Fees & Payouts
How to check your actual Stripe fees, review customer charges, track payout timing, and reconcile bank deposits.
Fees & Payouts
Processing fees reduce the amount you receive from online payments. Stripe then transfers available funds to your bank according to your account's payout schedule. Use this page to check actual fees, distinguish them from customer charges, and reconcile payouts against bank deposits.
Processing Fees
Stripe fees depend on your account's country, pricing agreement, payment method, card origin, currency, and any additional services you use. Stripe's public pricing describes standard rates, but it does not establish the rate for every connected account. Use your account's pricing terms and actual transaction records for reconciliation.
| Charge or fee | What to check |
|---|---|
| Card or ACH processing | The fee charged on the actual payment, including any percentage, fixed amount, or cap in your agreement |
| International cards or currency conversion | Any additional charges shown on that transaction |
| Wallet payments | The underlying payment method and the actual fee breakdown |
| Disputes, failed payments, or refunds | The related balance transaction and your account's terms; do not assume every event is free or that a dispute fee is returned when you win |
| Payouts or optional Stripe services | The applicable account terms and any fees shown on the payout or statement |
Check Your Actual Fees
- Open the payment in Stripe Dashboard and review its fee breakdown.
- For a payout, review the included balance transactions rather than estimating fees from invoice totals.
- Use Stripe's reports or statements to reconcile the gross payments, fees, refunds, disputes, and net payout.
For example, if a payment is $200 and its actual recorded fee is $6, its net contribution to your Stripe balance is $194. These are illustrative amounts, not a quoted processing rate. The final bank payout may include other payments and balance adjustments.
Processing Fees and Customer Charges
The processing fee deducted by Stripe and a fee charged to your customer are separate amounts. Your customer's total depends on the invoice and your organization's fee settings; Stripe's fee depends on your pricing agreement.
Review your existing payment and invoice settings before adding a manual fee. Do not add another line item to recover a fee that is already included in the invoice or collected with the payment. See Invoice Adjustments for how adjustments affect invoices.
The Surcharge Legal Landscape
Card surcharges, convenience fees, and other customer charges have different rules. Requirements depend on your jurisdiction, card-network agreement, processor terms, payment method, and how the charge is disclosed. A fee's name alone does not determine which rules apply.
Confirm the current requirements that apply to your business before enabling or adding a fee. Pool Runs' fee settings do not establish that a customer charge is permitted. Use your actual processing costs when assessing a fee, rather than a rate copied from this documentation.
Compare Your Payment Costs
To compare card and ACH costs, use a representative period from your own Stripe records:
- Total successful payment amount for each payment method
- Actual fees charged for those payments
- Any refunds, disputes, or other adjustments, tracked separately
Divide actual processing fees by the corresponding payment total to calculate your effective rate. Use that rate and your invoice sizes to estimate potential savings; caps and fixed fees can make the result vary by customer.
Refund Fee Handling
The amount returned to the customer is separate from the original processing fee. Stripe does not return the original processing fee when a payment is refunded, and additional refund fees can depend on the payment method and account terms. Check Stripe's refund guidance and the actual transaction records. Do not deduct an assumed processing fee from the customer's refund merely to reconcile your Stripe balance.
Payouts
A payout transfers available funds from your Stripe balance to your bank account. Payment settlement timing, payout frequency, and bank arrival timing are separate. Check the payout's expected arrival date in Stripe Dashboard rather than assuming every payment reaches your bank two days later.
Your Payout Schedule
Your account may use daily, weekly, monthly, or manual payouts, subject to Stripe's availability and account settings. The first payout can take longer, and weekends, holidays, payment-method settlement, account reviews, and reserves can affect timing.
Review the schedule and the available balance in Stripe Dashboard. Changing payout frequency does not make pending funds settle sooner. See Stripe's payout guidance.
What Goes Into a Payout
A payout draws from available funds. Its amount can include payments that settled on different dates, less fees, refunds, disputes, and other balance adjustments.
For example, $5,000 in available payments minus $500 in refunds and $50 in actual fees leaves $4,450, before any other balance adjustments. Match the payout's included transactions to verify the amount.
Reconciling Against Your Bank Deposit
Stripe payouts arrive as a single ACH credit to your bank with a description like "STRIPE TRANSFER" + payout ID, so they're trivially matchable to a Stripe Dashboard payout. The actual reconciliation routine depends on whether you keep your books in QuickBooks:
- With QuickBooks: payouts can sync to QBO as Bank Deposits with fees broken out — see Pool Runs + QuickBooks: Lifecycle and Pool Runs + QuickBooks: Month-End Reconciliation Checklist.
- Without QuickBooks: match Stripe Dashboard payouts to your bank statement manually each week or month — see Pool Runs + Stripe: Month-End Reconciliation Checklist.
When Payouts Fail
| Failure | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Account closed | Your bank account was closed | Update bank info in Stripe Dashboard → Settings → External accounts |
| Invalid account number | The account number is incorrect | Re-enter it in Stripe Dashboard |
| Insufficient funds | The payout could not be funded | Review the failure details and available balance in Stripe Dashboard; follow the instructions shown for your account |
| Bank could not process | The bank could not process the payout | Contact your bank to resolve the issue, then follow Stripe's instructions for resuming payouts |
| Debit not authorized | Your bank requires approval for Stripe debits | Contact your bank to authorize Stripe |
Stripe reports payout failures by email and in Stripe Dashboard. Review the actual failure reason, correct any bank-account issue, and check your account's next scheduled payout. Do not assume a fixed retry count or arrival date. Follow Stripe's failed-payout guidance, and contact Stripe if the account status or next steps are unclear.
Holds and Reserves
Stripe may hold funds or establish a reserve under the terms that apply to your account. The amount, funding method, and release conditions are account-specific; a reserve is not a guaranteed stage for every new account.
Review the reserve notice, account status, and balance details in Stripe Dashboard. Use the terms communicated for your account when planning cash flow, and contact Stripe if you need clarification. Do not assume a fixed percentage or release date. See the reserve provisions in Stripe's service terms.
FAQ
Q: Does Pool Runs charge me anything beyond Stripe's fees? A: No. Pool Runs doesn't add a markup on Stripe processing.
Q: How do I see my actual fee breakdown? A: Stripe Dashboard → Payments → click any charge → "Fees & taxes" section shows the exact breakdown. Or download Stripe's monthly statement.
Q: Can I negotiate a lower rate with Stripe? A: Stripe offers custom pricing for some businesses. Contact Stripe to discuss eligibility and use the terms agreed for your account; there is no guaranteed volume threshold in this guide.
Q: What about Stripe Tax? A: Pool Runs calculates sales tax using the rates and tax zones you configure. Stripe Tax is not currently integrated.
Q: Is the per-transaction fee the only Stripe charge? A: Additional fees can apply for disputes, international payments, conversion, certain payment methods, payouts, or optional services. Review your pricing agreement and the actual fee breakdown instead of assuming only a processing fee applies.
Q: Can I pass the dispute fee to the customer? A: Do not add a fee or issue a refund merely to reconcile a dispute. Review the dispute outcome and your account terms, and confirm any proposed customer charge is permitted before billing it. See Handling Payment Issues.
Q: Why don't I see today's payments in today's payout? A: Payments must settle into your available Stripe balance before they can be paid out. The timing depends on your account and payment method. Check the payment's availability date and your payout schedule in Stripe Dashboard.
Q: Can I receive a payout sooner? A: Eligible accounts may have access to Instant Payouts. Check availability, the arrival estimate, and the fee shown in your Stripe account before requesting one; pricing and eligibility vary.
Q: Can I have payouts go to multiple bank accounts? A: Stripe supports multiple external accounts but pays out to one primary by default. Splitting payouts requires custom setup in Stripe Dashboard.
Q: My payout amount doesn't match the sum of payments — why? A: A payout includes the balance transactions assigned to it, which may come from different payment dates. Refunds, disputes, fees, and other balance adjustments can change the net amount. Reconcile its included transactions rather than summing invoices for a calendar day.
Q: What happens if I disconnect Stripe? A: Pending payouts continue to your bank. Future charges can't be taken. Historical payouts in Pool Runs are unaffected.
Q: How do I know which invoices are in a specific payout? A: In Stripe Dashboard, each payout has a "Transactions" tab showing the underlying charges. Pool Runs does not have an in-app payouts list view.
Q: Is there a payout fee? A: Payout fees depend on the payout type, country, and account terms. Check the fee shown for your payout and your pricing agreement, especially for Instant Payouts.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Bank deposit is less than the payments I added up | Processing fees or other balance adjustments changed the net amount | Review the payout's actual transactions and fee breakdown in Stripe Dashboard |
| Refund went through but my balance is negative | You refunded more than your daily Stripe inflow | Wait for next inflow, or top up bank if Stripe asks |
| ACH refund still hasn't shown in customer's bank | ACH refunds take 5–7 business days | Wait, then check Stripe Dashboard for refund status |
| Payout amount looks wrong | Refund or dispute hit between when I started counting and when payout issued | Check Stripe Dashboard → Balances → All Transactions |
| Stripe says "paid" but funds not in my bank | Bank arrival timing can differ from Stripe's payout status | Check the expected arrival date and follow Stripe's guidance if that date has passed |
| Payout failed because of "account closed" | You changed banks but didn't update Stripe | Stripe Dashboard → Settings → External accounts → update |
For QBO-specific payout reconciliation troubleshooting, see Pool Runs + QuickBooks: Common Issues.
Related Documentation
- Stripe Overview — How Stripe and Pool Runs work together.
- Accepting Online Payments — Card and ACH details.
- Handling Payment Issues — Failed payments and refunds.
- Invoice Adjustments — How to add fee line items.
- Pool Runs + QuickBooks — Reconciliation when QBO is connected.
- Pool Runs + Stripe — Reconciliation when Pool Runs is the books.
Stripe Overview
How Stripe powers payments in Pool Runs — what Stripe handles, what Pool Runs handles, what you handle, and how the two systems stay in sync.
Handling Payment Issues
How Pool Runs handles declined cards, ACH bounces, autopay failures, and refunds — permanent vs. temporary failures, the retry schedule, and the refund flow.