Payment methods
Every invoice can be paid by one of five methods. Online methods (card and ACH) are initiated by the restaurant from a pay link; offline methods (cash, check, store credit) are recorded by the supplier by hand. PayPal isn't offered on orders (see Known limitations).
Online methods
Card (Stripe)
How it arrives: The restaurant enters their card on Stripe's checkout page, which processes the charge immediately and returns to Clipp.
Clear time: Minutes. The payment shows Paid on the invoice straight away.
Fee: 2.9% + $0.30, charged to the restaurant's card. A supplier can choose to absorb this fee (customer pays balance only; supplier receives less). This is configurable per supplier by Clipp, with no UI in the app.
Recording: Automatic. The payment appears on the invoice with mode Online. No supplier action required.
Where paid from:
- Invoice email or text (pay link)
- Statement page (one invoice per payment)
- Mobile app order summary
- Supplier's Manage Payments panel (if a card is on file and the supplier charges it, see Card on file)
Customer sees:
- "Pay $X with Card" button on the pay link or statement page
- Card details form on Stripe's checkout
- "Processing..." while Stripe processes
- "Payment successful" or failure message
Refund: A refund of a card payment must go back through Stripe; the supplier initiates it directly in their Stripe account. In Clipp, record the refund from the invoice's Issue Refund tab or when cancelling the order (see Refunds). The supplier cannot edit or delete the original online payment—it reflects what Stripe processed.
ACH (Bank transfer)
How it arrives: The restaurant initiates a bank transfer directly from their bank account to the supplier's bank account (via Stripe). The money takes 1–3 business days to clear.
Clear time: 1–3 business days. The payment shows Processing initially, then Paid once the bank confirms.
Fee: 0.8% of the amount (e.g., $0.80 on a $100 payment), always borne by the supplier (not passed to the restaurant). The payment and its fee are recorded in the supplier's accounting once the payment settles.
Recording: Automatic from the pay link or statement page. The supplier can also record ACH details by hand in Manage Payments (details in Bank and check payments).
Where paid from:
- Invoice email or text (pay link)
- Statement page (one invoice per payment)
- Mobile app order summary
Customer sees:
- "Pay $X with ACH" button on the pay link
- "Pay directly from your bank account. Processing typically takes 2-4 business days."
- "Payment is being processed" screen after submitting
- "Payment successful" email once cleared
Refund: A refund must go back through Stripe. The supplier cannot edit or delete it. See Refunds.
Offline methods
Check
How it arrives: The restaurant mails a physical check to the supplier. The supplier deposits it at their bank.
Clear time: 3–5 business days from deposit.
Fee: None.
Recording: The supplier records it by hand in Manage Payments under Check (see Recording a payment). The payment shows Paid immediately in Clipp when recorded (not Processing), even though the check may still be clearing. The payment's status doesn't change when the bank clears it; the supplier records the payment based on trust that it will clear.
Where recorded:
- Supplier's Manage Payments panel on each invoice
- Also available as Paying several invoices at once for bulk recording
Supplier enters:
- Amount
- Date (defaults to today; can be changed)
- Check number (optional but recommended for reconciliation)
Bookkeeping: Recorded as income when saved, dated the day the supplier entered it (usually when the check arrived or was deposited).
Refund: From the invoice or when the order is cancelled, as a check, cash, store credit or another method. See Refunds.
Cash
How it arrives: The restaurant hands cash to the supplier (e.g., to a driver at delivery, or at a pickup point).
Clear time: Immediate.
Fee: None.
Recording: The supplier records it by hand in Manage Payments under Cash. The payment shows Paid straight away.
Where recorded:
- Supplier's Manage Payments panel on each invoice
- Also available as Paying several invoices at once for bulk recording
Supplier enters:
- Amount
- Date (defaults to today; can be changed)
- No reference number (cash is not traceable)
Bookkeeping: Recorded as income when saved, dated the day the supplier entered it.
Refund: From the invoice or when the order is cancelled, as cash, check, store credit or another method. See Refunds.
Store Credit
How it arrives: The customer's credit balance with this supplier is automatically spent (or the supplier manually applies it) to settle the invoice.
Clear time: Immediate.
Fee: None.
Recording: The supplier selects it in Manage Payments under Store Credit, or an amount of store credit is applied to the order when it's created or edited. The invoice's balance due lowers immediately, and the invoice counts it toward paid.
Where recorded:
- Supplier's Manage Payments panel under Store Credit, entering an amount (up to the customer's balance and what's owed)
Supplier enters:
- Amount (pre-filled with the balance due; the server refuses more than the customer holds or the invoice owes)
- Date (defaults to today; can be changed)
Bookkeeping: Not recorded. Store credit is not money the supplier holds, so no income or expense entry is created. Only the customer's credit balance changes (decreases).
Credit source: Store credit comes from:
- Previous overpayments (customer paid more than the invoice owed)
- Previous refunds (issued as credit instead of cash/check)
- Order cancellations (credit used on the order is returned)
Refund: Cancelling an order gives back the store credit it used, automatically. A refund, from the invoice or on cancellation, can also be paid as store credit (see Refunds). Store credit refunds have their own clawback rules if the customer has spent part of it since it was first issued (see Correct or remove).
Comparison: online vs. offline
| Aspect | Online (Card, ACH) | Offline (Check, Cash, Store Credit) |
|---|---|---|
| Initiated by | Restaurant from pay link | Supplier by hand |
| Status in Clipp | Processing (ACH), or Paid (Card) immediately | Paid immediately when recorded |
| Supplier can edit/delete | No (contact processor support) | Yes (via Manage Payments) |
| Fee | Yes (2.9%+$0.30 card, 0.8% ACH) | None (except store credit is not money) |
| Customer notified | By default, receives receipt | Only if supplier ticks Notify customer |
| Refund method | Refunded in Stripe, then recorded on the invoice or at cancellation | Supplier chooses when refunding or cancelling |
Details by method
Card: fee split
By default the restaurant pays the card fee on top of the invoice: 2.9% + $0.30 of what's owed, shown as one Credit Card Processing Fee line on Stripe's checkout. If Clipp sets the supplier to absorb it, the customer pays $100.00 and the supplier receives $96.80. If the restaurant pays the fee, the customer pays $103.20 and the supplier receives about $99.91.
See Processing fees for details and amounts.
ACH: settlement timing
ACH payments are submitted immediately but take 1–3 business days to clear. During that time:
- The payment shows Processing on the invoice, and so does the invoice
- Nothing is booked in the supplier's accounting yet (the bank might reject it)
- The balance due still shows the full amount, but a second payment can't go above what's left after the bank payment, to prevent double collection. Record the rest by another method; the Add Payment form refuses any excess rather than keeping it as store credit
Once the bank confirms:
- Status changes to Paid
- Clipp books the payment as income, dated the day the bank settled it, and Stripe's reported ACH fee as an expense
- The customer is sent a second receipt
If the bank rejects it (rare):
- Status changes to Failed, and the invoice goes back to what its other payments say
- Nothing was booked, so nothing needs undoing
- The old pay link no longer works. Send the invoice again for a new link, or ask for another method.
Check and cash: trust model
The supplier records a check or cash payment when they receive it, not when it clears. For checks, the typical flow is:
- Restaurant mails the check on day 1
- Supplier receives it on day 2–3
- Supplier deposits it on day 3–4 and records it in Clipp same day (payment status: Paid)
- Bank clears it on day 5–7
The supplier bears the risk if the check bounces. Clipp always trusts the supplier's record.
Which invoices can be paid
A payment can be recorded on:
- Invoices that are Unpaid or Partially paid: The payment settles what's owed.
- Invoices that are Processing: A bank payment is clearing; the supplier can record more by other methods, up to what's left after it.
A payment cannot be recorded on:
- Invoices that are already Paid: "Nothing is due on invoice INV-1001, so there is nothing for this payment to settle." (Add Payment on the Invoices page keeps the extra as store credit.)
- Cancelled orders: "This order is cancelled and can no longer be changed."
- Drafts: "Payments can't be recorded on a draft order."
- Void invoices, whose records are read-only.
See Recording a payment for the form validations.
Known limitations
- PayPal isn't offered on orders. A supplier can still connect PayPal on Payment Methods, but restaurants have no PayPal button on the pay link, the statement page or in the app, and the server refuses a PayPal checkout: "PayPal isn't supported for sale orders yet".