How Billing Works
How money moves from your client to your bank account, in plain language.
Overview
Billing in ITB Dashboard runs on Stripe, a payment company that handles the card processing and the transfers to your bank. Your clients pay on a page in the dashboard, which is what lets them choose between card, bank transfer and the methods you accept in person. You send an invoice, your client pays online, and the money lands in your bank account. The dashboard keeps the books in sync for you the whole way.
For the click-by-click instructions, see Creating Invoices. This page explains what's happening behind the scenes.
The money flow
- You send an invoice. It's created from a Order's pricing and emailed to your client with a secure payment link. Invoices are also created and sent automatically when you approve a Order, unless you turn that off.
- Your client pays online. They click the link and pay on a secure payment page — no account or login needed on their end.
- The dashboard updates itself. When the payment goes through, the invoice flips to Paid and a payment record appears in your billing history. You don't have to mark anything.
- Stripe pays out to your bank. Collected money is transferred to the bank account you set up. You can watch incoming payments and payouts on the Payments and Payouts pages.
If a client pays you outside the system — cash, check, Venmo, Zelle, or bank transfer — you record it yourself so the invoice still shows as paid. See Recording Payments.
Your connected payment account
The first time you set up billing, you create your own payment account with Stripe from SettingsInvoices. This is called a connected account: the money your clients pay goes into your account, not ours. Stripe asks you to verify your identity and add a bank account — that's a legal requirement for anyone who processes card payments, and it takes a few minutes. For the full walkthrough, see Setting Up Payments.
Your account is always in one of these states:
| State | What it means |
|---|---|
| Not connected | You haven't started setup. You'll see the Set Up Payments card in settings. |
| Setup incomplete | You started but Stripe still needs information. You'll see Complete Payment Setup. |
| Restricted | Stripe has paused the account until you provide more details. |
| Active | Charges and payouts are both enabled — you can invoice and get paid. |
You can only create invoices once your account can process charges. Until then, the Order's Billing tab reminds you to finish setup.
Invoices, payments, and payouts
Three words that sound alike but mean different things:
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Invoice | The bill you send to a client — line items, totals, due date |
| Payment | Money coming in from a client paying an invoice |
| Payout | Money moving from Stripe to your bank account |
One invoice can have several payments (a deposit now, the rest later). Several payments get bundled into one payout to your bank. That's why the payout amount on your bank statement rarely matches a single invoice. For a plain-language walkthrough of where your money is at each stage, see Getting Paid.
When things change after billing
Real jobs change. If you edit a Order that's already been invoiced, the dashboard reconciles the billing for you — an unpaid invoice is simply updated to the new total (same invoice number, same payment link), while a change against an order that's already fully paid becomes a new supplemental invoice, and removed paid items are credited back. See Editing an Order for how that works, and Refunds and Voids for issuing refunds, credit notes, and voiding invoices yourself.
Disputes
Sometimes a client disputes a charge with their card issuer — this is called a chargeback. When that happens, Stripe notifies you and temporarily holds the disputed amount. You can review the dispute and submit evidence through the account management tools on SettingsInvoices. Stripe handles the communication with the card network on your behalf. See Setting Up Payments for more on managing your account.
Invoice settings
You can customize invoice defaults — number prefix, payment terms, and memo — plus set up automation rules that create and send invoices for you. See Configuring Invoice Settings.
The technology fee
Taking card payments costs money. By default that cost comes out of what you're paid, so a $500 invoice arrives as about $481.
Turn the technology fee on and that processing rate is waived — the $500 invoice pays out as $500. The invoice does not change; it still bills for the work. Instead the client gets a payment page showing what each way of paying costs: by card is the invoice plus 3.95%, by bank transfer is the invoice amount.
The fee follows the choice rather than the bill, which is why cash, check and bank transfer never carry it. Nothing has to be decided before you invoice, and nothing has to be undone afterwards.
That also means you must offer a way to pay that costs the client nothing — cash and check, or bank transfer. Without one, the fee cannot be switched on. Cash and check take effect immediately; bank transfer has to be approved by Stripe first, which usually takes a few days.
The fee is not offered everywhere. Some states and provinces don't allow this kind of charge, so the setting is hidden there — and if a client's own property is in one of those places, the fee is switched off for that job even when your business is clear. See Configuring Invoice Settings for exactly where.