Payment Problems

Trouble with invoices, payments, refunds, or payouts? Find your symptom below.

Creating invoices

I can't create an invoice — it says my Stripe setup is incomplete

Invoices are sent through your connected Stripe account. Until Stripe has everything it needs to let you charge cards, invoice creation fails with "Stripe account setup is incomplete."

1. Go to SettingsInvoices.
2. If you see Complete Payment Setup, click it and finish the remaining steps (identity, bank account, business details).
3. If your account is already active but shows "Stripe needs additional information.", follow the banner's prompts — Stripe sometimes asks for more details after you start processing payments.
4. Once Charges shows Enabled, try creating the invoice again.

See Creating Invoices.

There's no way to create an invoice at all

A few different things hide the invoice actions entirely:

1. Stripe isn't connected yet. Go to SettingsInvoices and click Enable Online Payments to set up your account. Setup takes about 3 minutes.
2. You're in the read-only All Teams view. Switch to a single team from the team switcher.
3. Your role doesn't include billing. Only Admin and Manager roles can create invoices — see Team Roles.

Payments

My client says they paid, but the invoice still shows Unpaid

How to fix it depends on how they paid:

1. They paid outside Stripe (cash, check, Venmo, Zelle, or bank transfer). The dashboard can't see money that never went through Stripe — record it yourself: open the Order's Billing tab, click Record Payment, and enter the amount and method. See Recording a Payment.
2. They paid the Stripe invoice online just now. Stripe notifies the dashboard automatically, but it can take a moment. Wait a minute and refresh the page.
3. They paid a different invoice. If the Order has more than one invoice (for example, a deposit plus a final invoice), check each one on the Billing tab.

Refunds

The refund option isn't available on an invoice

Refunds only exist for money that actually came in. The menu offers Full Refund / Partial Refund only when the invoice status is Paid or Partially Refunded. Anything else is rejected — the system reports "Cannot refund an invoice with status …".

1. The invoice is Unpaid or Draft — there's nothing to refund. To cancel it, void it instead: see Refunding and Voiding Invoices.
2. The invoice shows a Legacy badge — it was created in the older ITB app, not through the dashboard's Stripe integration, so the dashboard can't refund it ("This invoice was not processed through Stripe.").
3. You don't see any refund menu at all — you may be in the All Teams view or lack the Admin/Manager role.

The client paid in cash — can I still "refund" them?

Yes. When you refund an invoice that was paid by a recorded external payment (cash, check, etc.), the dashboard updates the invoice status and books a refund record — but no money moves. The banner "Paid externally — the refund must be processed manually" reminds you to hand the money back yourself.

1. Open the Order's Billing tab and issue the refund as normal.
2. Return the money to the client outside the dashboard (cash, check, or however they paid).

See Refunding and Voiding Invoices.

Payouts

A client paid, but the money isn't in my bank account yet

Stripe collects the payment first, then transfers it to your bank as a payout. Payouts are typically deposited within 2 business days after a payment is made.

1. Check BillingPayouts — it lists every transfer Stripe has made (or scheduled) to your bank.
2. If the Payouts tab is empty and payments are coming in, go to SettingsInvoices and check the Payouts status. If it shows Disabled, Stripe is holding funds until you finish setup — look for the "Stripe needs additional information." banner and complete the requested steps.
3. To change the bank account payouts go to, use Manage Account on the same settings page. Changes take effect for future payouts.

See Tracking Payments and Payouts.

Related

• Creating Invoices
• Recording a Payment
• Refunding and Voiding Invoices
• Tracking Payments and Payouts