Start clearly. Know what happens next.

No. Customers use the secure link you send them to review the order, approve the current proof and terms, pay, view updates, and schedule an available handoff.

Yes. Choose pay when ready to request approval without collecting a deposit at that stage. Payment remains a separate step.

Eligible unpaid orders can use the payment-only customer flow. This requests payment without creating a proof acceptance. Employee permissions and existing approval or payment activity can restrict changes.

No. Completing an order closes the work workflow; it does not create a payment or change tax records. Record cash or another outside payment separately, and review the payment history before closing the work.

Use the order’s response deadline controls for a time-sensitive request. An expired or withdrawn request should not be treated as a current offer. The production due date is separate, and stopping a request does not refund a payment already received.

Yes. An order can require a deposit, require full payment after approval, or defer payment until the work is ready.

Use a change order. ProofPay preserves the earlier approval record and asks the customer to approve the new revision before its changed terms take effect.

No. ProofPay records the proof, terms, typed name, revision, and timestamp to document the workflow, but it does not provide legal advice or guarantee enforceability in every jurisdiction.

No. Direct Stripe Connect charges are processed on the merchant’s connected Stripe account. ProofPay does not hold customer funds or provide escrow.

No. Leave it blank when you do not have the real email and share the customer link another way. A dummy address can cause checkout or saved-account verification confusion. Email notifications require a real address.

The phone used for Stripe Link’s saved-account verification is separate from the customer phone on the order. Do not request or share someone else’s verification code. Use an available alternative such as Pay without Link, and have the merchant check that the order’s email is correct.

ProofPay charges the selected monthly subscription and does not add a platform transaction fee. Stripe’s standard processing fees still apply to Stripe payments.

Stripe Checkout can display eligible wallets and payment methods based on the customer’s device, browser, location, and the merchant’s Stripe settings. They will not appear for every customer or device.

Configured outside-payment instructions are separate from Stripe Checkout. A customer can report that payment was sent, but an authorized merchant must verify receipt. Merchants can also use Apply outside payment to record money already received, including cash, with the method, amount, tax, date, and reference.

Eligible outside payments have an edit action for users with the required correction and method grants. If no money was received, the owner can instead use Void record with a reason and confirmation; the history remains but the receipt is excluded from collected totals. Stripe payments and Stripe-calculated-tax outside records cannot be voided this way. Neither editing nor voiding returns money. Do not manually record a confirmed Stripe payment again.

Only the owner can choose Refund Stripe payments in the order’s Payments & tax section, review the full remaining refundable Stripe total, enter a reason, and confirm. Employees, including admins, cannot issue refunds. This closes payment requests and cancels the order before submitting refunds; the in-app action does not offer a partial-refund amount field. Pending is not confirmed success. Review failed or uncertain results in Stripe before retrying. Dashboard partial/full refunds also reconcile through Stripe notifications. Remaining refundable outside payments block the in-app full refund; return outside money through its original method and retain evidence separately.

The balance uses successful payments minus successful refunds, respecting whether the order price includes tax. Voided entries are excluded, and pending payments or refunds are not confirmed money. The deposit amount is a configured target; its Paid or Unpaid label and payment history show receipt status. Neither Ready nor Completed means paid. If records disagree, have the owner reconcile them before collecting again.

Cancellation does not refund money or erase history. Employees can request owner cancellation with a reason; the order stays open until the owner approves. A separate direct-cancellation grant is off by default, even for managers. Approval or direct cancellation closes payable Stripe sessions first and blocks cancellation if closure fails. An already-completed payment still requires separate review; cancelling does not undo it.

Search orders or payments and use Needs attention to review warnings. Search covers loaded records, not necessarily every historical payment, and does not change collected totals. Use tax reports for complete reporting-period totals. Warnings are review prompts, not proof that money is missing or instructions to refund.

Owners can review Stripe disputes, their status and evidence deadlines in ProofPay, with email alerts when delivery is configured and working. Also monitor the connected Stripe Dashboard and respond there. Disputes are separate from refunds and tax reversals; ProofPay does not automatically refund or collect the disputed amount again.

For tax-enabled orders, the outside-payment dialog can calculate a current total using the customer’s billing address. If money has already been collected, record the actual subtotal and tax received. No tax collected does not mean the customer is tax exempt.

The current integration can calculate and collect tax on eligible Stripe payments after the merchant configures an active Stripe Tax registration and tax category. Filing and remittance remain the merchant’s responsibility unless they separately enroll in a filing service.

The merchant provides the underlying goods or services and controls their cancellation and refund policies. Stripe and the merchant handle payment processing and applicable disputes.

Yes. Merchants can publish a hosted business profile with services, hours, availability, gallery images, booking, and QR links without building a full website.

Yes. After an order is ready, the merchant can offer configurable handoff methods such as shop pickup, porch pickup, delivery, walkthrough, drop-off, or a service visit. Customers can reserve or reschedule an available time from their secure order link.

No. Marking an order ready unlocks the next step, but the merchant chooses when to send the customer an email or text. Copy and share options remain available when email or SMS is not appropriate.

Transactional texts require the customer’s affirmative consent and an eligible merchant plan. Customers can reply STOP to opt out or HELP for assistance.

Yes. The booking widget can be embedded on an existing site, while the hosted ProofPay business page and QR link provide alternatives for merchants without a website.

No. Card and wallet credentials are collected and processed by Stripe. ProofPay stores payment status, amounts, and provider references needed for the order record.

Each order can include up to five PNG, JPG, WebP, PDF, or DOCX files, with a 10 MB limit per file. Images and PDFs can be reviewed on the secure customer page; DOCX files are provided as protected downloads.

Proof files are stored in a private bucket and displayed or downloaded through short-lived signed links. Merchant access is restricted to the appropriate workspace, and the approval record fingerprints the reviewed file set.

Yes. Customers & certificates provides secure request links, document submissions, and merchant review records. Accepting a certificate does not automatically remove tax from orders; review and apply an appropriate exemption on each relevant order. ProofPay does not validate legal eligibility.

Owners configure employee permissions. Access to production progress does not automatically include prices, payments, tax exemptions, cancellations, or shop settings. Ask the owner to review the permission and order state instead of sharing logins.

ProofPay uses verified authentication, server-validated sessions, tenant-isolated database policies, bot protection on account entry points, and server-only payment and integration credentials. Merchants should also use a unique password and protect access to their email account.

Starter covers the core order, approval, Stripe payment, booking-profile, and QR workflow. Pro adds transactional SMS notifications and automated appointment and pickup reminders.

Trial availability and eligible plans are shown in Settings → Plan and billing. A 30-day trial applies only when explicitly offered in Settings and Stripe Checkout; otherwise, checkout is a paid subscription. An offered trial requires a billing card and renews at the displayed monthly price plus applicable taxes unless the owner cancels before it ends. Review the usage limits and cancellation terms before confirming. Existing paid and complimentary workspaces are not automatically moved onto trials.

Only the workspace owner can use Settings → Plan and billing and Manage billing / cancel. Employees, including admins, cannot manage the subscription. Complete the cancellation in the billing portal and verify its effective date. Cancelling your platform subscription is separate from cancelling a customer order or refunding a customer payment.

Team is coming soon for new subscriptions. Existing authorized Team workspaces remain active while expanded team operations, custom-domain support, and branding controls are completed.

Yes. Merchant-scoped integration keys currently support the Unified Shop order workflow without exposing Stripe or Supabase credentials. More event and webhook capabilities are planned.