Setting up Stripe for client payments in Coachful

Connect Stripe and start getting paid in minutes

If you're a coach ready to sell programs, packages, or sessions online, setting up Stripe in Coachful is the first step between you and real revenue. Coachful uses Stripe Connect — the same infrastructure trusted by millions of platforms worldwide — so your clients pay you directly, with no money sitting in a middleman's account. This guide walks you through every click, every setting, and every gotcha so you can accept payments today.

TL;DR

• Go to Settings → Billing → Connect Stripe and complete the Stripe onboarding flow.
• Coachful uses Stripe Connect Express, so payouts go directly to your bank account.
• Once connected, you can create one-time offers, recurring subscriptions, payment plans, and coupons.
• Clients never need a Stripe account — they pay with any major credit or debit card.

Why Coachful uses Stripe Connect (and why that matters to you)

Most coaching platforms hold your earnings in a platform wallet and batch-transfer them on a weekly or monthly schedule. Coachful works differently. Through Stripe Connect Express, you are the merchant of record. When a client pays for your 12-week transformation program at $1,500, that money flows directly into your Stripe account — not Coachful's. Coachful simply facilitates the transaction.

This model has three practical benefits for coaches:

• Faster payouts: Stripe's standard payout schedule is 2 business days, and you can configure that inside your Stripe dashboard.
• Full transaction visibility: Every charge, refund, and dispute lives in your own Stripe account. You can pull reports, issue refunds, and reconcile invoices without contacting support.
• Tax compliance: Because you're the merchant, Stripe issues 1099-K forms directly to you (if you're in the US and meet the threshold), simplifying year-end accounting.

For a deeper look at how Stripe Connect Express works under the hood, see Stripe's official Express account documentation.

Before you start: what you'll need

Stripe's onboarding requires a small set of business and identity details. Gather these before you click Connect Stripe so you can finish in one sitting:

1. Legal business or personal name — exactly as it appears on government-issued ID.
2. Business type — individual/sole proprietor, LLC, corporation, or non-profit.
3. EIN or SSN (US coaches) — or equivalent tax ID for your country.
4. Bank account details — routing number and account number for direct deposit.
5. Phone number — Stripe uses SMS for two-factor verification.
6. Business website or description — your Coachful subdomain URL (e.g., yourname.coachful.co) works perfectly here.

If you already have a Stripe account from another business, you can connect that existing account — you do not need to create a new one. Stripe will recognize your login and simply authorize the Coachful connection.

Step-by-step: connecting Stripe to your Coachful account

1. Sign in to your Coachful coach dashboard at app.coachful.co/sign-in.
2. In the left sidebar, navigate to Settings (the gear icon near the bottom).
3. Click the Billing tab at the top of the Settings page.
4. Under the Payment Provider section, click the Connect with Stripe button. You'll be redirected to a secure Stripe-hosted onboarding page.
5. If you have an existing Stripe account, click Sign in at the top of the Stripe page. Otherwise, begin filling in your business details.
6. Complete all required fields — business info, personal verification, and bank account. Stripe typically takes 3–7 minutes to complete.
7. On the final screen, click Submit. Stripe will redirect you back to your Coachful dashboard automatically.
8. Back in Coachful, you should now see a green Connected badge next to your Stripe account ID. That's it — you're ready to charge.

Pro tip: Use your Coachful subdomain (yourname.coachful.co) as the "business website" field during Stripe onboarding. It looks professional and satisfies Stripe's verification requirement instantly — especially useful if you don't have a separate business domain yet.

Creating your first paid offer after connecting Stripe

With Stripe connected, you can immediately start building offers in Coachful. Navigate to Coach → Offers → Create Offer to set up your pricing. Coachful supports four payment structures out of the box:

• One-time payment: A flat fee. Ideal for standalone workshops, audits, or one-off session bundles.
• Recurring subscription: Weekly, monthly, or annual billing. Perfect for ongoing coaching retainers.
• Payment plan: Split a larger investment across 2–12 installments. Removes a major purchase barrier for high-ticket programs.
• Multi-tier offers: Different price points for different access levels (e.g., a self-paced tier vs. a VIP tier with live calls).

You can also create coupons — percentage-off or fixed-amount discounts — directly inside Coachful. These sync automatically to Stripe, so redemption tracking and revenue reporting stay consistent across both platforms.

Coachful makes this easy: Once your Stripe account is live, every program and booking you create on Coachful can be gated behind an offer. New clients land on your website, purchase, and are auto-enrolled — no manual invoice chasing or DM follow-ups required.

Understanding fees: Stripe + Coachful

Knowing exactly what you'll net per transaction helps you price confidently. Here's how the fee layers work:

• Stripe processing fee: 2.9% + $0.30 per successful card charge (standard US rate). International cards and certain payment methods carry slightly higher rates. See Stripe's full pricing page for your country.
• Coachful platform fee: Varies by your Coachful plan (Growth vs. Scale). Check your current plan under Settings → Plan for the exact percentage. Scale plan coaches benefit from a reduced platform fee, which is one of the most common reasons coaches upgrade.
• No setup fees, no monthly Stripe fees: Stripe Connect Express has no additional monthly charge — you only pay per transaction.

To estimate your net revenue on a $500 sale: subtract the Stripe fee (~$14.80) and the Coachful platform fee. Everything else hits your bank account on Stripe's payout schedule.

Configuring payouts and notifications

After connecting, visit your Stripe dashboard directly to manage payout frequency (daily, weekly, or monthly), update your bank account, and set up email or SMS notifications for successful charges. Coachful does not override these settings — they live entirely in Stripe, which means you have full control without ever contacting Coachful support for financial changes.

Inside Coachful, you can view your transaction history under Coach → Billing → Transactions. This shows every charge, subscription renewal, and refund tied to your coaching business without needing to leave the platform.

Accepting international payments

Stripe supports 135+ currencies and payment methods including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and local payment methods like SEPA Direct Debit (Europe) and iDEAL (Netherlands). As long as your Stripe account is approved to process in a given currency, Coachful will pass through the charge correctly. You do not need any special Coachful setting to enable international payments — it's handled at the Stripe layer.

If you coach clients in the EU, be aware that Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) may require your clients to verify purchases via their bank's two-factor flow. Stripe handles this automatically with no extra configuration from you.

Pro tips for maximizing Stripe + Coachful billing

Use payment plans to close high-ticket clients

Research consistently shows that offering installment options increases conversion rates on offers above $500. A $2,400 annual coaching program broken into 12 monthly payments of $200 suddenly feels accessible. In Coachful's offer builder, simply select Payment Plan, enter the total amount, and choose the number of installments. Stripe handles recurring charge authorization and retry logic automatically — no manual follow-up needed if a payment fails.

Send smart checkout links

Every offer in Coachful generates a shareable checkout URL. Drop it in a DM, add it to your email signature, or embed it on your website's sales page. When a prospect clicks it, they land directly on a branded checkout page — no login required. This dramatically shortens the path from "interested" to "enrolled."

Keep a test card handy

Before launching a new offer publicly, test the checkout experience yourself. In your Coachful billing settings, you can switch to Stripe Test Mode to run through a payment with Stripe's test card number (4242 4242 4242 4242) without charging anyone. Confirm the success email fires, the client lands in the right program, and the squad is created correctly — then flip back to live mode.

Best practice: Always test your full enrollment flow — checkout → email confirmation → program access — before promoting a new offer. Five minutes of testing prevents hours of client confusion.

Troubleshooting common Stripe connection issues

The "Connect with Stripe" button redirects but I end up back at Coachful without a connected status

This usually means the Stripe onboarding flow was closed before completion. Open Settings → Billing and click Connect with Stripe again. Stripe saves partial progress, so you'll resume where you left off. Complete all required fields including identity verification and bank account before clicking Submit.

Stripe says my account needs additional verification

Stripe occasionally places new accounts in a pending state while it verifies identity documents, especially for higher transaction volumes. Check your Stripe dashboard under Home → Alerts for any requested documents. Upload the required ID or business proof directly in Stripe — there's nothing to do inside Coachful until Stripe clears the verification. This process typically takes 1–3 business days.

My client says their card was declined even though it should work

Card declines originate at the client's bank, not Coachful or Stripe. Ask the client to: (1) check that the billing address on file matches their card issuer's records, (2) contact their bank to authorize online transactions, or (3) try a different payment method. You can view the exact decline reason code in your Stripe dashboard under Payments — codes like insufficient_funds or do_not_honor tell you immediately what's happening.

I don't see the Billing tab in Settings

The Billing tab is visible only to users with the coach, admin, or super_admin role. If you're logged in as a member or virtual assistant, you won't see it. Ask your workspace owner to check your role under Settings → Team → Roles.

I want to disconnect Stripe and reconnect a different account

Go to Settings → Billing, scroll to the Payment Provider section, and click Disconnect. Note: disconnecting Stripe will pause all active subscriptions and payment plans. Notify affected clients before disconnecting, then reconnect with the new Stripe account and manually re-create any active billing relationships. This is a significant operation — reach out to Coachful support if you have more than a handful of active subscriptions.

Payouts aren't arriving in my bank account

First, confirm in your Stripe dashboard that your bank account is verified and that payouts are enabled (not paused). New Stripe accounts sometimes have a 7-day initial payout delay regardless of your payout schedule. If payouts are enabled but funds aren't arriving, contact Stripe Support directly — payout issues are always resolved at the Stripe level, not through Coachful.

Ready to start getting paid for your coaching?

Connecting Stripe takes less than 10 minutes, and once it's done, every program, session, and package you sell in Coachful becomes a seamless, automated revenue stream. No more chasing invoices, no more manual bank transfers, no more wondering if a client has actually paid before you start the call.

If you haven't set up your Coachful workspace yet, start your free trial at coachful.co and follow this guide on day one. Already a coach on Coachful? Sign in to your dashboard and head to Settings → Billing to connect Stripe right now. Your next paying client is closer than you think.

For more billing guides, visit our Billing overview or check out Creating your first offer to put your newly connected Stripe account to work immediately.