Connect Stripe

Wozena bills your clients through your own Stripe account. Connect it once and you can sell plans, send payment links, rebill call usage and see your margin, while every payment lands in your Stripe balance.

How client billing works#

You are the merchant of record. Your clients pay you directly on your Stripe account, under your business name. Wozena never collects, holds or takes a cut of client revenue. It uses your key to create the Stripe objects that billing needs:

• A product and recurring price for each client plan you create.
• Customers, Checkout sessions and subscriptions when a client subscribes.
• Invoice items for usage beyond the plan’s allowance, collected on the client’s next invoice.

Your own Wozena subscription is separate. It is billed by Wozena and never mixed with client payments. See Your Wozena plan.

Get a Stripe secret key#

In Stripe, open the API keys page and copy the secret key for the account that should receive client payments. Live keys start with sk_live_ and test keys start with sk_test_.

A standard secret key works with no extra setup. If your company policy requires a restricted key, give it the permissions listed in Using a restricted key.

Connect your account#

1. Open Provider Connections
   Go to Provider Connections. Find the Stripe row, described as “Plans, subscriptions, invoices and client revenue.”, and click “Connect Stripe”.
2. Paste your key
   Paste the key into “Stripe secret key”. If you don’t have it yet, the “Open Stripe API keys” link opens Stripe in a new tab.
3. Connect and verify
   Click “Connect and verify”. The button reads “Validating and configuring…” while Wozena checks the key and sets up your account.
4. Confirm it worked
   You see “Stripe is ready for client billing”. The Stripe row now shows “Connected”, your Stripe account name, and “Live” or “Test”. On Client Billing, the header reads “Stripe connected” followed by your account, “Live mode” or “Test mode”, and “Webhook healthy”.

Next, create your first client plan.

What happens automatically#

When you click “Connect and verify”, Wozena:

• Checks the key with Stripe.
• Creates a webhook endpoint on your Stripe account that sends billing events to Wozena.
• Stores the webhook’s signing secret encrypted, so Wozena can confirm each event really came from your Stripe account.

You don’t need to create a webhook in Stripe yourself. If any part of setup fails, Wozena removes what it created, so you can fix the problem and try again without cleaning anything up. The endpoint listens for these events:

Using a restricted key#

A restricted key works if it is allowed to create webhook endpoints and has access to every resource below. If you are unsure, use a standard secret key.

Start in test mode, then go live#

We recommend proving the whole flow with test money before a real client pays you.

1. Connect a test key
   Connect a key that starts with sk_test_. The Stripe row shows “Test” and Client Billing shows “Test mode”.
2. Create a plan and a test client
   Create a plan, then create a client and invite a client admin you control (see Clients).
3. Run a test checkout
   From the client’s “Billing” tab, send a payment link and pay it with one of Stripe’s test cards.
4. Check delivery
   The client’s subscription becomes active and the Stripe row on Provider Connections shows “Delivery verified” with the time of the last event.
5. Switch to your live key
   Click “Update connection”, paste your sk_live_ key and click “Connect and verify”.

Check connection health#

Once connected, the Stripe row on Provider Connections shows:

Before any event has arrived, the row says “No events received yet.” This is normal right after connecting. A real or test checkout is the proof that delivery works end to end.

Use “Test connection” at any time to check that the stored key still works.

Replay failed events

When events fail, a banner at the top of Provider Connections tells you how many need attention, and the Stripe row lists them under “Failed billing events” with the error for each.

1. Read the error
   Each failed event shows the reason it failed.
2. Fix the cause first
   Replaying an event without fixing its cause fails again. The product reminds you: “Fix cause first, then replay”.
3. Replay
   Click “Replay” on one event, or “Replay all” in the banner. Client records catch up from the stored events.

Set up your Stripe dashboard#

Some client-facing billing is configured in Stripe, not in Wozena. Work through this list before going live.

• Customer portal. Clients reach your Stripe customer portal from “Manage billing” in their Usage & Billing page. In Stripe’s customer portal settings, decide whether clients can update payment methods, cancel, and switch plans.
• Invoice and checkout branding. Add your logo, colours and business details in Stripe’s branding settings so invoices and Checkout match your brand.
• Tax. Wozena doesn’t add tax to client checkouts. If you need to collect tax, set it up in Stripe yourself and check the rules that apply to your business.

Rotate or disconnect#

Rotate your key

Create a new key in Stripe, then on the Stripe row click “Update connection”, paste it and click “Connect and verify”. Existing plans, subscriptions and billing records are preserved. Revoke the old key in Stripe only after the new one is connected.

Disconnect

Click “Disconnect” on the Stripe row. New plans and client checkouts stop until Stripe is reconnected. Existing billing records remain. Wozena also removes the webhook endpoint it created on your account. If the key was already revoked in Stripe, Wozena can’t reach your account, so delete that endpoint in Stripe yourself.

Troubleshooting#

For problems outside billing, see Troubleshooting.