I just listened to a podcast episode where someone claimed to have both setup and received payments on Stripe in 20min using AI. As someone who recently went through the process of taking Stripe live, this was upsetting to hear as misleading it was. While setting up a Stripe testing environment is straightforward, taking a site live requires a lot more administratively. I included the below checklist summarizing those steps hoping it will be useful to other getting started or stuck in the process. Also, curious to know others experience with taking Stripe (or another payments platform live)
- I have taken a site live with a payments platform using AI
- I have set up a testing environment for payments using AI
- I have not been able to set up any payments structure using AI
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Stripe Setup Checklist for New Business Owners
1. Legal and Business Info
- Registered legal entity (e.g., LLC or Sole Proprietor)
- Business name and EIN (from IRS)
- Business address
- Business phone number (Google Voice is fine)
- Business website or live landing page
2. Banking Information
- Business checking account (e.g., Mercury or local bank)
- Routing and account numbers to receive payouts
3. Personal Verification Info
- Full legal name
- Date of birth
- SSN (for identity verification)
- Home address (used internally by Stripe, not public)
4. Stripe Dashboard Setup
- Create Stripe account: Sign Up and Create a Stripe Account | Stripe
- Fill out business profile (including industry and product description)
- Connect your bank account
- Add branding (logo, colors, statement descriptor, support contact)
5. Payment and Product Setup
- Set up Products and Prices (one-time or recurring)
- Configure Checkout or Payment Links
- Add Test Mode payment methods for development
6. Invoicing & Receipts
- Disable or customize invoice PDF (if privacy is a concern)
- Remove personal info (phone number, home address) from receipts
- Add virtual address to invoice/receipt footer if needed
7. Tax Compliance (Optional but Recommended)
- Enable Stripe Tax
- Monitor state sales tax thresholds
- Only collect tax in states where registered
- Don’t collect tax until registered in a jurisdiction
8. Customer Portal and Webhooks
- Enable Stripe Customer Portal for managing subscriptions
- Set up webhook endpoints to handle events (e.g., subscription updates)
- Secure webhook with secret keys
9. Email and Communication
- Set up professional email address
- Use Postmark or custom SMTP for better email deliverability (optional)
- Customize confirmation emails, receipts, password resets if using Supabase
10. Final Checks Before Launch
- Switch to Live Mode in Stripe
- Run a small live test payment
- Verify customer experience: checkout → email → receipt → customer portal