Account Setup

Overview

This guide walks through setting up your Stripe account from scratch. If you've already completed Stripe's onboarding wizard, you may have covered most of these steps — use the sections below to verify everything is in place and fill in anything that's missing.

Working with a developer? Add your bank account (Step 1) before sharing access. Everything else — business profile, tax registrations, sandbox setup, and connecting to SimplePress — can be handled by your developer using the Developer role.

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Step 1 — Add Your Bank Account

Your bank account is where Stripe deposits your payouts. Do this before sharing your Stripe account with anyone. Your banking details are yours alone — the Developer role your developer receives does not have access to this section.

Where to find it

1. Go to dashboard.stripe.com and sign in.
2. Click the gear icon (Settings) in the top-right.
3. Select Bank accounts and scheduling from the sidebar.

Adding your bank account

1. Click Add bank account.
2. Select United States (or your country).
3. Enter your routing number and account number.
4. Stripe will make two small test deposits to verify the account (typically within 1–2 business days). Return to this page once they arrive and enter the amounts to confirm.

You can also link your bank account instantly through Plaid if your bank supports it — Stripe offers this as an alternative to manual entry.

Photo: Screenshot of the Bank Accounts and Scheduling settings page with the "Add bank account" button.

Payout schedule

Stripe automatically deposits your available balance to your bank on a schedule you control. The default for new accounts is typically a 7-day rolling payout.

To change your payout schedule:

1. On the Bank accounts and scheduling page, scroll to Payout schedule.
2. Choose Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.
3. Save.

Stripe may require a brief account history before allowing faster payout schedules (e.g. daily). This unlocks automatically once your account has been active for a short period.

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Step 2 — Complete Your Business Profile

Your business profile tells Stripe who you are and how you operate. Stripe uses this information for verification, fraud prevention, and to determine your payout eligibility.

Where to find it

1. Go to dashboard.stripe.com and sign in.
2. Click the gear icon (Settings) in the top-right.
3. Select Account details from the sidebar.

What to fill in

Business type matters. Selecting "Individual" means Stripe will ask for your personal SSN for verification. Selecting a business entity (LLC, Corp) means Stripe will ask for your EIN. Choose whichever matches how your business is legally structured.

Photo: Screenshot of the Stripe Account Details page showing the business profile form fields.

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Step 3 — Complete Identity Verification

Stripe is required by financial regulations to verify the identity of account holders before they can receive payouts. This is a standard Know Your Customer (KYC) / Know Your Business (KYB) process.

You'll typically be prompted to complete this during the Stripe onboarding flow. If you skipped it or it's still pending, here's how to check:

Checking your verification status

1. In the Stripe Dashboard, click your business name in the top-left corner.
2. Look for any action required banners or alerts at the top of the page.
3. Alternatively, go to Settings → Account details and look for a verification status indicator.

If verification is incomplete, Stripe will display a prompt with a link to their verification flow.

What you'll need

For individuals / sole proprietors:

• Your full legal name
• Date of birth
• Last 4 digits of your SSN (or full SSN in some cases)
• A government-issued ID (driver's license or passport) may be requested

For LLCs and corporations:

• Your EIN (Employer Identification Number)
• Business formation documents may be requested
• Personal verification for the beneficial owner(s) — typically anyone who owns 25%+ of the business

Why this matters for SimplePress

Completing Stripe's verification (details_submitted = true on your account) is also what satisfies the federal INFORM Consumers Act requirement once your store reaches 200 transactions or $5,000 in annual revenue. If you go through full onboarding, you're covered. For more on the INFORM Act, see Payments & Payouts.

Photo: Screenshot of a Stripe account showing a verification required banner with a "Complete verification" CTA.

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Step 4 — Set Up Stripe Tax (If Collecting Sales Tax)

If you need to collect sales tax from customers, Stripe Tax handles the calculation and tracking automatically at checkout. You must configure it in your Stripe account before you can enable it in SimplePress.

Do you need to collect sales tax?

Generally, yes — if your business has nexus (a legal obligation to collect tax) in a state where your customers are located. The most common triggers are:

• Physical nexus — your business operates from or has a presence in that state
• Economic nexus — you exceed a state's sales threshold (most commonly $100,000 in annual sales or 200 transactions)

SimplePress is not a tax advisor. See the Tax guide for a full explanation of nexus, thresholds by state, and resources. Consult a tax professional if you're unsure of your obligations.

Setting up Stripe Tax

1. Add your business address to Stripe Tax

1. Go to dashboard.stripe.com/tax/registrations.
2. If prompted, add your business address. Stripe Tax uses this to determine your home-state nexus automatically.

2. Add your state registrations

For each state where you have nexus and a valid sales tax permit:

1. Click Add a registration.
2. Select the state.
3. Enter your sales tax permit number for that state.
4. Set the start date (the date you're required to begin collecting).
5. Save. The registration should show as Active.

You only need to add states where you have nexus. Stripe Tax will not charge customers in states where you don't have an active registration.

Photo: Screenshot of the Stripe Tax Registrations page showing Active registrations.

3. Enable automatic tax in SimplePress

Once your Stripe Tax registrations are active:

1. Go to Settings → Integrations in your SimplePress admin.
2. Under your connected Stripe account, toggle on Automatic Tax Collection.
3. Save.

SimplePress verifies your Stripe Tax configuration before saving. If anything is incomplete, you'll see an error with details on what to fix.

For a full walkthrough of the SimplePress side of tax setup, see Tax.

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Step 5 — Connect Stripe to SimplePress

Once your Stripe account is set up, the last step is connecting it to your store.

1. In your SimplePress admin, go to Settings → Integrations.
2. In the Stripe Connect card, click Connect with Stripe.
3. Sign in to your Stripe account and authorize the connection.
4. You'll be redirected back to SimplePress with a Connected badge and your Stripe Account ID.

For full details on the integration, see Integrations.

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Summary Checklist

Use this to verify everything is in place before going live:

• Bank account added and verified (do this before sharing account access)
• Business profile completed in Stripe (name, address, type, description)
• Identity / business verification completed (details_submitted = true)
• Payout schedule set to your preference
• Stripe Tax configured with active registrations (if collecting sales tax)
• Stripe connected to SimplePress via Settings → Integrations
• Automatic Tax Collection toggled on in SimplePress (if using Stripe Tax)

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