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Crowdfunders

What is Stripe?

Stripe is a third-party payment processor. We use Stripe to handle your payment information quickly and securely. This means that our site doesn’t store your bank account or credit card information. It also means that you get to have your funds deposited directly to your bank account in your local currency.

Who needs a Stripe account on PubLaunch?

If you’re planning to receive money through our site, then you’ll need a Stripe account. Specifically:

• if you’re a writer who is planning to run a crowdfunding campaign, you’ll need a Stripe account to receive your campaign contributions.
• if you’re a supplier, you’ll need a Stripe account to receive payments for your services.

Does it cost anything to use Stripe?

Creating a Stripe account is free. However, Stripe charges a credit card processing fee, which is 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction.

As a campaign owner, you’ll want to consider this fee when you’re creating your campaign goal, as this Stripe fee will affect how much of each contribution to your campaign you’ll actually receive. Click here for more on how to calculate your campaign goal.

I already have a Stripe account. How do I add it to my crowdfunding campaign?

If you already have a Stripe account, you just need to connect it with your campaign. When setting up or editing your campaign, click on “Step 3: Payment Settings” from the tabs on the left, and then click the blue “Connect with Stripe” button.

If you’re already logged into your Stripe account, the Application Access Token and Stripe User ID fields will be filled in with the correct information, and you’re all set!

If you’re not logged into Stripe and you click the “Connect with Stripe” button, you’ll be directed to an account creation form on the Stripe website. Click the “Sign in” link at the top right-hand corner of the page.

Sign in, click the blue “Connect my Stripe account” and you’ll be directed back to step 3 of your campaign setup. The Application Access Token and Stripe User ID fields will be filled in with the correct information, and you’re all set.

I am a writer and I don’t have a Stripe account. Can I create one as part of the crowdfunding campaign setup?

You sure can! When setting up/editing your campaign, click on “Step 3: Payment Settings” from the tabs on the left, and then click the blue “Connect with Stripe.” button.

You’ll be directed to an account creation form on the Stripe website. Once you’ve added all the information, click the blue “Authorize access to this account” button at the bottom of the form, which will take you back to step 3 of your campaign setup. The Application Access Token and Stripe User ID fields will be filled in with the correct information, and you’re all set.

I am a writer trying to create a Stripe account for my crowdfunding campaign. Why is Stripe asking for my business information?

In order to verify your identity, Stripe will ask you for information about who you are, including your business type, business name, professional website, and product. As a writer with a crowdfunding campaign, your “product” is your crowdfunding campaign. Therefore, specify that the business type is “individual/sole proprietor,” your business name is the name of your campaign, and your website is either a social media profile or your campaign page link. Under product description, briefly describe your crowdfunding campaign and its purpose (i.e. to raise funds for the publication of your book).

There are a lot of tabs on my Stripe dashboard. Do I need to worry about them all?

The Stripe dashboard does look overwhelming at first. But fear not, you only need to worry about a few tabs and can ignore the rest!

There are two main tabs from the navigation sidebar that you’ll want to become familiar with: “Payments” and “Balance.” Read on to learn more about these tabs and why they matter.

How do I view crowdfunding contributions on my Stripe dashboard?

Your contributors are not charged for their contributions until your campaign ends and has met at least its minimum goal. When that happens, you can view these contributions from your Stripe dashboard by clicking on “Payments” from the dashboard’s navigation sidebar.

In the example below, two contributions were made to Virginia Woolf’s campaign “To the Lighthouse” (which ended on May 8, 2018):

• $2.00 from Agatha Christie, and
• $3.00 from Charles Dickens.

A few important things to note:

• These are payments that have been made by your contributors to your Stripe account (not your bank account).
• Stripe has not yet deducted platform and credit-card processing fees from these payments, nor has it converted these payments into your currency (if your currency is not USD).
• There is a 7-day delay before these payments become official transactions on your account and are added to your Stripe balance.

How do I view my Stripe balance and payouts to my bank account?

You can view your Stripe balance, individual customer transactions minus fees, and payouts to your bank account by clicking on “Balance” from the dashboard’s navigation sidebar. (Again, note that there is a 7-day delay before payments appear under the “Balance” tab.)

Balance

This is a summary of your Stripe account balance, which includes all funds that have not yet been safely deposited into your bank account.

Payouts (i.e. deposits)

Under the sub-tab “Payouts” is a list of all payouts made to your bank account. A payout is usually a lump sum of all transactions that occurred on the same day. So for the most part, all campaign funds will be deposited into your account on the same day.

To view the list of transactions included in your payout, click on the payout amount.

In the example below, the May 15 payout of $4.00 was clicked. Because payouts often occur one week after the original payments, this payout is for contributions made to Virginia Woolf’s campaign “To the Lighthouse” (which ended on May 8).

Scrolling down the payout details page, there is a section titled “Transactions.” Each transaction shows the gross funds contributed, fees deducted, and the total contribution to your payout.

i.e. $1.54 (of original $2.00 contribution on May 8)

+ $2.46 (of original $3.00 contribution on May 8)

= $4.00 (payout on May 15)

For a breakdown of the deducted fees, hover over the fee amount:

Transactions

This sub-tab is useful for viewing both transactions and payouts in the same list.

By clicking a payout amount, you will be directed to the same payout details page that you see under the “Payouts” sub-tab.

Clicking on a specific transaction gives you more detail regarding the contribution made. You can view what fees have been deducted from the payment, as well as what that payment amount is in your bank account’s currency (if it’s different from USD).

Why isn’t my Stripe balance showing some/all payments viewable under the “Payments” tab?

There are a few reasons why your balance will be a different amount then what you see on the “Payments” tab:

• There is a 7-day delay before payments show up as Stripe transactions and become part of your Stripe balance. This allows for any disputes or refunds to occur before funds are officially added to your Stripe account, and therefore deposited into your bank account.
• Remember that the “Payments” tab shows your contributors’ contributions to your campaign before fees have been deducted (i.e. the 5% platform fee and Stripe’s credit-card processing fee).
  
  • From the example above, we saw under “Payments” that Charles Dickens contributed $3.00. Once fees were deducted ($0.54), the amount added to Virginia Woolf’s Stripe balance was $2.46.
• If your bank account’s currency is something other than USD, Stripe will convert each transaction (i.e. payment minus fees) to your currency before adding it to your Stripe balance.

When will I receive my Stripe funds to my bank account?

As mentioned above, there is a 7-day delay before payments show up as Stripe transactions and become part of your Stripe balance.

Once that occurs, your payout schedule depends on your country. You can view your payout schedule by clicking on the sub-tab “Settings” under the “Balance” tab of the dashboard’s navigation sidebar:

For more on Stripe’s payout schedule, click here.

How do I change my personal information on my Stripe account?

You can change the name registered with your account, your email address, and your password by clicking on the profile icon on the top right-hand corner of your Stripe dashboard and then choosing “Profile” from the dropdown menu.

How do I change my banking information on my Stripe account?

You are required to add a bank account to your Stripe account when you create it. If you need to change or add a different bank account, you can do so by clicking on the sub-tab “Settings” under the “Balance” tab of the dashboard’s navigation sidebar:

Suppliers

What is Stripe?

Who needs a Stripe account on PubLaunch?

Does it cost anything to use Stripe?

I already have a Stripe account. How do I add it to my supplier profile?

I am an approved PubLaunch supplier, but I don’t have a Stripe account. Can I create one from my dashboard?

What is Stripe?

Stripe is a third-party payment processor. We use Stripe to handle your payment information quickly and securely. This means that our site doesn’t store your bank account or credit card information. It also means that you get to have your funds deposited directly to your bank account in your local currency.

Who needs a Stripe account on PubLaunch?

If you’re planning to receive money through our site, then you’ll need a Stripe account. Specifically:

• if you’re a writer who is planning to run a crowdfunding campaign, you’ll need a Stripe account to receive your campaign contributions.
• if you’re a supplier, you’ll need a Stripe account to receive payments for your services.

Does it cost anything to use Stripe?

Creating a Stripe account is free. However, Stripe charges a credit card processing fee, which is 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction. As a supplier, you don’t need to worry about this fee: it’s taken care of by the writer purchasing your services.

I already have a Stripe account. How do I add it to my supplier profile?

From your dashboard menu, click on the “My Account” tab, and then click the “Edit my account” button on the top left-hand corner of your profile.

Remaining under the subtab “Account,” click on “Payment Gateway” from the left-hand menu. Click the blue “Connect with Stripe” button.

If you’re already logged into your Stripe account, the Application Access Token and Stripe User ID fields will fill in with the correct information, and you’re all set!

If you’re not logged into Stripe and you click the “Connect with Stripe” button, you’ll be directed to an account creation form on the Stripe website. Click the “Sign in” link at the top right-hand corner of the page.

Sign in, click the blue “Connect my Stripe account” and you’ll be directed back to your PubLaunch dashboard. The Application Access Token and Stripe User ID fields will be filled in with the correct information, and you’re all set.

I am an approved PubLaunch supplier, but I don’t have a Stripe account. Can I create one from my dashboard?

Yup! From your dashboard menu, click on the “My Account” tab, and then click the “Edit my account” button on the top left-hand corner of your profile.

Remaining under the subtab “Account,” click on “Payment Gateway” from the left-hand menu. Click the blue “Connect with Stripe” button.

You’ll be directed to an account creation form on the Stripe website. Once you’ve added all the information, click the blue “Authorize access to this account” button at the bottom of the form, which will send you back to your PubLaunch dashboard. The Application Access Token and Stripe User ID fields will be filledin with the correct information, and you’re all set.