get a notice: refund it there or arrange a new appointment.

Can I see my clients' card details?

No. Your client only enters card or account details on the Stripe or PayPal payment page. Inkfuchs only learns whether and how they paid.