How to accept payments for online consultations with Stripe

To accept payments for online consultations, connect a payment provider such as Stripe to your booking page and make the session a paid meeting type. Clients pick a time and pay in one step, so you're not chasing invoices the next morning. The real work is in the details: price, currency, fees, refunds and testing.

This guide walks a solo consultant or coach through each of those steps. Start with one service in one currency. Add more once that first one runs without surprises.

Start with one clearly priced consultation

Write down what you're selling before you open any settings. For example: a 45-minute website review with one consultant, a written action list afterward, and a price of USD 100. Note your prep time and any follow-up work, so the booking page doesn't end up selling unlimited advice.

Say whether the price is the final total or whether tax is added at checkout. Spell out the cancellation deadline, how to reschedule and how to reach a real person. Tax and consumer rules differ by country, so check yours with an accountant or adviser.

Check your Stripe account and country first

Caletus takes booking payments through Stripe. Stripe payments come with the Professional and Enterprise plans, not the Free plan. See how the Caletus Stripe integration connects to your booking pages.^[1][2]

Stripe lists the countries where a business can open an account, including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore. Check that your country is on that list and that your account is approved before you plan a launch date.^[3]

If you're based in India, check early. Stripe currently says new Indian accounts are invite-only, and its guide to international payments adds business and export requirements. An existing account also needs the right capabilities switched on.^[4]

Keep two things apart: the card that pays for your Caletus subscription and the Stripe account that receives client money. Know which business owns that Stripe account, who manages it and which bank account it pays into. That makes team access and bookkeeping much simpler.

Connect Stripe from your workspace and finish any identity checks inside Stripe itself. Never email ID documents or secret keys to a colleague. Then check who can issue refunds and see payouts, because Stripe Connect setups can split those rights between the platform and your business.^[5]

Pick the currency you'll charge in

Stripe deals with three currencies: the one on the client's card, the one you charge in, and the one paid out to your bank. When they differ, conversion fees can apply. The client's bank may also add its own foreign transaction charge.^[6]

Offer only the currency and payment methods you've seen work in a test. Tell clients up front which currency they'll be charged in, so nobody gets a surprise on their bank statement.

What Stripe booking payments cost

As of September 23, 2026, Stripe's US standard pricing is 2.9% plus USD 0.30 for each successful domestic card payment. International cards and currency conversion cost extra. Rates differ by country, so look up the Stripe pricing for yours.^[7]

So on a USD 100 consultation paid with a US card, Stripe's fee is USD 3.20 and you keep USD 96.80. That's before tax, currency conversion, refunds, disputes and your software subscription.^[7]

Caletus doesn't add a platform fee on top. It takes 0% of booking payments on Professional and Enterprise, so Stripe's fee is the only cut. Your other cost is the plan itself, from $6 per user a month billed yearly. Put both in your numbers before you set a price.^[2]

Set up a paid consultation booking in Caletus

Here's the order that saves the most rework. Button names can differ a little in your workspace, so follow the labels you see.

1. 1Connect your Stripe account and finish any verification Stripe asks for. Check the business name clients will see.
2. 2Create the consultation event. Set the host, length, working hours, buffers and meeting location before you turn on payment.
3. 3Set the price and currency. Look at the full checkout total, including how tax or fees are worded.
4. 4Add the service details and your policies. Clients should see what's included, how to reschedule and how to reach you before they pay.
5. 5Book it yourself as a client. Note when the time slot is held, when payment goes through and when the booking is confirmed.
6. 6Match the records. The booking, the Stripe payment, the calendar event, the receipt and the joining link should all point to the same client and session.

Only call a booking “confirmed” once payment has gone through. If it's still pending, say that instead. And tell clients what to do if they've paid but can't see a booking: contact you with the booking reference rather than paying again.

Test a paid booking before you share the link

Stripe says to test in test mode or a sandbox with its test card details, not with real cards in live mode. Ask Caletus support which test option fits your setup, then run each case below once.^[8]

Write down what you expected and what actually happened. Test payments aren't revenue, so keep them out of your books. Once real clients start booking, reconcile their payments separately.

Decide who handles payment problems

Pick one person to sort out mismatches before the first one happens. Say a client has a receipt but no booking. That person checks both systems and contacts the client, and nobody charges them a second time on the spot.

Keep a short note of what you checked and who owns the next step. Tell the client when you'll update them, but don't promise how fast their bank will move. Crop card and payment details out of any support screenshots.

Send a booking confirmation and a payment receipt

The booking confirmation should say what the client booked, the date, the start and end time with the time zone, the host and how to join. Include a link to reschedule or cancel that booking. Open it on a phone to make sure the joining link is easy to find. These appointment confirmation email templates include one for paid sessions.

The payment receipt does a different job. Stripe can email receipts for successful payments, and you control those settings in Stripe. Check that receipts are switched on and show your business details. A booking email alone doesn't prove payment or count as an invoice.^[9]

Use one reference your team can find in both the booking and the payment record. Leave card details out of confirmations. If the receipt comes from a different sender than the booking email, mention it, so the client expects both.

When the money reaches your bank

A successful payment and money in your bank happen at different times. Stripe pays out your available balance on your account's payout schedule. Verification, risk checks and bank timing can all change when it lands, so check the expected date in Stripe rather than promising an instant payout.^[10]

Every month or so, compare three lists: sessions delivered, payments received minus refunds, and bank deposits. One payout often bundles several payments and adjustments, so don't expect one deposit per client. Keep the booking reference handy for tracing anything that doesn't match.

Handle paid appointment refunds and cancellations separately

Cancelling a booking frees the time. A refund returns the money. A dispute is something the client raises with their bank. Don't assume one of these triggers the others in Caletus. Write down who approves refunds, who issues them in Stripe and who checks they went through.

Stripe supports full and partial refunds of successful payments, and it doesn't give back its original processing fee. A refund can stay pending or fail, and it takes time to show at the client's bank. Tell the client the refund has started, and say it's complete only once Stripe shows it.^[11]

If a client reschedules, check that their original payment stays linked to the new time. Don't charge again, or promise a free move, until you've checked your terms. When you fix something by hand, note it on the booking so a teammate doesn't do it twice.

A checklist before you accept payments for online consultations

• The right Stripe account is connected, verified and paying out to the right bank.
• The event sells one clear service with a set price, currency and cancellation policy.
• You've tested a successful payment, a decline, an abandoned checkout, a retry and a reschedule.
• The confirmation, receipt, calendar event and meeting link all match.
• Someone owns refunds, client questions and checking payouts against bookings.
• The booking page mentions only payment options you've tested.

You're ready when the client knows what they bought, you know the session is set, and someone can explain every payment. Get one service working end to end before adding more. Still deciding whether your first call should cost anything? Read paid discovery calls vs free consultations.

• paid consultation booking
• consultation payment setup
• booking payment vs payout
• paid appointment refunds