Stripe Integration
Payments & AccountingWhat It Does
Stripe is a complete payment infrastructure platform that enables businesses to accept online payments, manage subscriptions, send payouts, and handle complex financial operations via API. For real estate professionals, Stripe provides the secure payment layer for collecting earnest money deposits from buyers, processing consultation or retainer fees, accepting rental application payments, and receiving international wire transfers—all without building payment infrastructure from scratch or navigating complex banking integrations.
Why Real Estate Professionals Use It
Real estate has traditionally been a checks-and-wire-transfer business, but modern buyers expect digital payment options. Stripe bridges that gap. Instead of asking a buyer to drop off a $10,000 earnest money check at your office (requiring them to take time off work, find parking, and trust you with a physical check), text them a Stripe payment link: 'Submit your deposit in 60 seconds from your phone.' The buyer pays with a credit card or bank transfer, funds are in your account within 2 business days, and both parties receive instant confirmation. This speed and convenience wins deals—first buyer to submit deposit often wins in multiple-offer scenarios.
AI Solutions for Payments
CTO's Guide to AI Implementation
Security, compliance, and vendor evaluation frameworks for AI operations
AI Transaction Coordinator
Automate document collection, deadline tracking, and stakeholder updates
Commission & Pipeline Tracker
Real-time dashboard showing deal progress and expected commissions
Key Features for Real Estate
Discover how Stripe powers real estate automation workflows
Payment Links and Hosted Checkout
Generate shareable payment links with no coding required. Links open Stripe-hosted checkout pages where clients enter payment info securely. Customize with your branding, accepted payment methods, and success/cancel URLs. Links can be one-time or reusable.
Generate a payment link for $10,000 earnest money deposit, text it to buyer: 'Submit your deposit here: [link]'. Buyer clicks, pays with card or ACH, receives instant receipt. Funds in your account in 2 days. No physical checks, no bank trips, no manual deposit reconciliation.
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Automation Workflows
Ready-to-deploy workflows powered by Stripe + NextAutomation
Automated Earnest Money Collection and Deal Progression
When a buyer's offer is accepted, this workflow generates a Stripe payment link for the earnest money deposit, texts it to the buyer, monitors payment status via webhooks, and automatically updates deal stage in CRM, sends receipts, and notifies transaction coordinator when funds are secured—all without agent touching a check.
1CRM webhook triggers n8n when deal moves to 'Offer Accepted'
2Extract deal data: buyer name, email, phone, earnest money amount (e.g., $10,000), property address
3n8n calls Stripe API to create payment link with amount, description: 'Earnest Money for [Address]'
4Send SMS via Twilio to buyer: 'Congrats on your offer! Submit your $10k deposit here: [Stripe link]. Secure payment, instant receipt.'
Earnest money collection time drops from 5-7 days (coordinating check drop-off) to under 24 hours. Buyers appreciate instant digital option, sellers have confidence funds are secured quickly. Transaction coordinator gets notified immediately instead of waiting for agent to deposit check. Eliminates risk of lost checks or manual deposit errors. Agent saves 2+ hours per deal on payment logistics.
Triggers & Actions
Connect Stripe to your workflows with powerful triggers and actions
Triggers
Payment Succeeded
Webhook fires when a payment is successfully processed and funds are secured.
When earnest money payment succeeds, trigger workflow to update CRM deal status, send receipt, notify transaction coordinator, and log in accounting.
Payment Failed
Fires when a payment attempt fails (insufficient funds, declined card, etc.).
When rental application fee payment fails, send email to applicant with alternative payment methods and support contact.
Subscription Created
Fires when a customer subscribes to a recurring payment plan.
When tenant sets up auto-pay subscription for monthly rent, send welcome email confirming auto-pay setup and next charge date.
Charge Refunded
Fires when a refund is issued (full or partial) on a charge.
When earnest money refunded due to deal falling through, trigger workflow to update CRM, notify buyer and seller, and log refund in accounting.
Dispute Created (Chargeback)
Fires when a customer disputes a charge with their bank.
When earnest money charge is disputed, alert transaction coordinator immediately to gather evidence (signed contract, email communications) for Stripe dispute response.
Payout Paid
Fires when funds are transferred from Stripe balance to your bank account.
When weekly payout deposited to brokerage account, send summary email to accounting team with transaction breakdown for reconciliation.
Actions
Create Payment Link
Generates a shareable payment link for specified amount and description. Returns URL to share via email/SMS.
When offer accepted, create Stripe payment link for $10k earnest money deposit and text it to buyer for instant payment.
Create Checkout Session
Creates a hosted checkout page (more customizable than payment link) with branding, accepted payment methods, and success/cancel URLs.
Create branded checkout page for $500 buyer consultation with your logo, custom success message, and redirect to Calendly scheduling page.
Charge Customer
Process a payment using a saved payment method (card or bank account) without customer interaction.
Auto-charge tenant's saved card on 1st of month for monthly rent subscription without requiring manual payment each time.
Refund Payment
Refunds a charge (full or partial). Funds return to customer's original payment method.
When deal falls through and earnest money needs refund, issue Stripe refund programmatically and send confirmation to buyer.
Create Customer
Creates a customer record in Stripe for storing payment methods and subscription management.
When new tenant onboards, create Stripe customer profile to save their payment method for recurring rent charges.
Create Subscription
Sets up recurring billing schedule for a customer with specified interval and amount.
Create monthly rent subscription for new tenant: $2,500/month, auto-charge on 1st, retry failed payments 3 times.
Retrieve Payment
Fetches details about a specific payment by ID: amount, status, payment method, fees, net amount.
Retrieve earnest money payment details to display in agent dashboard: 'Payment ID, Amount: $10,000, Fee: $290, Net: $9,710, Status: Paid'.
Transfer to Connected Account
Transfer funds from platform balance to connected account (agent, vendor) for marketplace/split payment scenarios.
After commission received, transfer agent's 70% share ($10,500) to their Stripe connected account, brokerage keeps 30% ($4,500).
Setup Guide
Get started in approximately 20 minutes for basic setup and first payment link; 1 hour to configure webhooks and build first automated workflow with n8n
Prerequisites
- Stripe account (free signup, business verification required for payouts)
- Business bank account for receiving payouts
- Stripe API keys (Publishable and Secret keys from Dashboard)
- n8n instance with Stripe node available
- Understanding of PCI compliance basics (never store raw card data yourself)
Create Stripe Account and Complete Business Verification
Sign up at stripe.com/register. Provide business details: legal name, address, EIN/SSN, bank account for payouts. Stripe verifies identity (may take 1-2 business days for full access). Once verified, you can accept payments and receive payouts.
Use your brokerage's legal entity name and EIN for team accounts. Solo agents can use SSN. Stripe requires verification to prevent fraud—have business docs ready (articles of incorporation, bank statement).
Retrieve API Keys from Dashboard
In Stripe Dashboard, go to Developers → API Keys. You'll see 'Publishable Key' (starts with pk_) and 'Secret Key' (starts with sk_). Copy both. Publishable key is safe for client-side code, Secret key must remain private (server-side only). Start with Test mode keys for development.
Test mode (pk_test_, sk_test_) uses fake payments for testing. Live mode (pk_live_, sk_live_) processes real money. Build and test workflows in Test mode before switching to Live. Keep Secret key secure—never commit to git or share publicly.
Connect Stripe to n8n
In n8n workflow editor, add a Stripe node. Click 'Create New Credentials' and enter your Secret API Key (sk_test_ for testing, sk_live_ for production). Test connection by creating a 'Get Balance' node and executing—it should show your Stripe account balance.
Save credentials as 'Stripe - Test' and 'Stripe - Live' separately. Always test workflows with Test credentials before deploying with Live credentials to avoid accidental real charges.
Set Up Webhooks for Real-Time Notifications
In n8n, create a Webhook node set to POST method. Copy the webhook URL. In Stripe Dashboard → Developers → Webhooks, click 'Add endpoint', paste n8n webhook URL, and select events to listen for (payment_intent.succeeded, charge.refunded, invoice.paid, etc.). Stripe signs webhooks for security—verify signatures in production.
Start by subscribing to 'payment_intent.succeeded' only. Once working, add other events as needed. Test webhooks using Stripe CLI locally before deploying: 'stripe trigger payment_intent.succeeded'.
Create Your First Payment Link
In Stripe Dashboard → Payment Links, click 'New'. Enter product name ('Earnest Money Deposit'), amount ($10,000), and customize success message. Copy the link and test by making a test payment (use Stripe test card 4242 4242 4242 4242). Verify webhook fires and n8n receives it.
Payment links are fastest way to collect payments without code. Use them for one-off scenarios (earnest money, consultation fees). For high-volume or programmatic scenarios, use n8n to generate payment links via API.
Configure Payout Schedule
In Stripe Dashboard → Settings → Bank accounts and scheduling, set payout frequency: daily, weekly, monthly, or manual. Daily payouts (default) transfer funds to your bank account 2 business days after charges. Adjust based on cash flow needs.
Daily payouts maximize cash flow (funds available within 2 days). If you process high volume and prefer batched accounting, switch to weekly. Manually review payouts initially to understand the flow before automating reconciliation.
Enable Fraud Prevention (Radar)
Stripe Radar is enabled by default on all accounts. In Dashboard → Radar, review default fraud rules. Customize rules if needed (e.g., 'Block payments from high-risk countries' or 'Require 3D Secure for charges over $10k'). Monitor Radar Insights to see blocked fraud attempts.
Radar blocks obvious fraud automatically. For real estate (high-value, low-volume), add rule: 'Review charges over $5,000 manually' to catch edge cases. False positives are rare but possible—whitelist trusted clients if needed.
Build Your First Workflow: Payment Link + CRM Update
Create n8n workflow: CRM Trigger (deal → Offer Accepted) → Stripe Create Payment Link (amount from CRM) → Send SMS with link → Webhook Listener (payment succeeded) → Update CRM deal status → Send receipts. Test end-to-end with test mode before going live.
Test with small amounts ($1) in test mode initially. Verify each step works before increasing complexity. Once proven, switch to live mode and monitor first few real transactions closely for issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Stripe integration
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