Pay Over Time (Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay)

Web

Pay Over Time lets your clients split a tattoo into smaller payments using Affirm, Klarna, or Afterpay, while you get paid in full, up front. The financing provider fronts the money and collects the installments from the client. You never wait on anything.

This is built for big pieces. When someone is on the fence about a $1,200 sleeve, “four payments of $300” is often the difference between a booking and a maybe. The options show up automatically on your secure online payment page once you turn them on, so there is nothing extra to do at checkout.

You manage Pay Over Time from Settings > Payments in the web app. It runs on top of Stripe, and because each studio controls its own Stripe account, you turn the individual options on in your Stripe dashboard. We show you exactly where.

Where clients can use it

Pay Over Time appears on the secure online payment page that Stripe hosts. That covers:

  • Online checkout, when you take payment without a card reader
  • Online deposit links you send to clients

It does not apply to in-person card reader payments or cash. Those are handled differently, and the financing providers only work through the online payment page.

Requirements

  • Your Stripe Connect account status is “Complete” in Settings > Payments. If you have not set up Stripe yet, do that first.
  • The individual options (Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay) are switched on in your Stripe dashboard. This is the step you control directly.
  • The sale is above the financing provider’s minimum. Small purchases may not qualify, since each provider sets its own minimum amount.

How to turn it on

  1. Go to Settings > Payments in the web app.
  2. Find the Pay Over Time section. It shows the status of Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay for your account.
  3. For any option that is not active yet, click Enable in Stripe. This opens your own Stripe dashboard’s payment methods settings, scoped to your studio’s account.
  4. In Stripe, switch on the methods you want to offer, then save.
  5. Come back to Tattoo Studio Pro. The next online checkout or deposit link will offer those options to your clients.

The Pay Over Time panel reads your account status, but the final switch lives in Stripe. If a method shows as available in the panel, that means your account can offer it; make sure it is actually toggled on in your Stripe dashboard so it appears at checkout.

What you get paid

You receive the full amount, up front, the same as a normal card payment. The financing provider takes on the risk and collects the installments from the client. Standard Stripe processing applies. The client manages their payment plan directly with Affirm, Klarna, or Afterpay; your studio is not involved in the installments.

Availability by country

The options you can offer depend on your studio’s country:

  • Affirm is available to studios in the United States and Canada.
  • Klarna and Afterpay are available in a broader set of countries.

The Pay Over Time panel only shows the options your account is eligible for, so you will not see a method your studio cannot offer.

Troubleshooting

I turned it on but clients do not see it at checkout. Three things to check, in order:

  1. The method is switched on in your Stripe dashboard payment methods settings, not just shown as available in the panel.
  2. The sale amount is above the provider’s minimum. Very small sales will not show financing options.
  3. The client is in a region the provider supports, and the option is one your account is eligible for.

It is greyed out or missing from the Pay Over Time panel. That method is not available for your studio’s country. Klarna and Afterpay cover more regions than Affirm, which is United States and Canada only.

Does this work on the mobile app? Pay Over Time is managed from the web app today. Clients can still use it on any online payment page or deposit link, since those are hosted by Stripe and work in any browser.

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