Payments overview
How Hoursmith gets you paid — card payments through your own Stripe account, plus manual payments you record yourself, on every plan.
Hoursmith helps you collect money against your invoices two ways: card payments through your
own connected Stripe account, and manual payments you record
yourself when a client pays by bank transfer or cash. You manage both from Settings → Payments
(/settings/payments).
Money goes straight to you
Hoursmith uses Stripe Connect with Standard accounts and direct charges. In plain terms: card payments land in your own Stripe account. Hoursmith never holds, routes, or takes a cut of your money — it simply tells Stripe to create the charge on your account and records the result.
The two payment providers are:
- Stripe — for online card payments. Requires setup; see below.
- Manual — for payments you take outside Hoursmith (bank transfer, cash) and record by hand.
What you need to accept cards
- Plan
- Studio
- Role
- OwnerAdmin
Accepting card payments needs both: online payments must be enabled on your Hoursmith instance, and a Studio or Agency plan. Connecting Stripe is an Owner/Admin action.
Two things have to be true before clients can pay by card:
- Online payments are enabled on your Hoursmith instance. Until then, Settings → Payments shows a "Coming soon" state.
- Your plan includes online payments — Studio or Agency.
With both in place, connect Stripe and, once Charges enabled reads Yes, your sent invoices show a Pay button.
Recording manual payments works on every plan, including Free — it isn't gated and doesn't need Stripe. See Record manual payments.
What you can do
Connect Stripe
Link your own Stripe account to accept cards.
Accept card payments
How clients pay online and how it's recorded.
Record manual payments
Log a bank transfer or cash payment by hand.
Payment methods
Choose bank transfer, card, or both per invoice.
Refunds
Issue a full or partial refund.
Troubleshooting
Fix common payment problems.
Who can do what
| Action | Who |
|---|---|
| Connect or disconnect Stripe | Owner Admin |
| Record a payment | Owner Admin |
| Issue a refund | Owner Admin |
| Send an invoice with a pay link, copy the link | Owner Admin Manager |
A Manager can send an invoice and share its pay link but can't move money or connect Stripe. Your clients pay through the public invoice link with no Hoursmith account.