When a student pays by credit card, the money does not go straight to your bank. It goes into your own Stripe account, connected to SwingMatch, and you move it to your bank as a payout. This article explains that path and the choices you have along the way.
Where the money goes
Student books and pays. Their card is authorized (a temporary hold) for the lesson amount.
You confirm the lesson. The card is charged. Group sessions, clinics and camps confirm automatically, so those charges go through at booking.
The money lands in your Stripe balance. Stripe deducts its processing fee and holds the funds until they settle, which takes a few business days.
You pay yourself out. A payout moves money from your Stripe balance to the bank account you added during setup.
SwingMatch never holds your money at any step. The balance and the payouts are yours, inside your Stripe account.
Opening your Stripe portal
Go to Account from the main menu.
Tap the Payment tab.
In the Online Payments (via Stripe) section, open the Stripe portal.
From here you can see your balance, request a payout, change your payout schedule, update your bank details, and set up tax registrations. You can also reach the full Stripe Dashboard from the link on your Reports page.
Paying yourself out (manual payouts)
New SwingMatch accounts start with manual payouts. Nothing moves to your bank until you ask for it.
Open the Stripe portal from Account → Payment.
Check your available balance. Money that has not finished settling shows as pending and cannot be paid out yet.
Request a payout for the amount you want, up to your available balance, and confirm.
The payout usually arrives in your bank within a couple of business days. Manual payouts suit coaches who like to move money in round amounts, or who want the balance to sit in Stripe until the end of the month.
Switching to automatic payouts
If you would rather not think about it, set a payout schedule and Stripe pays you out on its own.
Open the Stripe portal from Account → Payment.
Go to your payout settings and change the schedule from manual to automatic. Stripe lets you choose how often, such as daily, weekly or monthly.
Save.
From then on, every payout includes whatever has become available since the last one. You can switch back to manual at any time in the same place.
When will I actually see the money?
Situation | What to expect |
Right after you finish Stripe setup | Payouts may be held for 2 to 3 business days while Stripe verifies your account. |
A lesson you just confirmed | Shows in your balance as pending, then becomes available after a few business days. |
Manual payout requested | Arrives in your bank within a couple of business days. |
Automatic schedule | Available funds go out on the schedule you chose. |
Neither SwingMatch nor you can speed up Stripe's settlement or bank transfer times.
What comes off the top
Stripe's processing fee — about 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, more for some card types and cards from outside your country. Stripe keeps this.
The booking fee — an optional 3.5% + $0.30 that your students pay on top of the lesson price. It is on by default and exists to cover Stripe's fee so you keep your advertised rate. Turn it off in Account → Payment if you would rather absorb the fee yourself. See Understanding the Booking Fee.
Platform fee — on the Free plan, SwingMatch takes 10% of online payments. Pro and Academy plans have no platform fee. See SwingMatch Pro Subscription Plans.
Refunds and your balance
When you refund a student, the money comes out of your Stripe balance. If the balance is too low, Stripe recovers it from your next incoming payments. The booking fee returns to you on a refund; Stripe's processing fee does not. See Refunding a Payment.
Good to know
Offline payments (cash, e-transfer, pro shop) never touch Stripe. Marking a lesson as paid in SwingMatch is record-keeping only.
Package purchases paid by card land in your balance the same way as single lessons, at the time the package is bought.
Your Reports page shows revenue by lesson, offering and payment method. Your Stripe Dashboard shows the fees, balance and payout history.
If your payouts are paused with an Action Required badge, Stripe needs more information from you. Open the portal and follow the prompt. See Why Isn't My Stripe Connect Working?