How Stripe & Bank ACH Payments Appear in Your Books
When a resident pays online, the money rarely reaches your bank account the same day. This article explains how Vlge records online payments in your general ledger, what the Stripe GL Mapping settings mean, and how Western Alliance Bank (WAB) ACH payments work differently. (Not applicable if you do not have a WAB account).
👉Stripe Payments
Stripe payments include card payments and Stripe bank transfer / ACH payments.
When a resident pays through Stripe, Vlge records a journal entry that:
Increases cash for the amount expected to land with the HOA
Records any processing fee the HOA absorbs as an expense
Clears the resident’s outstanding balance
You control which cash account is used under:
Financials > Banks > Stripe GL Mapping
There are two important fields.
👉 Stripe GL Mapping Fields
Stripe Deposit Account
This is where cash is recorded when Stripe successfully receives the resident’s payment.
Payout Bank Account
This is where cash is moved when Stripe later pays the money out to your HOA bank account. You can leave the payout bank account blank if you want to use the simpler one-step setup.
⚡️ Option A: Book Stripe Payments Straight to Operating
Setup
Stripe deposit account: Your operating cash account, such as 1010 Operating
Payout bank account: Leave blank
What Happens
When Stripe marks the payment successful, Operating cash increases. When Stripe later sends the payout to your bank, Vlge does not create a second journal entry because the money is already recorded in Operating on the books.
Why Choose This Setup
This option is best if:
You only care that the money ends up in Operating
You do not need to track money while Stripe is holding it
You want fewer accounts and fewer journal entries to review
Tradeoffs
Operating cash may appear on the books a few days before the money actually arrives in your bank account.
You will not see a separate Stripe clearing balance for money Stripe has received but not yet paid out.
Cash flow reports will still total correctly over time, but timing at month-end may appear a day or two early if you are not using a linked bank feed.
This is a supported and valid setup. Many associations prefer it because it keeps the books simpler.
⚡️Option B: Use a Stripe Clearing Account
Setup
Create an asset account such as 1030 Stripe Clearing. The account number can be whatever fits your chart of accounts.
Then set:
Stripe deposit account: 1030 Stripe Clearing
Payout bank account: 1010 Operating, or whichever bank account Stripe pays into
What Happens
The resident pays successfully.
Cash increases in Stripe Clearing, and the resident’s balance is cleared.
Stripe pays out to your bank.
Cash moves from Stripe Clearing to Operating.
Why Choose This Setup
This option is best if:
You want the books to match the real-world timing more closely
You want to see how much money is still in transit with Stripe
You reconcile Operating against the bank statement closely day by day
Tradeoffs
You will have one extra asset account.
Vlge will create an extra journal entry when Stripe pays out to your bank.
This may be more detail than some boards need.
Important: If you map the Stripe deposit account to a clearing account but leave the payout bank account blank, cash will stay in the clearing account on the books. It will not automatically move to Operating.
Use both fields together if you want the two-step clearing approach.
⭐️ Which Stripe Setup Should You Use?
Goal | Recommended Setup |
Keep it simple and record Stripe payments directly in Operating | Deposit = Operating, payout bank blank |
Track Stripe-held cash separately before it reaches your bank | Deposit = Stripe Clearing, payout bank = Operating |
Neither option changes how much residents paid or how much your HOA ultimately receives. The difference is timing and account presentation: when the cash appears, and which account it appears in. Changing the mapping only affects future payments. Past journal entries are not rewritten automatically.
If you switch from Option A to Option B and want historical entries cleaned up, your bookkeeper can make a one-time accounting adjustment. This is not required if you are happy with the simpler setup.
🔍 What About Stripe Fees?
Map your Stripe fee expense account, such as Bank & Payment Processing Fees, so HOA-absorbed processing fees are recorded when the payment posts.
Resident-paid fees are handled separately and do not reduce the amount applied to the resident’s charges.
Why the Deposit Account May Look Blank on Stripe Payments
On individual Stripe payment records, the deposit bank field may be blank.
That field is used for physical deposits, lockbox deposits, and WAB bank deposit tracking. It is not the same as Stripe GL Mapping. Stripe payments are deposited automatically by Stripe. A blank deposit bank on the payment row does not mean your Stripe GL Mapping is wrong. WAB payments may show a deposit bank because they settle directly into your WAB-linked operating account.
If a Stripe Payment Is Reversed
Situation | What Happens |
Payment is still processing and has not succeeded yet | Nothing was booked yet |
Refund after success | Cash is reversed from Operating or Clearing, depending on your setup |
Dispute or chargeback | Cash is reversed when the dispute is opened. If you win and the funds return, cash is booked again |
Later bank return after Stripe already marked the payment successful | The payment should reverse automatically. If you ever see a rare case where it does not, contact support |
Western Alliance Bank ACH Payments (WAB)
Western Alliance Bank (WAB) ACH is the HOA’s own bank ACH rail. This includes many autopay pulls.
WAB ACH does not use the Stripe GL Mapping fields described above.
When WAB ACH Cash Is Booked
WAB is more cautious than Stripe about when cash appears on the books.
Here is the usual flow:
The resident starts the payment.
The payment status shows as processing.
No cash journal entry is created yet.
The ACH file is sent to the bank.
The bank accepts the item.
The payment remains in processing.
Once the payment is treated as settled, Vlge records the cash.
Settlement usually means either:
The credit is confirmed in your operating account, or
Enough business days have passed for normal ACH clearing
Only then does Vlge:
Create the payment receipt
Increase Operating cash, typically your WAB operating account
Clear the resident’s balance
So while the resident may see the payment as pending for a few days, Operating cash on the books usually waits until settlement.
👉 If a WAB ACH Payment Returns
Before Settlement
The payment fails. Since nothing was booked yet, there is nothing to reverse.
After Settlement
The receipt is voided and the cash journal entry is reversed. Operating cash goes back down, and the resident’s balance becomes open again.
This return handling is built into the WAB ACH payment flow.
Stripe vs. WAB ACH
Compare | Stripe Payments | WAB ACH |
Payment types | Card and Stripe ACH | WAB bank ACH |
Cash account mapping | Stripe GL Mapping | WAB operating bank / chart mapping |
When cash is usually booked | When Stripe says the payment succeeded | When the ACH is settled |
Optional in-transit account | Yes, using Stripe Clearing and payout bank | Not needed in the same way because booking waits for settlement |
Refunds and returns after booking | Refunds and disputes reverse cash. Post-success ACH returns should also reverse cash | Returns reverse cash automatically |
Blank deposit bank on payment row | Normal for Stripe | Often filled for WAB |
Cash Flow Statements
For most reporting periods, totals are the same whether you use the simple Stripe setup or the two-step clearing setup.
The two-step clearing approach does not count the money twice. Moving cash from Stripe Clearing to Operating is just moving money between cash accounts.
The simple approach may show the inflow a few days earlier than the bank statement.
If you connect a bank feed, cash flow totals usually follow what actually hit the bank.
A report that cuts right between “Stripe received the payment” and “the bank received the payout” may look slightly different for a day or two, then settle out.
If you do not need to track Stripe’s hold period, the simple mapping is fine for cash flow reporting.
⭐️ Practical Recommendation
If you want a simple one-step setup:
Set Stripe deposit account to Operating
Leave payout bank account blank
If you want bank-timing accuracy and a Stripe in-transit balance:
Add a Stripe Clearing asset account
Set Stripe deposit account to Stripe Clearing
Set payout bank account to Operating
For WAB ACH:
Do not configure the Stripe two-step setup
Cash typically books at settlement into Operating
Returns reverse that booking automatically