💳Connecting Your Stripe Account

Set up Stripe as your CrowdWork payment processor — connect the account, read what each status means, and create the Terminal Location your card readers and POS app need.

CrowdWork processes payments through Square or Stripe. Square is our primary partner and the default for new theatres; Stripe is a fully supported alternative, and some theatres are set up on it instead. This guide is for those theatres.

Not sure which one you're on? If your Dashboard sidebar shows Theatre → Stripe, you're a Stripe theatre and this is your guide. If it doesn't, you're on Square — see Connecting Your Square Account instead. Switching between the two isn't something you do yourself — contact support and we'll set it up.

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Where to Find It

Your Stripe settings live at Theatre → Stripe in the Dashboard sidebar. The page has two cards — Payment Processing and In-Person Card Readers (POS) — and it's where you'll go for anything payment-related that isn't inside Stripe itself.

Direct link: Stripe Settings

This page is admin-only. Connecting or changing a payment account is limited to theatre admins — box office, producer, and instructor accounts don't see it. See Managing Staff & Users.

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Connecting Your Account

Click Connect with Stripe and CrowdWork hands you to Stripe to create or sign in to your account. Stripe collects your business details, identity verification, and bank account, then sends you back.

You can stop partway and come back. Stripe onboarding is long, and leaving it half-finished is normal. The button changes to Finish Setup on Stripe and picks up the same account where you left off — you will never be asked to start again, and nothing you've already submitted is lost.

What the Status Means

The badge at the top right of Payment Processing tells you where the account stands. Refresh Status re-checks it with Stripe.

Status	What it means, and what to do
Not connected	No Stripe account yet. Click Connect with Stripe.
Setup incomplete	Stripe still needs details before it can accept payments. Click Finish Setup on Stripe — it returns you to the same account.
Pending verification	Stripe is reviewing what you submitted. Usually a few minutes, occasionally a day or two. Nothing to do but wait.
Payouts pending	You can take payments, but Stripe can't pay out yet — usually a missing bank account or payout detail.
Restricted	Payments aren't being accepted. The page lists what Stripe is waiting on; resolve those items in Stripe.
Status unknown	We haven't checked with Stripe yet. Click Refresh Status.
Ready	Accepting payments and receiving payouts. Nothing to do.

Alongside the badge, the card shows your Stripe Account ID, whether Stripe is Accepting Payments, whether Payouts are enabled, and when we Last Checked. When Stripe is waiting on something specific, it's listed under Stripe still needs:.

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In-Person Card Readers (POS)

Set this up before you try to log in to the POS app. Stripe requires a physical venue address — it calls this a Terminal Location — before any card reader can be paired. The CrowdWork POS app reads that location at login, so without one you can't get into the app at all. Selling online is unaffected.

CrowdWork creates the Terminal Location for you as soon as Stripe starts accepting payments on your account, using the address from your Theatre Details. Once it exists, the card shows its Name, Address, and Location ID, with a green Ready badge.

If It Says "Not Set Up"

Almost always, the address is missing or incomplete. Stripe requires a real street address, city, and postal code — a PO box or a partial address won't do.

1. Expand Enter the venue address (or Use a different name or address) on the card. The fields are pre-filled from your Theatre Details, so you can see exactly what's being sent.

2. Fill in anything missing, then click Create Terminal Location.

Fix it once, in Theatre Details. If your venue address simply isn't on file, adding it to Theatre Details fixes it everywhere rather than just here. Use the form on this page only when the reader lives somewhere other than your main address.

POS Login Errors

These come from the POS app on a Stripe theatre. If you saw one of them, this page is where it gets fixed:

What the app said	What it means
"Error initializing Stripe. No locations available."	Your account has no Terminal Location. Create one on this page, then sign in again.
"Error initializing Stripe. Please try again."	The app couldn't start a card-reader session. Check that Payment Processing reads Ready here, then retry — and contact support if it persists.
"Multiple Locations — Please select the active location you'd like to use"	Not an error. Your Stripe account has more than one Terminal Location, so the app asks which venue this device is at. It remembers your choice and only asks again if that location goes away.

For everything else about the app itself, see Setting Up Point of Sale (POS).

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Disconnecting

Only disconnect to move to a genuinely different Stripe account. If your setup is simply unfinished, use Finish Setup on Stripe instead — that keeps the account and everything attached to it, including your Terminal Location. Disconnecting abandons the account; CrowdWork shows you exactly what's attached before you confirm.

Never disconnect while payment plans are running. Stored payment methods belong to the connected account, so changing it breaks the link and every remaining installment fails. Wait until active plans have finished — see Setting Up Payment Plans.

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Apple Pay is Square-only today. Patrons checking out at a Stripe theatre pay by card; the Apple Pay button is part of our Square integration. See Apple Pay at Checkout for what Square theatres get.

Related Tasks

Task	Guide
Set up in-person selling and check-in	Setting Up Point of Sale (POS)
Understand what you and your patrons are charged	Understanding CrowdWork Fees
Connect Square instead	Connecting Your Square Account
Finish setting up your theatre	Setup Your Theatre Account

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Need Help?

If you run into a situation this guide doesn't cover, contact our support team from your Dashboard. We're here to help!