You have had your demo, your ParkHere trial is running, and there is a list of things you could set up first: communities, units, managers, signage. All of them matter. But one step switches on the parts of the platform that bring money in, and that is connecting your Stripe account.
Here is what Stripe Connect is, why it should come first, and what to have ready so you can finish it in one sitting.
Two money flows, kept separate
ParkHere uses Stripe for payments, and it helps to keep the two flows straight.
Your subscription
Your management company pays ParkHere a monthly subscription for the platform, priced per unit, per space or per property. That runs on the card you save on the billing page, and it is what the free trial defers.
Driver and resident payments
When a driver pays for a metered space, or a resident pays for an extra guest pass, that money settles directly into your own Stripe account. ParkHere never holds your revenue, and Stripe pays it out to your bank on the schedule your Stripe account is set to.
Stripe Connect is the link between your Stripe account and ParkHere, so those driver and resident payments have somewhere to go.
What stays off until it is done
Until your Stripe account is connected and Stripe has enabled charges on it, two things stay switched off:
- Metered lots stay invisible to drivers. A lot can be fully set up in your portal, with its rate, spaces and signage in place, but drivers cannot see it or pay for it until the connection is complete.
- Paid extra passes stay off. If a community plans to charge for passes beyond the free allowance, a resident at the limit is simply told the limit is reached instead of being offered a paid pass.
In other words, the parts of ParkHere that generate revenue depend on this one step. It is also the step new accounts most often postpone, because it involves paperwork rather than parking. Doing it first means the rest of your setup goes live the moment it is ready, and your trial is spent seeing real results instead of waiting on payments.
What to have ready
Stripe needs to verify who it is paying out to. Having this to hand makes the process quick:
- The legal business name and business type of the company or entity that will receive payments.
- Its business number or tax ID.
- Its address and phone number.
- Details for a representative of the business, usually an owner or an officer.
- The bank account for payouts.
If your company already uses Stripe for something else, the process will be familiar, and the account you connect here is the one your ParkHere payouts land in.
How the setup works
From the billing page of your client portal, choose Connect Stripe Account. You are taken to Stripe's own onboarding, where Stripe collects and verifies your business details directly, so your sensitive information goes to Stripe rather than sitting in ParkHere. When Stripe has what it needs, you return to the portal. If you had to stop part way, the same page offers Continue Setup, and once Stripe confirms the account, the lots appear to drivers and paid passes switch on. Afterwards the billing page opens your Stripe dashboard in one click.
Occasionally Stripe asks for an extra document or detail to complete verification. If that happens, finish it promptly, because payouts and payment features wait until verification is complete.
After you are connected
- Metered lots become visible and payable for drivers.
- Paid extra guest passes are offered to residents, in the communities that choose to sell them.
- Every payment lands in your Stripe dashboard, and the payer sees the charge in their own ParkHere billing history.
Then move on to the rest of the setup: adding communities and units, inviting your managers, and ordering signage.
Get the most from your trial
Your 30-day trial is the best time to see how much time your parking program can save and how much revenue it can produce. It starts when you save a card after the demo, and it is available once per organization, so connecting Stripe on day one makes sure the whole trial counts.
See how ParkHere works for metered lots, read the portal guide, or book a demo to walk through the setup with our team.
