How to manage payments and billing?
TrainerStudio lets you charge your clients and keep track of all the money coming into your business. The basic flow is to create a product, define how it is charged and record the transaction. If the client pays by card, you send them a Stripe checkout link. If they pay by Bizum, cash, bank transfer or an external platform, you record that payment as a manual transaction. If you receive income that does not fit any product (a gift voucher, a one-off charge, a past payment), you can also record it as a standalone transaction.
In the current version you need to connect Stripe before creating products and billing plans in Business. That does not mean every client has to pay by card. It means the catalog of products and prices is created with Stripe connected, and you can then use it both for card payments and for manual transactions linked to those products.
How to charge a client
Start in Business. First connect Stripe if you have not done so yet. Then create the product you sell, for example monthly coaching, an 8-week challenge, a personalized routine or a premium program. Inside that product, create a billing plan with the right price and frequency.
Once the product has a billing plan, you can charge it by card from Products. Open View prices, choose the right price and press Generate payment link. You can create a link for a specific client or a generic link to share with people you have not registered yet. Copy the link and send it by WhatsApp, email, chat or whatever channel you use with your clients.
With a generic link, the client enters their details directly in Stripe when paying. TrainerStudio will try to match the transaction to an existing client with that email. If you turn on the option to create the client automatically and no match is found, the client is created after Stripe confirms the payment.
If the client has already paid you outside TrainerStudio, or is going to pay by Bizum, cash, bank transfer or an external platform, go to Transactions and use Register transaction. Choose the Catalog product mode and select the matching product and plan. That record does not move any money, but it logs the transaction in TrainerStudio so you can review revenue, statuses and active clients in one place.
If what you received does not fit any product (a gift voucher, a one-off charge, a past payment), choose the Standalone entry mode instead of Catalog product: you enter a free-text concept, an amount, a currency and the date the money came in. That way no income gets lost, even when it is not part of your catalog.
If what you want to track is a recurring fee you collect by hand, go to Subscriptions and use Register manual subscription. That way you can manage monthly coaching paid by Bizum, bank transfer or cash without creating a subscription in Stripe.
What Stripe does
Stripe processes card payments and automatic subscriptions. It also handles account verification, payouts to your bank, disputes, fees and financial details.
TrainerStudio covers the coach's day-to-day side: what you sell, who you sold it to, how much it costs, how it was paid and the status of each transaction.
What to read next
If you want to understand the difference between product, billing plan, transaction and subscription, start with Basic concepts. If you cannot create products yet, check Connect Stripe. To set up prices, continue with Products and billing plans.
When you want to charge by card, go to Stripe payment links. To record Bizum, cash or bank transfers, use Manual payments. For recurring fees managed outside Stripe, see Subscriptions. To check who has paid, what is pending and which transactions have issues, go to Transactions and statuses.