Automated lesson payments require Stripe Connect. Starter plans collect payments manually; Professional and Enterprise plans support full Stripe Connect integration.
Prerequisites
Before starting Connect onboarding, ensure:
- Your academy is on a Professional or Enterprise plan
- You have your academy's legal business details ready
- Your academy's region is set correctly (US or Australia) for currency and compliance
Screenshot of subscription plan indicator showing Professional or Enterprise tier
Open Payments settings
Navigate to Payments in the owner sidebar, then select the Settings tab at /academy-owner/payments?tab=settings. This is where Connect onboarding, surcharge settings, legal business name, and receipt notes are managed.
Screenshot of Payments page Settings tab with Connect onboarding section
Start Stripe Connect onboarding
Click Connect with Stripe to begin Express account onboarding. Stripe collects KYC (know your customer) information directly — CourtSync does not store sensitive verification documents.
Complete the embedded onboarding flow with your business type, bank account, and identity verification.
Screenshot of Stripe Connect embedded onboarding component
Verify onboarding status
After completing onboarding, confirm onboarding complete shows as true in your payment settings. Until onboarding is complete, guardians cannot pay via automated checkout — bookings fall back to manual payment collection.
Screenshot of payment settings showing onboarding complete status badge
Configure payment preferences
While in Payment Settings, configure:
- Card surcharge — optionally pass Stripe processing fees to customers (eligibility depends on region)
- Legal business name — appears on receipts and invoices
- Receipt notes — custom text on payment confirmations
Screenshot of surcharge toggle and receipt notes fields
How lesson payments work
CourtSync uses destination charges: PaymentIntents are created on the platform account with transfer_data.destination pointing to your connected account. Funds transfer to your academy minus Stripe card processing fees. CourtSync does not charge a platform markup on lesson transactions for current plans.
Diagram of destination charge flow from guardian payment to connected academy account
Test a booking
Create a test lesson with a low price and complete a booking as a guardian. Verify the payment succeeds, the booking status updates to confirmed, and funds appear in your Stripe Connect dashboard.
Screenshot of successful test booking with Stripe payment confirmation