AdminPlus plan

Bank payments (ACH)

Plus co-ops can let families pay by bank debit (ACH) as well as card. Bank debits cost your co-op far less than cards, so it's worth offering. This guide covers how the option works and what to expect from the parts that behave differently from cards.

Open Billing

Card vs. bank payments

Cards clear instantly, and Stripe's fee is 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction. Bank debits cost much less — 0.8%, capped at $5 — but the money takes about four business days to arrive, and a debit can still fail during that window (insufficient funds, a closed account). Either way the family pays the amount they owe; your co-op is the merchant of record and covers Stripe's fee out of its own balance, so the bank option is the cheaper rail for your co-op.

When bank payments are on, families see two buttons at checkout: pay from a bank account or pay by card. The amount is the same on either one.

Turning on bank payments

Go to Admin → Billing. Below the payment-collection card you'll find Payment options, which opens a modal with a checkbox for bank payments. It requires the Plus plan and a completed Stripe setup, and applies to every online payment surface — class enrollment, join fees, event fees, and balance payments.

The settlement window

A family's bank payment is authorized immediately but settles about four business days later. During that window their class seats are held for them, their Payments page shows a "Bank payment processing" badge, and treasurer reports count the money only after it actually settles.

What the balance shows during that window depends on what they paid for. Paying a balance reduces it straight away, so nobody is asked to pay twice. Paying for classes does not, because the charge itself is only raised once the debit lands. So a family can have seats held and still show the old balance for a few days, which is expected rather than a missed payment. An admin looking at that family's ledger sees a note under the balance saying how many seats are held by a bank payment that has not settled, and that the amount is not counted in the balance above until it does.

Tip: A class seat paid by bank debit is held from the moment the family authorizes the payment — another family can't take it while the debit settles.

Note: The same holds for a registration fee paid by bank debit. Once the family authorizes it, the Pay button on their dashboard goes away and they can enroll in classes right away, instead of waiting out the settlement window on a fee they have already paid. If the debit later bounces, the fee goes back to owed and they are asked for it again.

When a bank payment bounces

If the debit fails, everything it provisionally covered is put back the way it was: the amount reappears on the family's balance, and any class seats it was holding are released. The family gets an email that explains what happened, with a link to pay again (by card, if they prefer), and your co-op's admins get a matching notice so the change isn't a mystery.

Note: Failed debits are uncommon in practice, but they are a real difference from cards. A card either pays or it doesn't, while a bank debit can look fine for days and then bounce.

Disputes

Like cards, bank debits can be disputed. A bank account holder can claim a debit was unauthorized for up to 60 days. Disputes land in your co-op's own Stripe account (you're the merchant of record), and HomeschoolGo records them so your admins have visibility. If you get one, respond through the Stripe dashboard.

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Still have a question? Head back to the Help & Support page or reach out to your co-op admin directly from the dashboard.