Introducing StudioPlus Payments: A Modern, Transparent Way to Get Paid

Credit card processing has been a pain point for many StudioPlus clients for years—and, frankly, for us too.

We’ve heard from more and more of you asking for a modern payment solution with better features, more payment options, competitive pricing, and, perhaps most importantly, pricing that is transparent and predictable.

We agreed.

The challenge has always been that building and maintaining a deeply integrated payment platform is a major undertaking. It’s expensive to build, requires significant ongoing development, and has to be supported year after year.

Over the last year, we finally decided we couldn’t keep putting it off. It was time to build something significantly better.

The result is StudioPlus Payments, powered by Stripe.

Before I go any further, though, I want to make one thing very clear:

No one is required to switch.

Our existing payment integrations aren’t going anywhere. If you’re happy with what you’re using today, you can continue using it. StudioPlus Payments is simply a new option available to you.

There is one important exception to that flexibility:

If you want to accept payments through the new Stratus Online Booking portal, you’ll need to use StudioPlus Payments.

Our legacy payment processors simply don’t support all of the capabilities we require in a modern platform like Stratus Online. StudioPlus Payments gives us the flexibility, security, and integration capabilities needed to deliver the new booking and payment experience we’ve built.

Why Stripe?

When we started evaluating payment processors, we had a pretty simple checklist.

The underlying platform had to be modern, reliable, easy to use, and capable of supporting the payment features businesses expect today.

It needed global reach. StudioPlus clients aren’t limited to the United States, and neither could our new payment platform.

And pricing needed to be fair, transparent, and predictable.

Across all of those areas, Stripe was an excellent fit.

Just as importantly, Stripe gives us a platform we can continue building on. StudioPlus Payments isn’t simply a new credit card integration. It gives us the foundation to add new payment capabilities and integrate them much more deeply throughout Stratus.

How Does the Pricing Work?

There are two components to the cost.

First is Stripe’s processing fee.

As of September 2026, Stripe’s standard advertised U.S. rate for most domestic online card transactions is 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction. In-person transactions processed through Stripe Terminal are currently 2.7% + 5¢ per transaction.

Rates can vary by country, payment method, card type, and other factors, so we encourage you to review Stripe’s current pricing for your specific situation.

Second is the StudioPlus Payments platform fee of 1.5%.

Credit card processing has been one of StudioPlus’s revenue streams for many years. With StudioPlus Payments, the main difference is simply how that fee is reported to you.

Stripe separates its processing fee from our platform fee, so you can see exactly what you’re paying and where it’s going.

For U.S. clients, that puts the total percentage rate at 4.4% for online card transactions and 4.2% for in-person transactions, plus Stripe’s applicable per-transaction fee.

Before You Compare Rates, Run Your Real Numbers

Please don’t assume you know what your current processing rate is.

I can’t tell you how many times we’ve talked with a client who was certain they knew what they were paying—until they actually calculated it.

Payment processors structure and report fees in very different ways. Depending on your processor, you may have transaction fees, interchange costs, different rates for different cards, monthly fees, PCI fees, statement fees, and other charges.

That makes advertised rates very difficult to compare. There is really only one good apples-to-apples comparison:

Take the total processing fees you actually paid during a month, quarter, or year and divide that by your total credit card volume for the same period.

That gives you your effective processing rate.

Then compare that number with StudioPlus Payments.

For many StudioPlus clients, I think the results will be very compelling.

But if you run the numbers and your current processor is still the better deal for your business, stay with them. Our goal is to give you another option—and we believe it’s a very good one.

So What Do You Get With StudioPlus Payments?

This is where I’m especially excited.

We didn’t undertake this project simply to add a new credit card processor. We wanted to use Stripe as the foundation for a much more capable payment platform inside StudioPlus.

Here are just some of the capabilities we’re introducing:

• Modern Card Readers — StudioPlus integrates with Stripe Terminal card readers, giving you a modern in-person checkout experience while also taking advantage of Stripe’s lower in-person processing rate.
• Payment Links — Send clients a convenient payment link so they can pay from virtually anywhere.
• Tap to Pay — Accept contactless payments using supported devices without requiring a traditional card reader.
• Apple Pay and Google Pay — Give clients the convenience of paying with the digital wallets they already use.
• Buy Now, Pay Later — Offer supported options such as Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay, giving clients additional flexibility for larger purchases.
• ACH Payments — Accept US bank payments as an alternative to credit cards.
• Surcharging — Configure credit card surcharges where permitted, giving you the ability to offset some or all of your card-processing costs.
• Tips — Optionally allow clients to reward employees with tips during the payment process.
• Better Payout Reconciliation — We’ve streamlined the process of reconciling Stripe payouts with Stratus and QuickBooks Online, reducing accounting work and making it easier to understand exactly where your money went.

StudioPlus Payments also improves payment functionality throughout Stratus, including:

• Deposits and payments during online booking
• Automated payment plans
• Cards on file
• InspiredByYou e-commerce payments
• More flexible ways to collect payments throughout the client lifecycle

And this is just the beginning.

Stripe continues to expand its platform, and because StudioPlus Payments is built on top of that foundation, we’ll have many more opportunities to bring those capabilities directly into Stratus for years to come!

Join the Preview

We hope you’re as excited about StudioPlus Payments as we are.

You can join the preview by clicking below to book a one-on-one meeting with a Stratus Coach. Getting started takes just a few minutes, and your existing StudioPlus configuration carries forward, making the transition as simple as possible.

We already have a number of StudioPlus clients using the new platform, and the response has been excellent.

We’re looking forward to putting it in the hands of many more of you.