Stripe

Stripe is the payment processor that handles every transaction in your Disco Academy, from one-time Program purchases to recurring Membership subscriptions.

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Overview

All payments in Disco are processed through Stripe. When a Member purchases access to a Program or Membership, the funds are transferred directly to your connected bank account. Stripe handles payment security, PCI compliance, refunds, disputes, and discount logic. Disco never charges any transaction fees, though Stripe applies its own credit card processing fees (typically 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction). Before you can monetize Programs or Memberships in Disco, you must connect a verified Stripe account to your Academy.

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Connect Stripe to your Academy

Connecting Stripe authorizes Disco to create products, process payments, and route funds to your bank account.

1. From the Admin tab, select Integrations.
2. Find Stripe in the list and click Connect Stripe.
3. Sign in to your existing Stripe account, or follow the prompts to create a new one.
4. Authorize the connection and return to Disco.

If you do not have a Stripe account, follow this guide to create one before starting the connection. Make sure the email associated with your Stripe account matches the Owner email on your Disco Academy. Mismatched accounts are the most common reason a connection fails to validate.

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Disconnect or replace a Stripe account

If you connected the wrong Stripe account or need to swap to a different one, contact Disco Support. Disconnecting a live Stripe account is not a self-serve action because active subscriptions and Member access depend on the connection.

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Process a refund

Refunds are handled entirely from your Stripe dashboard, not from Disco.

1. Log in to your Stripe dashboard and open the Payments page.
2. Find the charge you want to refund.
3. Click the ••• icon to the right of the charge and select Refund charge.
4. Enter the refund amount. The default is a full refund. For a partial refund, enter a smaller amount.
5. Select a reason. If you choose Other, add an explanatory note.
6. Click Refund.

Refer to Stripe’s refund guide for additional detail.

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Reissue a receipt to a Member

Members automatically receive an invoice from Stripe when they purchase a Program. If a Member needs the receipt resent:

1. Log in to your Stripe dashboard.
2. Click the Payments tab.
3. Find the Member’s payment and open it.
4. Scroll to Receipt History.
5. Click Send receipt.

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Enable receipts for Membership payments

Membership payments do not send receipts by default. To turn them on:

1. From your Stripe dashboard, go to Settings → Customer Emails.
2. Enable Successful Payments under the Payments section.

Members will now receive an invoice and receipt each time their Membership renews.

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Manage discounts and promotion codes

Discounts for Programs and Memberships are managed entirely from your Stripe dashboard. Stripe uses two related concepts:

• A Coupon defines the discount itself (percentage or fixed amount, duration, redemption limits).
• A Promotion Code is the customer-facing code that maps to a Coupon. Members enter the Promotion Code at checkout to apply the discount.

You must create both. Creating only a Coupon will not produce a working discount code for Members.

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Create a Coupon

1. From your Stripe dashboard, go to Products → Coupons.
2. Click + New.
3. Fill in the Coupon details:
   • Name: A descriptive label for internal use.
   • ID: Optional. Stripe generates one if left blank.
   • Type: Percentage discount or fixed amount.
   • Discount Amount: The percentage or dollar value.
   • Duration: Once, repeating, or forever.
   • Apply to specific products: Optional. Limit the Coupon to certain products.
   • Redemption Limits: Optional. Cap the total number of uses.
4. Click Create coupon.

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Create a Promotion Code

1. On the Coupon detail page, click Use customer-facing coupon codes.
2. Enter the code Members will type at checkout (for example, FALLPROMO). Leave blank to have Stripe generate one.
3. Set any usage requirements, such as first-time customer only or expiration date.
4. Save the Promotion Code.

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Apply a Coupon to an existing subscription

To attach a Coupon to a Member’s existing Membership:

1. From your Stripe dashboard, go to Billing → Subscriptions.
2. Click the relevant subscription.
3. Click Actions → Update subscription.
4. Click Add coupon and select the Coupon from the dropdown.
5. Click Submit.

Refer to Stripe’s coupon documentation for additional detail.

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Examples

A bootcamp Academy creates a LAUNCH50 Promotion Code for a 50% off, one-time-use Coupon and shares it with their early waitlist for a new cohort Program. A professional community offers a MEMBER25 recurring Coupon that applies 25% off every monthly Membership renewal for accredited partners. A Membership Academy creates a 100% off forever Coupon for staff and contractors who need free internal access to a paid Program.

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FAQ