Payments

Set up Stripe to take payments

Connect a Stripe account so patients pay when they book. Stripe holds and pays out the money — Quokka never touches it.

Last updated 11 August 2026

Patients pay for the appointment at the moment they book it, on your Quokka listing. That payment goes to your own Stripe account, not to ours — Quokka never holds your money, and you are the merchant of record for your own patients.

Connecting Stripe is the last step before you can go live.

What you will need

Stripe has to verify who you are before it will let you take money. Have these to hand:

  • Your business details — legal name, address, and company number if you are a limited company
  • The bank account you want to be paid into
  • Photo ID for whoever owns or directs the business

Note

Already using Stripe for something else? Connect that same account. You do not need a second one, and using your existing account means your payouts carry on arriving exactly as they do now.

Connect your account

Open Invoices in your Quokka portal and click Connect Stripe. You will be taken to Stripe to sign in, or to create an account if you do not have one, and then returned to Quokka automatically.

Tip

The Stripe flow opens in a new window. If nothing happens when you click, check that your browser is not blocking pop-ups for Quokka.

Wait for Stripe to approve you

Stripe reviews new accounts before switching payments on. This is usually immediate, but it can take a day or two if Stripe wants to see a document.

Two separate things get switched on, and they can arrive at different times:

  • Charges enabled — you can take payments. This is what your listing needs to go live.
  • Payouts enabled — Stripe can send money to your bank. Occasionally this lands a little later.

Your portal shows both. If charges are enabled and payouts are not, patients can still book you — the money is simply held by Stripe until your bank details clear.

Watch out

If Stripe asks for a document and nobody responds, it will eventually pause payouts. Stripe emails the address on your Stripe account, which may not be the one you use for Quokka — so it is worth checking that inbox if payouts stop.

How the money moves

  1. A patient books and pays on your Quokka listing
  2. Stripe takes its own processing fee
  3. Quokka's commission is deducted automatically
  4. The rest goes to your Stripe balance, and Stripe pays it into your bank on its usual schedule

Every payment appears in Invoices in your portal with the appointment it belongs to, the total the patient paid, and the commission deducted — so you can reconcile a payout without opening Stripe.

Refunds and cancellations

Refunds are issued from Quokka, and the money is returned to the patient's card by Stripe. See refunds and cancellations for who can cancel and what the patient gets back.

Questions practices usually ask

Can I take payment in the clinic instead? Not for a Quokka booking. Paying at the point of booking is what stops no-shows, and it is what patients now expect from anything they book online.

Does Quokka see my card details or my patients'? No. Card details go straight to Stripe and never reach us. We store which payment a booking belongs to, not the card behind it.

What if I already have a card machine? Keep it. This only covers appointments booked through Quokka; anything booked directly with your practice is unaffected.

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