Background

Tern works with Stripe to support charging professional service fees (like trip planning fees) to your clients.

Your clients will be able to pay via invoice, and the funds will be deposited directly into your bank account.

Track everything through the Service Fees tab in Tern.

Important guidelines for use

It is important to note that this feature should only be used for planning services (such as trip planning fees), and not to collect payments intended for suppliers. And that by connecting a Stripe account, you are entering a service agreement with Stripe, and are beholden to the Terms and Conditions for a Stripe Connected Account, as outlined during the set-up process.

Tern is not responsible for funds managed on the Stripe Connected Account platform.

Payment Fees

Handling payments securely isn't an easy task. To cover our costs with maintaining and expanding these features Tern takes a small processing fee (.6%) in addition to what is charged by Stripe.

The exact breakdown of the fees that Stripe charges will differ based on whether your client pays you via credit card, bank transfer / ACH, or another method, and if the payment is subject to any additional fees (like use of an international credit card, for example). It will also differ based on any upgrades you have made to your individual Stripe account. Stripe includes a breakdown of charges on your payments dashboard. Learn more about Stripe pricing here.

Note: you are able to control what types of payment methods your clients can use in your own Stripe account (under Invoice Settings).

Example for credit card payments

Because of the variety of settings that can impact fees, we won't attempt to outline every possible option in this article. But let's outline a pretty standard example - let's imagine your client pays you via a domestic credit card.

Here is how the fees will break down:

Stripe's standard fee: 2.9% + 30¢ per successful charge.
Tern fee: .6% on top of what Stripe charges.
Additional invoice fee from Stripe: Stripe charges an extra fee to use their invoicing technology. Any platform using Stripe will have these fees - .4% fee per paid invoice. Or .5% if you have chosen to upgrade your Stripe account to Invoice Pro. Learn more.

Example from Stripe's payout dashboard for a $10 charge (using the standard invoice plan):

Account Set-up

1. You'll notice a 'Service Fees' tab on any trip you are planning.

If you have not set up your Stripe account yet, you'll be prompted to here. Click 'View Settings' to continue.

2. Click 'Connect Account' to start setting things up via Stripe

3. You'll be taken into Stripe's set-up flow

Make sure to review Stripe's Terms & Privacy policy that are linked in the bottom left.
If you already have an account with Stripe, you can use your same email address and password. Otherwise you will be prompted to create an account.
After creating your account, you will go through the process of setting up your connect account. Make sure to follow all instructions Stripe provides carefully.

4. After completing Stripe's set up process, you'll be taken back to your settings page in Tern. You'll see your connection is 'pending'.

5. Once you confirm your email, you should see that your account in Stripe is active....

...and your Stripe connection in Tern is connected. You are all set to begin collecting service fees from your clients!

Sending a service fee

1. Go back to a Trip, and select 'Service Fees' again from your left nav

You will see an updated prompt to create your first service fee!

2. Select who the fee is for, include a descriptive title that your client will recognize, and pick an amount + due date.

When you click 'Send Fee Invoice', the recipient will receive an email with this invoice automatically.

3. Once sent, you'll see the status as 'open' in Tern.

You can use the action menu to manage the fee directly in Stripe, or to get a payment link. Note: as mentioned above, your client will already receive an automated email from Stripe.