Sell Memberships via Stripe

Stripe handles the payment processing, while Join It manages the membership workflow around that payment. When a member joins, renews, updates their payment method, or pays an invoice, Stripe processes the transaction and Join It keeps the member record, payment history, renewal status, and related automations up to date. This gives your organization a secure way to collect payments online without separating money movement from membership management.

Once Stripe is connected, your organization can start accepting online payments through Join It, and payments settle directly to your organization’s own Stripe account. Members can pay through your Member Portal, renew existing memberships, and update their payment details when needed. Stripe remains the payment processor, while Join It keeps each payment tied to the member’s membership record. This setup gives you a clear payment workflow without needing to manually reconcile Stripe transactions against your membership database.

Recurring billing helps organizations reduce manual renewal work and makes it easier for members to stay active. When a member signs up for an auto-rebilling membership, Stripe handles the recurring payment and Join It keeps the membership record aligned with the billing status. This helps your team manage renewals, payment history, and membership status from one place instead of chasing repeat payments manually.

When a member pays, updates a card, or renews, sensitive payment information is handled through Stripe’s secure payment infrastructure. Join It uses its Stripe integration to connect the payment outcome back to the member record, but the card details themselves are processed by Stripe. This gives organizations a secure checkout experience while keeping membership status, payment history, and renewals organized inside Join It.

Apple Pay and Google Pay can make membership checkout faster, especially on mobile devices. To enable them, an organization administrator adjusts the payment method settings inside Stripe and registers the required payment method domains. Once configured, supported payment methods can appear during checkout based on the member’s device, browser, and Stripe settings. This helps create a smoother payment experience without changing how Join It manages the member record.

Failed payments are common with recurring billing because cards expire, banks decline payments, or members replace payment methods. When a payment attempt fails, Stripe notifies Join It and Join It sends the member a Failed Payment Notification with a secure link to update their payment method. Your connected Stripe account controls retry schedules and the overall policy for handling failed payments. If payment still cannot be collected after the configured retry process, the membership can be cancelled and the member can receive a cancellation notice. This helps protect revenue while keeping membership records accurate.

Refunds can be handled from the payment record in Join It or from the connected Stripe account. In Join It, admins can choose a full refund or a partial refund, and the refund is recorded against the relevant membership payment. If you prefer to manage the refund directly in Stripe, that option is also available. This gives your team flexibility while keeping the refund connected to the member’s payment history.

When you send an invoice through Join It, an unpaid payment record is created on the member’s record and Stripe sends the member a payable invoice. The member can pay through a Stripe-hosted payment page without needing to log in or complete a full membership form again. The payment methods available on that page are controlled by your Stripe account settings, so you can offer additional options such as ACH, BACS, Apple Pay, SEPA, iDEAL, and more where supported by Stripe. This is useful when an admin has approved a membership application, created a member record manually, or needs to collect a renewal payment after the fact.

Stripe Tax is useful for organizations with more complex tax obligations, such as U.S. organizations with members across multiple states, each with its own rate. Once activated and configured in Stripe, tax is calculated from the buyer’s location information and collected with the payment, simplifying reporting and compliance. Join It also supports manually configured tax rules, but Stripe Tax and manual Join It tax rules should not be used at the same time. If your organization has specific tax requirements, it’s worth confirming the correct setup with your finance or tax advisor.

Not every membership payment happens online through Stripe. When a payment is collected outside Join It, admins can record it manually on the member’s record, including the amount, payment date, and optional notes. In some cases, an offline payment can also be recorded as a renewal, updating the membership status and expiration date. This keeps your membership database accurate even when some payments are collected outside the standard online Stripe checkout flow.