Set Up Payments: Stripe, Payment Methods and Invoice Text

In the dashboard: Business Tools → Payments

This page walks you through setting up payments from start to finish: connecting Stripe, picking the ways clients can pay, deciding who covers card fees, and writing the text that appears on your payment page and invoices. Follow the steps in order the first time. After that, use it as a reference. To open the page, click Business Tools in the left menu, then the Payments card.

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Setup at a glance

Settings on this page save automatically. The bottom of the settings card shows Saving…, then Saved. If it shows Failed to save, refresh the page and make the change again.

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Step 1: Check your business country

The top of Payment Settings shows which currency your Stripe payments use.

• United States charges in USD.
• Canada charges in CAD.
• Any other country, or no country, charges in USD.

The currency comes from Country under Address Information in Profile Settings, not from this page. Set it before you take your first payment, and make sure it matches the country of your Stripe account.

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Step 2: Connect Stripe

Online payments in Hive Inspect run through Stripe. You connect your own Stripe account. Clients’ money goes into it, and Stripe pays it out to your bank account. Hive never holds your money. Until you connect, the top of the page shows a Connect to Stripe card: If you’re on a free trial, the Finish setting up your account checklist ticks off Connect Stripe at this point.

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If the connection doesn’t finish

Stripe may still be checking your details after you connect. Until Stripe allows charges on your account, Create Invoice stays greyed out, and client card payments can fail. Open your Stripe Dashboard and finish anything Stripe asks for.

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Before you connect

Card, bank transfer and Affirm show Locked and Connect Stripe to enable. You can already turn on Accept other payment methods, write your payment instructions and add your invoice text.

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Step 3: Learn what each payment method costs

The Fee Structure box sums up card and bank transfer costs: “Your price” is the total of the inspection’s services and fees. When you pass the card fee on, clients who don’t pay by card get a 4% discount, so every method except a card costs them the same. Card amounts assume Stripe’s standard pricing. International cards and currency conversion cost extra, and Stripe takes that from your payout.

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Step 4: Turn on your payment methods

Under Payment Methods, flip a switch on to accept that method. Methods that are on are colored and show ON. The counter on the right, such as 3 of 5 enabled, shows how many are on. Keep at least one method on. If none is on, clients see the amount they owe but have no way to pay it.

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Credit and debit cards

Accept credit / debit cards takes Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover through Stripe. Clients can also pay with Apple Pay or Google Pay on Stripe’s checkout page. Most clients pay by card, so turn this on.

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Absorb credit card fees

Once cards are on, choose who covers the cost of card payments with Absorb credit card fees. The box under the switch shows an example on a $1,000 invoice. You can change who pays the fee on a single inspection without changing this setting. See Technology Fee: for a single inspection.

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ACH bank transfers

Accept ACH bank transfers lets clients pay straight from their US bank account. Stripe charges you 0.8%, capped at $5.00, so it’s the cheapest online method on large invoices. If you pass the card fee on, bank payers get the 4% discount. Bank transfers take time. The money usually clears in 1 to 4 business days.

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Mark payment as paid only when ACH settles

This switch decides what happens while a bank transfer is clearing.

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Affirm (buy now, pay later)

Accept Affirm (Buy Now, Pay Later) lets clients split the inspection fee into payments over time. Affirm approves the client and pays you the full amount upfront, minus 8% + 30¢. You must absorb this fee. Passing it to the client would make you a lender.

• The Affirm option only appears on the payment page for amounts from $35 to $30,000.
• Affirm decides whether each client is approved, at checkout.
• Affirm is for US businesses only.

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Affirm is locked

Stripe has to enable Affirm on your Stripe account first. Hive asks Stripe to enable it automatically. Until Stripe does, the switch is greyed out with Locked and a message explaining why: If you’re stuck, email support@hiveinspect.com. In many cases we can enable Affirm for you.

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Other payment methods (Pay Another Way)

Accept other payment methods lets clients pay you outside Stripe: Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, cash, check or anything else you accept. There are no fees. It works even before you connect Stripe. Clients see it on the payment page as Pay Another Way. When they choose it, they see your instructions instead of a pay button. Custom payment instructions tell clients exactly how to pay you. You can use bold, lists, links and colors. Include:

• Each way you accept money, with the details: your Zelle email or phone, Venmo or Cash App handle, PayPal email.
• Who to make checks out to, and when and where to hand over cash or a check.
• What to write in the payment memo, such as the property address.

You can pay fee-free with Zelle to payments@yourcompany.com or Venmo @YourCompany. Please put the property address in the memo. Checks are payable to Your Company LLC and can be handed to your inspector before the inspection begins.

Payment instruction image (optional) adds one picture under your instructions, such as a Venmo, Cash App or PayPal QR code. Drag an image onto the box or click it to upload. PNG or JPG, up to 5 MB. To remove it, click the red trash icon. These instructions appear only on the payment page, under Pay Another Way. They aren’t printed on invoices or included in emails. To put text on your invoices, use Invoice Business Text. When the money arrives, record it on the inspection so the balance shows as paid and the report unlocks:

• Web: open the inspection, click Record Payment under Fees and Payments, choose the Payment Type (such as Cash, Check, Zelle or Venmo) and save.
• Mobile app: open the inspection, tap Fees & Payments, then Record Payment.

If you pass the card fee on, keep this method or bank transfer turned on. Clients who don’t want to pay by card need a way to get their discount.

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Pay at Close

Pay at Close lets clients put off the inspection fee until their home closes. You’re paid within 1-2 business days after you publish the report, and Hive collects the money from the title company. You can’t turn it on yourself. The switch shows Managed by HiveInspect, so ask us in the chat bubble. Once it’s on, set:

• Minimum Invoice Amount: inspections below this don’t show Pay at Close. The default and recommended amount is $500. The maximum is $1,200 per inspection.
• Applicable Services: pick the services that can use Pay at Close. Leave it empty to allow all of them.

It costs $50 per inspection, and clients must choose it at least 24 hours before the inspection. See Offer Pay at Close for the full rules.

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Step 5: Add your Invoice Business Text

Invoice Business Text is printed on every invoice PDF, under the list of services. Use it for:

• Your business license or certification number
• Your tax ID, or your GST/HST number in Canada
• Payment terms or a refund policy
• A thank-you note

It’s plain text, and line breaks are kept. It changes invoices generated after you save it. Invoices are regenerated when an inspection’s price or payment changes, so older invoices pick it up then.

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Payment instructions vs. Invoice Business Text

The page has two places to type text for clients. They appear in different places:

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Step 6: Check what your clients see

Clients pay on the payment page. They get there in three ways:

• The Payments section of their client portal.
• A payment link in your emails. Add {{{payment_link}}} to an automation email. Add {{{invoice_link}}} to link to the invoice PDF.
• A link you send yourself. Open the inspection, click Record Payment, then the copy button next to Get Payment via CC, ACH, etc.

The page lists only the methods you turned on, in this order: When you pass the card fee on, the big amount at the top is the regular price. Each method shows the client exactly what they’ll pay before they choose it: If you absorb the card fee, every method shows the same price, with no fee or discount lines. Test it yourself. Open one of your inspections, click Record Payment, and copy the payment link. Open it in a private browser window to see exactly what your client sees.

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When clients can see the report

By default, the report opens for your client once all three of these are true:

1. You’ve published the report.
2. The inspection is paid, or nothing is owed.
3. Every agreement on the inspection is signed.

Until then, the client sees a message such as Payment Required: Complete payment to access this report. The same rules apply to agents on the inspection. Agents can’t see or pay the invoice themselves. To let an agent pay, bill them with Add Invoice (split payment with another contact) on the inspection. The only setting on this page that changes this is Mark payment as paid only when ACH settles.

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Unlock or lock one report by hand

To change the rule for a single inspection, open the inspection and choose Manual Lock Override for Reports in its actions: Use an override rather than recording a payment you haven’t received.

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Invoices

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Inspection invoices

Hive creates an invoice for every inspection automatically. You don’t need to do anything. It lists the services, discounts, taxes and payments, and it updates itself when the price or a payment changes. Your Invoice Business Text is printed on it.

• You: open the inspection and click Show Invoice under Fees and Payments.
• Your client: clicks View Invoice on the payment page, or opens the Payments section of their portal.

To record payments, send the payment link, refund or regenerate an invoice on an inspection, see Fees and payments on an inspection.

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Create Invoice: bill someone outside an inspection

Once Stripe is connected, the bottom of the page has an Invoices section: Create Invoice sends a Stripe invoice to anyone by email, for work that isn’t an inspection in Hive, such as a consultation, a training session, or a job you didn’t book in Hive. These invoices follow your card fee setting:

• Fee passed on: a Technology Fee (4%) line is added, and the customer can pay by card only. That’s because there’s no way to give a bank payer the discount on a fixed invoice.
• Fee absorbed: no fee is added, and the customer can pay by card, or by bank transfer if ACH is on.

All Invoices and All Payments open those lists in your Stripe Dashboard. Use them to check a payment, see payouts or answer a client’s question about a charge.

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Disconnect Stripe

The Danger Zone at the bottom of the settings lets you disconnect your Stripe account, for example to switch to a different Stripe account. Click Disconnect Stripe Account, then Yes, Disconnect. What happens:

• Clients can no longer pay by card, bank transfer or Affirm. Pay Another Way still works if it’s on.
• You can’t use Create Invoice.
• Past payments, invoices and payouts stay in your Stripe account. Your Stripe account isn’t closed.
• Your settings are kept. When you connect again, they’re back as they were.

To connect a different account, click Connect with Stripe and sign in to the new account. Refunds of payments taken before the switch must be made in the old account’s Stripe Dashboard.

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Who can change payment settings

The owner turns permissions on in Teams, from the team member’s permissions.

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Two common setups

Turn on Affirm if clients often ask to pay over time. Ask us about Pay at Close if you work mostly with buyers in the US.

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Common problems

A client sees the amount but no way to pay. No payment method is on, or only methods that don’t apply to them, such as Affirm on a $20 balance or bank transfer in Canada. Turn on cards or Accept other payment methods. Bank transfer, Affirm or Pay at Close is missing for a client.

• Your business country is Canada.
• Affirm only shows for amounts from $35 to $30,000.
• Pay at Close only shows between your minimum and $1,200, for eligible services, and at least 24 hours before the inspection.

The client paid but the report is still locked. Check that every agreement is signed. If they paid by bank transfer and Mark payment as paid only when ACH settles is on, the report unlocks once the bank confirms. To open it now, use Manual Lock Override for Reports. Clients who choose Pay Another Way see “Contact your inspector to arrange payment.” Your Custom payment instructions are empty. Fill them in. When will my money arrive? Stripe pays out to your bank on the schedule set in your Stripe account. First payouts often take a week or more while Stripe verifies a new account. See Payments FAQ.

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Where to go next

• Technology Fee: how the 4% fee and the matching discount work, and how to quote prices.
• Offer Pay at Close: fees, limits and how clients use it.
• Payments FAQ: refunds, split payments, recording cash and checks, and fixing payments.
• Sync to QuickBooks Online: send invoices and payments to your books.