AplosPay + Stripe

We’re excited to announce that the integration between AplosPay and Stripe is finally here and available to you! As we move forward with Stripe, Aplos will continue to support WePay and any donations that are processed by WePay.

What Do You Get With Stripe In AplosPay?

Aplos has partnered with Stripe for payment processing, which means that your organization can now benefit from increased fraud protection, reliable payments, and an easier way to manage your entire payment flow in Aplos.

  • Enhanced Fraud Monitoring: Protect yourself and your donors with best-in-class fraud monitoring using sophisticated machine learning from its global presence.
  • Simplified Payment Management: This change gives you a more integrated experience when managing your payments in Aplos.
  • Collaboration: We can provide future payment options that better serve you.

This will make the experience of managing donations better for everyone involved. Here are a few ways the software has changed with this launch.

AplosPay Merchant Center Enhancements 

View And Manage Multiple Processors

As you transition to Stripe, some payments may temporarily continue to process using WePay to ensure that all payments are captured. To manage both WePay and Stripe, the Merchant Center now makes it possible to see accurate information about donors and donations for both processors. 

Using the new filter, you can filter by the processor to display the last payout, next payout, and net balance. Then you can export your data the way you prefer.

Coming soon, you will also be able to process refunds for your Stripe account directly from this screen. No need to log into a separate system. If you need to process a refund for a transaction processed by WePay, you will still need to log into the WePay system.

Stripe Asset Account

Once your Stripe account is activated, a Stripe asset account will be automatically added to your Aplos Chart of Accounts list. It will appear on your Balance Sheet as an asset account, and donations will be automatically deposited in this account as they are received. They will be held here until they are deposited in your selected bank account. We recommend that you leave the account enabled and do not rename it.

Stripe Vendor Contact

When your Stripe asset account is created, you’ll also have access to the Stripe Vendor Contact. This vendor contact will be used to track fees and withdrawals that are related to your Stripe account. You can locate this contact within your contact database and your vendor list from the Lists management screen

Accounting Configuration

Aplos also allows you to customize your accounting configuration for each processor to ensure payments and fees are posted to the correct accounts. You can access this page by clicking the gear icon on the Merchant Center as well on the Donations Forms screen. 

You will see an option to manage the configuration for both WePay and Stripe. Once your Stripe account is activated, the Merchant account and Cash account will automatically be selected to reflect the new Stripe asset account. The Expense account for fees will automatically be selected to reflect the same account used for WePay fees. This field can be edited if you wish to track them using a separate expense account. 

To post withdrawals that reflect your payouts from Stripe, you will need to select an asset account for your payout bank on this screen.

There are now easy-to-find navigation links at the top of the screen so you can quickly navigate around Aplos. You can easily jump from Donations Forms and Donation Withdrawals to the Merchant Center.

Recurring Donations

After your Stripe account is live, we will begin updating the recurring donors who use a credit or debit card as their payment method so those transactions are processed automatically in Stripe. No action will be needed by you or your donors. ACH recurring donors will continue to process using WePay initially and will be moved to Stripe when they update their payment method in the My Aplos donor portal.

Search And Filter Recurring Donations

Since recurring donors may process using Stripe or WePay for a period of time, a new enhancement now gives you the ability to search and filter your recurring donations by processor. This allows you to easily identify which recurring donations are currently processing using WePay and which have successfully migrated to Stripe.

This will help you see at a glance where you are in the migration and feel confident that donations are continuing without interruption. Once the initial migration is complete, it can also help you identify if any donors need extra attention to ensure their continued support of your organization.

Updating Payment Methods For Donors

ACH donors cannot automatically be migrated from WePay, so they will continue processing in WePay for now. If you would like to encourage these recurring donors to help you fully move to Stripe, they can log in to My Aplos to update their payment method. When donors are logged in, they’ll go to the Recurring Donations screen from their Dashboard (shown below). From there, they can update the details of their donation by clicking the menu button under Actions. Select “Edit Recurring Donation.”

For more information on how to assist donors to update their payment method, review the My Aplos Overview guide.