Stripe Setup Guide
Step-by-step instructions for accepting payments
Part 1: Setting Up Book Sales
1Create a Stripe Account
- • Go to stripe.com
- • Click "Start now" or "Sign up"
- • Complete the registration with your business information
- • Verify your email address
- • Complete the business verification process (this may take 1-2 business days)
2Create Products for Each Book
- • Log into your Stripe Dashboard
- • Go to Products in the left sidebar
- • Click "Add product"
- • Fill in the details:
- - Name: Your book title (e.g., "The Geocaching Mystery")
- - Description: Brief description of the book
- - Image: Upload the book cover
- - Pricing: Click "Add pricing"
- - Price: Enter your book price (e.g., $14.99)
- - Billing: Select "One time"
- • Click "Save product"
- • Copy the Product ID (starts with prod_...) and Price ID (starts with price_...)
- • Repeat for each book you want to sell
3Get Your API Keys
- • In the Stripe Dashboard, click on Developers in the top right
- • Go to API keys
- • You'll see two keys:
- - Publishable key: Starts with pk_test_ or pk_live_
- - Secret key: Starts with sk_test_ or sk_live_ (click "Reveal" to see it)
- • IMPORTANT: Start with TEST mode keys first!
- • Copy both keys somewhere safe
Never share your Secret Key publicly! Keep it secure and only enter it in the Base44 secrets configuration.
4Configure Base44
- • In Base44, go to Dashboard → Settings → Secrets
- • Add your Stripe keys:
- - STRIPE_SECRET_KEY: Your Secret key
- - STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY: Your Publishable key
- • Save the secrets
5Add Product IDs to Books
- • Go to Dashboard → Data → Book
- • For each book, click Edit and add:
- - price: The book price (e.g., 14.99)
- - stripe_product_id: The Product ID from Stripe (prod_...)
- - stripe_price_id: The Price ID from Stripe (price_...)
- • Save each book
6Test Your Setup
- • Make sure you're using TEST keys (pk_test_ and sk_test_)
- • Try to purchase a book on your website
- • Use Stripe's test card: 4242 4242 4242 4242
- • Use any future expiry date and any 3-digit CVC
- • Check your Stripe Dashboard to confirm the test payment appeared
7Go Live!
- • In Stripe, toggle from TEST mode to LIVE mode (top right)
- • Copy your LIVE API keys (pk_live_ and sk_live_)
- • Update the secrets in Base44 with your LIVE keys
- • You're ready to accept real payments!
Part 2: Setting Up Invoicing for Editing Services
1Enable Stripe Invoicing
- • Log into your Stripe Dashboard
- • Go to Payments → Invoices
- • Invoicing should already be enabled by default
2Create an Invoice
- • When a client contacts you for editing services:
- • Go to Payments → Invoices in Stripe
- • Click "Create invoice"
- • Fill in the details:
- - Customer: Enter client's email (Stripe will create or find their account)
- - Items: Add line items for your services
- - Example: "Developmental Edit - 80,000 words @ $0.03/word = $2,400"
- - Due date: Set when payment is due
- - Memo: Add any notes or terms
- • Click "Review invoice"
3Send the Invoice
- • Review all details
- • Click "Send invoice"
- • Stripe will email the invoice to your client with a payment link
- • The client can pay with credit card, bank transfer, or other methods you enable
4Payment Terms Options
- • 50% upfront, 50% on delivery:
- - Create first invoice for 50% and send it
- - After payment, start the work
- - When complete, create second invoice for remaining 50%
- • Full payment upfront: Create one invoice for full amount
- • Payment on delivery: Complete work first, then send invoice
5Track Payments
- • Go to Payments → Invoices to see all invoices
- • Status will show: Draft, Sent, Paid, or Overdue
- • You'll receive email notifications when invoices are paid
- • You can send payment reminders for unpaid invoices
Quick Tips
- Always test with TEST mode keys before going live
- Stripe takes 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for US cards
- Payments are deposited to your bank account in 2-7 business days
- You can customize invoice emails in Stripe settings
- Enable email receipts so customers get automatic confirmations