Connect your Stripe account
Payments run through your own Stripe account, so you are the merchant and the money is yours from the moment it settles. Business Box adds no commission. This page covers connecting, and the approval step that catches most people out.
Subscribe on Billing, then go to Booking → Payments and press Connect with Stripe. Stripe then reviews your account before allowing charges — until both badges are green you cannot switch on online payment.
How the money flows#
Business Box uses Stripe Connect. In plain terms: the card payment is created directly on your Stripe account, the customer's statement shows your business, and the money lands in your Stripe balance and is paid out to your bank by Stripe on their normal schedule. Nothing passes through us, and we take no percentage of it.
What you pay us is the flat subscription, ¥1,200 a month, tax included. What you pay Stripe is Stripe's own processing fee, taken from each payment — see Stripe's pricing, as that is between you and them.
Before you start#
You need three things, and the order matters:
- A subscription. Taking payment online is the paid feature, so subscribe first on Billing. See Your plan and billing.
- A Stripe account, or the details to create one. Stripe will ask for your business details, your identity, and the bank account that payouts go to. You do not need to have set one up in advance — the connect flow creates one if you have none.
- Ten minutes. Stripe's own form is the longest part of setting up Business Box, and it is worth doing in one sitting.
If you want to charge but are not ready for Stripe, set the event type to Paid in person, at the appointment. The price is shown to the customer and recorded on the booking, and you take the money face to face. It needs no Stripe account and no subscription. See Paid in person.
Connecting#
- Go to Booking → Payments.
- Press Connect with Stripe.
- On Stripe's site, sign in to your existing account or create one.
- Answer Stripe's questions about your business and yourself, and give the bank account for payouts.
- Stripe returns you to Business Box.
The Payment tab of an event type has the same Connect with Stripe button. Anything you have typed in the editor is kept while you are away and is still there when Stripe sends you back — including the tab you were on.
The approval step#
Connecting is not the same as being allowed to charge. Stripe reviews every new account, and that review is entirely Stripe's — Business Box cannot speed it up or overrule it. Often it completes in minutes; sometimes Stripe wants more, such as further business or identity details, or a security checklist.
When this is still in progress you will see:
| Where | What it says |
|---|---|
| Payments page | An amber Charges not enabled yet badge, and a note pointing you at the Stripe dashboard |
| Event type, Payment tab | Not available yet: Stripe is still approving your account. beside Paid online |
| If you try to save a price anyway | Stripe hasn't approved this account for charges yet, so online payment can't be switched on. |
What to do about it#
- Press Open Stripe dashboard and look for anything Stripe is asking you for. That is the only place the answer lives.
- Provide whatever they want.
- Come back and press Refresh status. It asks Stripe again there and then.
Business Box also picks up the change by itself when Stripe announces it, so the badge will turn green on its own. Refresh status is for when you do not want to wait.
The two badges#
- Charges enabled
- The one that matters for booking. Until it is green, paid event types cannot be switched on and any that exist are hidden from your booking page.
- Payouts enabled
- Whether Stripe will move your balance to your bank. Charges can be on while payouts are still pending — you can take money, it just sits in your Stripe balance until Stripe is satisfied. Worth resolving, but it does not stop you selling.
Beside the badges you also see your Stripe account id, its country and its currency, so you can check at a glance that you connected the account you meant to.
Currency#
Prices must be in your Stripe account's own currency. A Japanese Stripe account is JPY, and the price field is labelled with it. Try to save a price in another currency and you will see The price currency must match your Stripe account's currency.
Yen is handled as a whole-number currency throughout, as it should be: type 5500 and your customer is charged ¥5,500, not ¥55.
Seeing what you have taken#
The Payments page lists every payment under Payments received, with the totals paid and refunded at the top right. Each row shows the date, the customer, the event type and the amount, and links to the booking. Refunds are shown beneath the amount.
This is a convenience view, not your accounts. Your Stripe dashboard remains the complete record, including Stripe's fees and payouts.
Disconnecting Stripe#
Disconnect on the Payments page. Paid event types cannot be booked until you reconnect; payments and refunds already made are unaffected, and existing bookings are untouched.
If you ever see That Stripe account is in a different mode (live vs test) from this app, you have connected a Stripe test account to a live system, or the reverse. Disconnect and reconnect using the real account. Business Box refuses rather than taking payments into the wrong place.
Common questions
Does Business Box take a commission on my bookings?
No. Payments are created on your own Stripe account and the money is yours; the only thing you pay us is the ¥1,200 a month subscription. Stripe charges its own processing fee on each payment, which is between you and Stripe.
Why can I not set a price after connecting Stripe?
Because Stripe has not yet approved your account for charges. Open your Stripe dashboard, provide whatever they are asking for, then press Refresh status on the Payments page. The Charges enabled badge turns green when it is done.
How long does Stripe take to approve an account?
Often minutes, sometimes longer if Stripe wants more business or identity details or a security checklist completed. It is Stripe’s decision and Business Box cannot influence the timing. In the meantime you can charge at the appointment instead.
Do I need my own Stripe account, or does Business Box hold the money?
Your own. Business Box never holds your money — the payment is created directly on your Stripe account, you are the merchant of record, and Stripe pays out to your bank on its normal schedule.
Can I take payment without subscribing?
Not by card online — that is the paid feature. But Paid in person, at the appointment works on the free plan: the customer sees the price, and you collect it yourself by cash, card reader, QR code or an invoice afterwards.
Do I need to charge in yen?
You charge in your Stripe account’s own currency, which for a Japanese Stripe account is yen. Prices in any other currency are refused.
Last reviewed 28 September 2026.