Stripe + QuickBooks Integration

How CrewLAB Payments Work

Every payment collected through CrewLAB is processed by Stripe. When a member pays for a season, camp, or registration, four things happen:

• Charge — Stripe processes the payment (credit card, ACH, Apple Pay, etc.) and records the gross amount, program name, member info, and a unique payment ID.
• Fees — Two fees are deducted per charge: Stripe processing (2.9% + $0.30 for card, 0.8% capped at $5 for ACH) and the CrewLAB platform fee (3%).
• Payout — Stripe batches charges into bank deposits, typically daily or weekly. The payout amount is charges minus fees minus any refunds.
• Refund (if applicable) — Reverses the original charge. Stripe deducts the refund from the next payout. Original fees are not refunded.

The customer-facing rate is 5.9% all-in — that’s both percentage fees bundled into one transparent rate (plus $0.30 per card transaction from Stripe). In your books, you’ll track them as separate expense accounts for visibility.

Stripe QuickBooks Integration Journal Entries

Every CrewLAB payment maps to a standard set of journal entries in QuickBooks Online. Here’s how each event is recorded in the Stripe QuickBooks integration:

When a member pays

When fees are recorded

When Stripe pays out to your bank

When a refund is issued

QuickBooks Account Setup

You’ll need these accounts set up in QuickBooks Online for the Stripe QuickBooks integration to work correctly:

Sample Transactions

Here’s a realistic example with six charges, a discount, and a refund — the same scenarios your club will encounter:

Proof: Revenue ($450) − Stripe fees ($17.75) − CrewLAB fees ($16.50) = Net income ($415.75). Clearing account = $0.00. Everything ties.

Reconciliation

You can reconcile your Stripe QuickBooks integration at three levels:

By Transaction

Every CrewLAB payment creates a Sales Receipt in QBO with full detail — program name, member name, gross amount, discount, both fees, and the Stripe payment ID for cross-reference. You can look up any single payment and trace it end to end.

By Product

QBO items map to CrewLAB programs (Spring Season, Summer Camp, etc.). Run a Sales by Product report to see revenue, refunds, and net per program. This is how you answer “how much did we make from summer camp?”

By Payout

Each Stripe payout is a Transfer in QBO from the Stripe Clearing account to your bank. If the Clearing account balance is zero, every charge and payout has been matched. A non-zero balance means something hasn’t been recorded — that’s your signal to investigate.

Financial Statements

With the accounts set up correctly, your standard financial statements tell the right story:

Profit & Loss

Revenue (Memberships) minus Stripe Processing Fees minus CrewLAB Platform Fees equals Net Income. Using the sample data above: $450.00 − $17.75 − $16.50 = $415.75.

Balance Sheet

Cash (Bank) should equal your Retained Earnings (assuming no other transactions). Cash (Stripe Clearing) should be zero. If Assets = Equity, your books are balanced.

Audit Trail

Every QBO entry traces back to a Stripe ID: Sales Receipts link to Stripe payment IDs, Transfers link to Stripe payout IDs, and Credit Memos link to Stripe refund IDs. This gives your board and auditors a complete chain of custody.

Key Rules for Your Accounting Team

• Discounts reduce the charge amount before it hits Stripe. Only the net amount (after coupon) enters the Stripe Clearing account. Track discount volume in a contra-revenue account for visibility.
• Two separate fee accounts. Stripe processing fees and CrewLAB platform fees should be recorded as separate expense lines. This gives clear visibility into total cost of payment processing vs. platform cost.
• Fees are per-charge, not per-payout. Every Stripe charge incurs both fees at the time of the charge. Even if the charge is later refunded, the fees stay on the books.
• Refunds don’t hit Cash (Bank) directly. Stripe deducts refunds from the next payout. The refund reduces the Stripe Clearing balance, and the next payout to your bank is naturally smaller.
• Refunds cost you the original fees. When you refund $100, neither Stripe nor CrewLAB refunds their processing fees. The club absorbs approximately $6.20 on every $100 refund.
• The clearing account must always trend to zero. A non-zero balance means a charge or payout hasn’t been recorded. This is your primary reconciliation checkpoint.
• Disputes and chargebacks work like refunds plus a $15 dispute fee. If lost, record the chargeback as a revenue reversal and the $15 fee as an additional expense.

Stripe QuickBooks Integration Options

There are three ways to get CrewLAB payment data into QuickBooks. The accounting model above applies to all three — the only difference is how automated the data entry becomes.

Option 1: QuickBooks Stripe Connector (Free)

Intuit offers a free “Stripe Connector by QuickBooks” in the QBO app marketplace. Install it, authorize your Stripe account, and map Stripe product names to QBO items. Transactions sync automatically with a few hours of delay.

Best for: Getting started quickly. Good enough for clubs processing fewer than 100 transactions per month.

Limitations: Single Stripe account only, no payout reconciliation (you’ll match bank deposits manually), product mapping by name only, fees may not split into separate accounts, and it’s still in beta.

Option 2: Acodei (From $12/month)

Acodei is a purpose-built Stripe-to-QuickBooks connector that handles everything the stock connector doesn’t — automated payout reconciliation, the Stripe Clearing account pattern, per-transaction fee breakdowns, and product mapping by price ID. This is the standard tool we set up for every CrewLAB club.

Best for: Clubs that want full automation without development. Handles refunds, disputes, multi-currency, and multiple Stripe accounts. Free trial available to validate before committing.

Setup: Install from the QBO App Marketplace → connect your Stripe account → map CrewLAB programs to QBO items using Acodei’s rule engine → configure the Stripe Clearing account and fee accounts. Takes 1–2 hours for initial setup, then runs automatically.

Option 3: CrewLAB Native Connector (On Roadmap)

A first-party Stripe QuickBooks integration built into the CrewLAB admin dashboard. Clubs connect their QBO account once, and everything flows automatically — charges, both fees as separate line items, refunds, and payout reconciliation. No third-party cost, no setup complexity.

Best for: The future. This will be included in the platform fee and will auto-map CrewLAB programs to QBO items with zero configuration.

Recommended Path

Start with the free QBO connector (Option 1) to get payment data flowing this week. Set up Acodei (Option 2) in parallel — their free trial lets you validate the sync quality before committing. Go live on Acodei once confirmed, typically by week 4. This is the same process for every CrewLAB club.

Setup Checklist

Before connecting any Stripe QuickBooks integration, make sure these are in place:

Before the Integration

• Pull Stripe Price IDs for each registration product your club offers (find these in Stripe Dashboard → Products)
• Confirm your bookkeeper has QBO admin access and Stripe admin access

QuickBooks Account Setup (5 minutes)

1. Create “Cash — Stripe Clearing” account (Bank type)
2. Create “Payment Processing Fees” account (Expense type) — or two accounts if you want to split Stripe and CrewLAB fees
3. Create QBO Items for each CrewLAB program (e.g., “Spring Season 2026”, “Summer Camp”)
4. Verify your bank account is connected and reconciling

Connector Setup (varies by option)

1. Install your chosen connector from the QBO App Marketplace
2. Authorize the Stripe connection
3. Map CrewLAB programs to QBO items
4. Configure fee accounts and the Stripe Clearing account
5. Run a test sync and verify against Stripe dashboard