Billing and Stripe Setup

QELM has two different money setups.

Workspace billing

This is your subscription to use QELM. A workspace Admin manages it from Billing.

Customer invoice payments

This lets your customers pay invoices online. A workspace Admin connects a Stripe account from Settings.

These are not the same thing

Paying for QELM does not automatically connect your company to receive customer invoice payments. Connect Stripe in Settings if you want customers to pay invoices online.

Who can manage billing

Only workspace Admins can update QELM billing, open the Stripe Billing Portal, or connect Stripe for online invoice payments.

If you are not an Admin, ask a workspace Admin to do this for you.

Workspace billing

Workspace billing controls whether your company can keep using QELM.

1. Open Billing in QELM.

2. Review the current workspace access state.

   The page shows whether workspace access is allowed or restricted.

3. If the workspace is in trial, start billing before the trial ends.

4. If payment needs attention, open the Stripe Billing Portal and update the payment method.

5. If the subscription was canceled or the workspace was suspended, use Start Billing to restart billing.

Billing states you may see

State	What it means	What to do
Trialing	The workspace is still in its trial period.	Start billing before trial ends.
Active	Billing is in good standing.	No action needed.
Past due	Stripe reports a payment issue.	Update payment method in the Billing Portal.
Grace period	QELM is giving temporary recovery time.	Fix billing before access is restricted.
Suspended	Normal workspace access is restricted for billing.	A workspace Admin must restart or fix billing.
Canceled	The subscription is no longer active.	A workspace Admin must start billing again.

Connect Stripe for customer invoice payments

Stripe Connect lets your customers pay invoice links online.

1. Open Settings, Support & Activity.

2. Find the Stripe connection area.

3. Choose the Stripe connection action.

4. Complete the Stripe onboarding steps.

5. Return to QELM.

6. Confirm the page says Stripe is connected.

When Stripe is connected, QELM can show online payment options on invoice payment links.

How customer invoice payments work

Before Stripe is connected

If Stripe is not connected, customers who open an invoice payment link see that online payments are not available. They should contact your company to arrange payment another way.

After Stripe is connected

A customer can open an invoice payment link and pay online. QELM creates the payment through Stripe and routes the funds to your connected Stripe account.

If an invoice is already paid

If the invoice balance is already zero, QELM treats the payment link as already paid.

Fees, payouts, and refunds

Once Stripe is connected, this is what happens to the money when a customer pays an invoice online.

The QELM platform fee. QELM takes a 3% platform fee on each online card payment. It is collected through Stripe as part of the charge, so it comes off the top automatically — you never receive a separate bill for it.

The 3% is not a card processing fee

Stripe’s own card processing fees are separate, and they are Stripe’s, not QELM’s. What Stripe charges you for processing is set by your Stripe agreement and is shown in your Stripe dashboard. The QELM 3% is on top of that.

Payouts. The money goes to your connected Stripe account, and Stripe pays it out to your bank on that account’s normal payout schedule. QELM does not hold your funds and does not control the timing. To see when a payout is coming, when it landed, or to change the schedule, open your Stripe dashboard.

Refunds. Refunds are issued from your connected Stripe account, through Stripe. Find the payment in your Stripe dashboard and refund it there.

Bank transfer / ACH is not available

QELM does not currently accept bank transfer or ACH payments on invoices. Online payment means card. If a customer wants to pay by bank transfer, arrange it with them directly and record it with Add Payment on the invoice.

What to check before using online payments

• Your workspace billing is active or otherwise allowed.
• Your company settings are correct.
• Stripe is connected in Settings.
• Your invoice looks correct before you send it.
• Your customer has the correct public invoice payment link.

When to ask for help

Ask support if:

• Billing says the workspace is restricted, but the subscription should be active.
• Stripe onboarding is complete, but QELM still says online payments are unavailable.
• A customer cannot pay an invoice link.
• You see a Stripe error you do not understand.