Overview
Factory integrates with Stripe to let customers pay invoices online by card. Once Stripe is connected and your PDF templates are configured, every generated invoice includes a View & Pay Invoice button. The customer pays through a secure Stripe-hosted checkout and the payment flows straight back into Factory — no manual entry required.
This article covers Stripe setup, PDF template configuration, and the customer payment experience. For recording manual payments (cash, card, bank transfer, cheque) see How to Record Payments Against an Invoice in Factory.
Prerequisites
You must have Administrator or Power User access to connect Stripe and manage payments.
Before accepting Stripe payments, configure a bank account in your accounting package (Xero, MYOB, or QuickBooks). Stripe payouts cannot sync without one.
The order must be invoiced before a payment link is generated.
Step 1) Connect Stripe (one-time setup)
Before customers can pay online, you'll need a) company Stripe account and b) complete the steps below, which is handled entirely by Stripe Connect. Once you have your Stripe account set up:
Go to Settings → Payment Integrations and click Connect with Stripe.
Create or sign in to a Stripe account (email and password)
Enter your business details:
Business location, type, and structure (e.g. Australia · Company · Proprietary company)
Legal business name, ABN and ACN
Registered address, phone, industry, website, and a short product description
Complete identity verification: provide the authorised representative's legal name, date of birth, home address, and contact details. If any individual holds 25% or more of the business, their details are required as a beneficial owner.
Enter your payout bank account: currency (AUD), BSB, account number and authorise direct-debit payouts.
Optionally set a statement descriptor and support phone shown to customers on card statements and receipts.
Review and agree to the Connected Account Agreement, then submit.
Back in Factory, Stripe shows as Connected. Select the Default Payment Account — the Xero, MYOB, or QuickBooks account that Stripe payments will be recorded against.
More detailed steps on creating a Stripe account can be found here.
Note: Stripe verification is completed once. After that, all new invoices can include the online payment button once your PDF templates are configured (see Step 2). To manage or disconnect the integration, go to your Stripe dashboard; there is no in-app disconnect in Factory.
Step 2) Add the payment button to your invoice PDF templates
Once you've completed the steps above, the View & Pay Invoice button will appear automatically on your invoices if you are using Factory's default invoice PDF template. If you have setup a customer PDF it will not appear on invoices automatically; it needs to be added to your PDF template once after Stripe is connected. To do that:
Go to Settings → PDFs.
Open your Invoice template.
Add the Invoice Payment Button element and position it where you want it to appear; directly underneath the total and right-aligned is a common choice.
Save the template.
Repeat for your Partial Invoice template if you use progress billing.
Note: The button will only appear on invoices generated after it has been added to the template. Previously generated invoices will not include it.
Step 3) How customers pay online
Once Stripe is connected and your template is configured, every new invoice (PDF or online) includes a View & Pay Invoice button.
The customer opens the invoice and sees an Invoice Summary showing the total due and a Pay Now button.
Here's how your (Factory default) invoice PDF will look:
Here's how the online invoice will look:
The customer will then be redirected to a secure Stripe-hosted checkout — currency, card details, and billing information are all captured by Stripe.
After confirming payment, the customer is returned to the invoice page showing "Invoice Already Paid", with a payment summary and a downloadable receipt.
In Factory, the order's Payments tab automatically updates to Paid, with the balance set to $0.00 and the method recorded as the card used (e.g. Stripe · Visa ···· 0006). The payment also syncs to your connected accounting package.
Note: Currently, only card payments are supported through the Stripe checkout. Apple Pay and Google Pay are not yet available but are planned for a future release.
A few things to keep in mind:
You'll need to ensure that under settings -> integrations the payment toggle is switched on so you can send a record of the transaction to your accounting package. This will then allow the default payment account dropdown to be selected. A bank account must be configured in your accounting package before taking Stripe payments. QuickBooks and Xero will fail the sync without one; MYOB falls back to a default account. Configure the bank account in your accounting package before going live.
Stripe processing fee is shown at checkout. Stripe displays its processing fee to the customer during checkout. This cannot be removed from within Factory; it is controlled from your Stripe account settings. If you prefer to absorb the fee rather than pass it on to customers, you can disable surcharges directly in the Stripe dashboard.
Stripe → accounting sync is one-way and silent on failure. If a Stripe payment cannot sync to QuickBooks, Xero, or MYOB, the payment still succeeds and Factory shows it as paid; the sync error is not surfaced in the app. Factory support monitors sync logs and reconciles any failures.
Deleting a payment in Factory does not refund the customer in Stripe. Deleting a payment updates Factory and the accounting package but does not trigger a refund. Process any refunds manually from the Stripe dashboard.
Changes in your accounting package do not flow back to Factory. Payments push from Factory out to accounting only. If an invoice is deleted or changed in QuickBooks, Xero, or MYOB, Factory will not reflect the change. Verify the invoice is still valid in accounting before recording a payment against it.
Disconnect Stripe from the Stripe dashboard. Factory has no in-app disconnect option. To remove or manage the connection, go to your Stripe dashboard directly.
A fully paid order is locked. Once total payments equal the full order value, the order cannot be edited, split, deleted, converted to a quote, or have its customer changed. This is by design to protect a settled order. Delete a payment to bring the total below the order value and unlock the order; an Order Locked notice will explain this if you attempt to edit.
If you need any assistance, reach out the Factory Support team!