Payments and Checkout

The checkout flow is where you finalize a client’s visit and process payment. It handles services, products, tips, deposits, and a single payment method per transaction.

How to Start Checkout

Checkout is initiated from the Queue:

1. Find the client in the queue
2. Ensure status badge shows “Complete” (green)
3. Click/tap the Checkout button

If the status is Incomplete or No Form, the checkout button is disabled. The client must complete their intake form first.

Exceptions (no form required):

• Quick Sale (Cash Only) for walk-in cash purchases without a client file

See Queue Management for details on Quick Sale and Quick Add Client.

Checkout Screen

Adding Items

Add Service

• Search and select from your configured service list
• Includes price and tax rate from Settings > Services
• Assign to an artist (required for commission tracking)

Add Product

• Search and select from your product catalog
• Products are managed in Settings > Services > Products tab

Per-item options after adding:

• Adjust price
• Adjust quantity
• Assign artist
• Edit the line description (new in v4.2). When the offering you added has a Description field set in Settings > Offerings, the checkout line description prefills from it. Staff can still edit per line, so a recurring product like an aftercare kit carries a sensible default while a custom tattoo session can be overridden as needed. Queue/checkout flow continues to append - ${artist.name} to the description so artist attribution survives.

Items can only be added by selecting from your configured services or products. There is no free-form “add a custom item” option.

Pricing Breakdown

Adding a Tip

On the payment screen, enter a tip amount in the tip field. Tip is a single dollar amount per transaction. There is no per-artist tip splitting and no percentage-based tip calculator.

Tips appear in the Tips report.

Applying a Deposit

If a deposit was already collected against the appointment (manually recorded or through online deposits), the checkout will automatically attach it. You’ll see a “Deposit Applied” line item that reduces the balance due.

To attach or detach a recorded deposit, click the deposit pill on the checkout screen.

Deposits are tracked separately in the Deposits report. See Online Deposits for setting up automated deposit collection.

Payment Methods

Each transaction uses a single payment method. To pick one:

Cash

• Select “Cash” from the payment method dropdown
• Enter the amount received
• Complete the transaction

Credit/Debit Card (Stripe)

• Requires Stripe Connect to be set up (see Stripe Setup below)
• Selecting “Card” redirects you to Stripe’s hosted checkout page to complete payment
• In-person card reader (Stripe Terminal, new in v4.2, web and mobile). Register a counter reader (S710, S700, WisePOS E) for the web app, or pair a Bluetooth M2 to the mobile app, and collect contactless, chip, and swipe payments directly inside checkout, including tip support. See the Card Readers guide for setup and the in-checkout flow.

Card (External) - using Square, Clover, or any other processor

If you run the card on your own machine rather than through Stripe, select “Card (External)”. Tattoo Studio Pro records the sale, the amount, and the artist; the card itself is processed by whatever system you already use. Everything downstream works the same way: the sale appears in Reports, counts toward commission, and shows on the client’s history.

You can rename this option to match your setup. Go to Settings > Payments, scroll to Payment Methods, and with “Card (External)” switched on, type a name into the box beneath it, for example “Square”. Your checkout dropdown and your Reports will use that name from then on.

Digital Payments (Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Afterpay, Crypto, Gift Card, Debit, Other)

• Select the method from the dropdown
• Enter the amount received
• No automatic processing. You’re recording that you received the payment through that method externally.

These are all switched on by default. You do not need to enable anything to start using them. To hide the ones you never use so your dropdown stays short, switch them off in Settings > Payments > Payment Methods.

Completing the Transaction

1. Pick a payment method
2. Enter the amount or process the card payment
3. Click “Complete”
4. Transaction is recorded; the client is removed from the queue
5. Data flows into reports (sales, taxes, commissions, tips, payouts)

Email Receipt (Mobile)

The mobile app can send a client their receipt by email or by text after checkout. The web app shows the buttons but does not currently send anything (DEV-291).

Save as Draft

Both apps let you save an incomplete checkout as a draft and pick it up later. Useful when you are waiting on additional services or on the client to pay.

Discarding a Checkout

Before completing a transaction, you can discard it:

• Web: click the Delete button to discard the checkout. The client remains in the queue, and no transaction is recorded.
• Mobile: tap Discard to clear the checkout and return to the queue.

You cannot discard a transaction after it has been completed.

Quick Sale (Cash Only)

For small cash transactions where no client record is needed:

1. From Queue, click “Checkout” or “Quick Sale”
2. Click “Quick Sale (Cash Only)”
3. A generic “Quick Sale” customer is loaded automatically
4. Add items
5. Payment method is locked to cash
6. Complete the transaction. It is recorded in reports under “Quick Sale”

Use for: Walk-in cash purchases, small merchandise sales, situations where no client file is needed.

Stripe Setup

To accept card payments, Stripe Connect must be configured:

1. Go to Settings > Payments
2. Click “Set Up Stripe”
3. Complete Stripe’s onboarding (business info, bank account, identity verification)
4. When you return from onboarding, the status updates automatically

Once connected, card is available in the checkout payment dropdown. The Stripe Express Dashboard is accessible via Settings > Payments > Open Stripe Dashboard.

For billing and subscription payments related to your Tattoo Studio Pro account itself, see Account Portal > Subscription.

Online Deposits

Online deposits let you collect a deposit from a client before their appointment via a hosted Stripe checkout link. Once configured, every new appointment can include a one-time payment link in the booking confirmation SMS, and appointments auto-confirm when the deposit clears.

This is a substantial feature with its own setup, configuration, and client experience. See the dedicated Online Deposits guide for the full walkthrough.

Troubleshooting

Checkout button disabled

• Client status must be “Complete”. They need to finish their intake form
• Use Quick Sale if no form is needed

Can’t process card payment

• Verify Stripe is connected and status is “Complete” (Settings > Payments)
• Stripe redirects you out of the app to complete card payments. If the redirect doesn’t fire, check your popup blocker
• Contact support if card payments fail repeatedly

Item won’t add to checkout

• Confirm the service or product is configured in Settings > Services
• The search bar matches by name, so check spelling

Transaction completed but not in reports

• Wait a moment. Reports may have a brief delay
• Refresh the Reports page
• Check date filter on reports to ensure it includes today

A payment method is missing from the checkout dropdown

• Every method except Stripe is available by default, so a missing one has usually been switched off. Check Settings > Payments > Payment Methods
• Stripe appears on its own once Stripe Connect is connected, and cannot be switched on by hand
• If you are signed in as staff rather than the studio manager, your studio may have limited which methods you can select. Ask your manager to check

Related Docs

• Queue Management, Queue flow and Quick Sale
• Online Deposits, Setting up online deposit collection
• Pay Over Time, offering Klarna, Afterpay, or Affirm installments at checkout
• Reports, how transactions appear in reports
• Settings, payment methods, Stripe, tax rate