Payment Portal

The payment portal is where a customer pays an invoice online. Connecting it is also what lets you send quotes, because the page a customer accepts or declines one on is hosted there too. It is a one-time setup.

Setting It Up

Argo Books connects to Stripe and Square, covering credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more.

  1. Go to Settings > Payment Portal
  2. Set your company name and portal logo. These appear on the page your customers see
  3. Set your owner email and confirm it with the emailed code. It is used for refund verification and account recovery, and a provider cannot be connected until it is set
  4. Under "Connected Payment Providers", click Connect on Stripe or Square to link your existing account, or create one during the connect step
  5. Authorize Argo Books to process payments on your behalf

Note: A standard Stripe or Square seller account is all you need. Argo Books connects to your account, it never stores your payment credentials.

What Your Customers See

  • They receive an email with a link, and nothing to sign up for or install
  • An invoice can be paid there, securely, using their preferred payment method
  • A quote can be accepted or declined there, with room for a message back (see Quotes)
  • Payments and answers come back into Argo Books on their own

Payment Processing Fees

Payment processing fees are charged by the payment provider, not Argo Books. Both Stripe and Square typically charge around 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Because the exact rate depends on many different factors, Argo Books adds the 2.9% + $0.30 for every transaction.

You decide if you want to pass this fee onto your customer, or take the cost yourself. There is a "pass processing fee" toggle:

  • Toggle on → passes the cost on to the customer. Customer pays invoice total + 2.9% + $0.30.
  • Toggle off → customer pays just the invoice total. You absorb the fee.

When your customers pay the invoices, the total amount and the fee go into your account. It's when you take the money out of your Stripe or Square account and move it into your normal bank account that they charge you. The fee may be slightly different than the 2.9% + $0.30, especially if your customer is in a different country.

Argo Books does not add any extra fee on top of the payment providers.

Tip: This is a per-invoice choice, not a global setting. The "Pass processing fee to customer" checkbox is on the Create Invoice modal and is ticked by default. Untick it on any invoice where you would rather absorb the fee yourself.

Security

Your payment data is protected:

  • All payment processing happens on the payment provider's secure servers
  • Argo Books never stores card numbers or bank details
  • PCI DSS compliant through certified providers
  • End-to-end encryption for all transactions
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