Stripe — card payments online
What it is: Stripe is the card-payment service behind MedicalSuite. Connected, it means patients pay invoices online and memberships charge and renew themselves. Not connected, everything still works — you just record cash and bank transfers by hand.
What changes when Stripe is on
| Without Stripe | With Stripe |
|---|---|
| Invoice emailed; patient pays cash/transfer; staff records it | Invoice email includes pay by card; payment marks itself Paid |
| Membership fees chased manually each period | Membership auto-charges and renews every period |
| Chasing payments = phone calls | Chasing = resend the payment link |
Setting it up
Stripe is connected once for your clinic by an administrator with your clinic's Stripe account details, in the platform's Integrations settings. Need it enabled? Talk to your administrator or MedicalSuite support. You'll need a Stripe account for the clinic (free to create; Stripe charges a small percentage per transaction, like any card terminal).
Day-to-day
Nothing new to learn. Send invoices as normal — the card option appears by itself. Sell memberships as normal — renewals happen by themselves. Refunds are done by an admin through Stripe, then noted on the invoice.
Common questions
Is it safe to take cards this way? Card details are entered on Stripe's secure payment systems — the same infrastructure used by millions of businesses. Your clinic never sees or stores card numbers.
A membership card payment failed. Cards expire. Contact the patient to update their card; the plan resumes charging.
Can patients pay part card, part cash? Record the cash part manually against the invoice; the balance can be paid by card.