Pay invoice online with your own Stripe or PayPal link

How online invoice payment works in Prima Invoice

Most clients would rather click a button than type bank details into an app. A payment link gives them that button while keeping you in control of the money. You create the link in your own payment account, paste it into the invoice, and Prima Invoice displays it where the client looks for it.

In the PDF, the link appears as Pay online next to the total, so a client reading the attachment can pay with one tap. On the online invoice page that Pro accounts send by email, a Pay now button sits under the amount due, with a plain statement: Payment goes directly to your business name. Prima Invoice never handles the money.

The payment link field is part of the free invoice generator too. You can add a link to an invoice without any account, download the PDF and send it however you like: attached to an email, uploaded to a client portal, shared in a messaging app or printed for a client who prefers paper, in which case it helps to write the short link address in the notes so it can be typed into a browser by hand.

Which payment links are accepted

To protect your clients, Prima Invoice accepts only link formats from the payment providers it can verify. A payment link on an invoice is exactly what a fraudster would want to swap, so every link is checked against a short allowlist before it is saved.

Anything else is rejected with a clear message, including link shorteners, plain http addresses, other payment sites and Stripe links served from a custom domain. Custom domains are legitimate, but Prima Invoice cannot tell a real one from a look-alike, so it plays safe. If you use a custom domain with Stripe, copy the buy.stripe.com version of the same link instead.

Using a Stripe payment link

Stripe describes Payment Links as links you can create and share on social media, in emails or on your website, and it redirects customers who open one to a Stripe-hosted payment page. You create them in your Stripe dashboard; Prima Invoice only stores the address.

There is one detail worth knowing before you paste a Stripe link into an invoice. A Stripe payment link is tied to its own pricing. The most common kind sells a product for a fixed price, which Stripe recommends for selling products for a fixed price. That price will not change to match your invoice. So whenever a buy.stripe.com link is added, Prima Invoice shows a reminder: Make sure your payment link amount matches this invoice total.

Stripe also offers links where customers choose what to pay, intended for donations, tipping or pay-what-you-want. Stripe notes that this model does not support recurring payments, that you cannot add other line items and that the quantity can only be one. For invoices, a fixed-price link created for the exact amount is usually the clearest option, because the client cannot mistype the total.

Using PayPal.Me or a PayPal payment link

PayPal.Me is the quickest way to start. PayPal explains that you share your own PayPal.Me link and people can send you money whenever they want. Link names can only contain letters and numbers, without symbols, dashes or spaces, and are limited to 20 characters.

You can also request a specific amount by adding it to the end of the link, for example paypal.me/YourName/25 for 25.00 in your default currency, and a specific currency by adding its code, such as paypal.me/YourName/25AUD for Australian dollars. Prima Invoice accepts both forms. PayPal notes that some countries and regions have limits on the currencies they can transfer, so check that your client can pay in the currency you ask for.

PayPal Payment Links are the business version: you log in to a PayPal business account, add product or service details, and PayPal creates a checkout page with a shareable link. PayPal states there is no setup cost or monthly fee for them, and you only pay when you get paid. These links have the www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ format, which Prima Invoice accepts.

Creating a link for one invoice

Both providers let you create a link in a few minutes from their dashboards, and the exact menu names change from time to time, so follow their current help pages. The general pattern is the same everywhere: create a product, service or one-off item whose price equals the invoice total, generate the link, and copy it.

A small trick makes reconciliation much easier later. Put the invoice number in the name of the product or item, for example Invoice INV-2026-0042. That label usually appears on the checkout page your client sees and in the payment records in your Stripe or PayPal account, so when money arrives you know immediately which invoice it settles.

If you bill the same amount every month, one link can be reused for every invoice in a recurring series. Stripe notes that a payment link can be reused multiple times with multiple customers, or limited to a set number of purchases.

What your client sees

From the client side the experience is short. They open your invoice, check the lines and the total, and press Pay online or Pay now. A new page opens on the provider's own website: a Stripe-hosted payment page for Stripe links, or PayPal's checkout for PayPal links. They pay with a card, a wallet or their PayPal balance, depending on what your account accepts, and get the provider's confirmation.

Because the payment page belongs to Stripe or PayPal, your client enters card details on a site they recognise rather than on an unfamiliar form. That familiarity is reassuring, especially for a first payment to a new supplier. Prima Invoice adds nothing to that checkout, cannot see anything your client types there, and receives no copy of their receipt, bank statement descriptor or billing address.

Where the money goes, and what it costs

When a client pays through your link, the payment happens entirely between your client and your payment provider. The funds land in your Stripe or PayPal balance, under your account's own terms, and you withdraw them to your bank as usual. Prima Invoice is not a payment processor, does not take a percentage and never sees card numbers.

Your provider charges its normal fees for the payment, and those fees depend on your country, your account type and the payment method. Check the current fee page of your provider; Prima Invoice does not add anything on top. Some invoicing apps process card payments themselves and keep a fee, which their own pages state. Refrens, for example, says that for any online payment done through Refrens it keeps a small payment gateway fee (checked 25 October 2026).

Because no payment credentials are stored in Prima Invoice, there is nothing financial to leak from your account. The only payment information on an invoice is the public link you chose to share.

Payment link, gateway, processor: what the words mean

Online invoice payment processing involves a few roles that are easy to confuse. A payment processor or gateway, such as Stripe or PayPal, is the company that authorises a card or wallet payment, moves the funds and pays them out to the merchant, which here is you. A payment link is simply a web address that opens a checkout page run by that processor. An invoicing tool, which is what Prima Invoice is, creates and sends the invoice and shows the link.

Keeping those roles separate has practical consequences, whichever jurisdiction or industry you operate in. Refunds, disputes and chargebacks are handled in your Stripe or PayPal account under their rules, not in Prima Invoice. Payout schedules, verification checks and any holds on new accounts are also set by the processor. Prima Invoice cannot speed up, block or reverse a payment, because the payment never passes through it.

After the client pays

Your payment provider notifies you when money arrives. Prima Invoice does not receive that notification, so the next step is to record the payment on the invoice in your account: the date, the method and the amount. The invoice moves to Paid, or to Partially paid with the remaining balance shown if the client paid only part, and any scheduled payment reminders stop.

Many clients appreciate a receipt. You can make one from the same details in the receipt maker: it keeps the lines, taxes, discount and total of the invoice and adds the paid date, the payment method and a PAID mark.

Automatic paid status, where Prima Invoice would learn about Stripe payments by itself, is not available today. It would require connecting your Stripe account to ours, and we will only build it once it can be done without ever holding your money.

Deposits, instalments and partial payments

Many projects start with a deposit. A simple approach is to create a separate link for the deposit amount, or a PayPal.Me link with that amount added, and to state on the invoice what the deposit covers and when the balance is due. Once the deposit arrives, record it as a partial payment: the invoice shows Partially paid and the remaining balance, both in your account and on the client's online copy. The photography invoice template covers booking retainers, and the construction invoice template covers milestone billing that starts with a deposit.

For the balance, create a second link for the remaining amount, or let the client pay it by bank transfer. Avoid editing a fixed-price link to a new amount after a client has already used it; a fresh link for each amount keeps the trail clean for both sides. Legal work follows a similar pattern with retainers, as the legal invoice template shows.

Getting paid by clients in other countries

Online links shine with international work, where bank transfers can be slow and confusing. Still, a little preparation avoids surprises. Invoice in the currency agreed with the client and make sure your payment account can receive it; Prima Invoice supports every ISO 4217 currency with the right decimal places, but your provider decides which currencies it settles.

Currency conversion is handled by your provider under its own rates and fees, either when the client pays or when you withdraw. If the exchange cost matters, agree in advance who bears it and say so in the payment terms. Mention time zones too when a deadline is tight, because your client's working day may already be over when yours begins.

Invoice payment methods compared

A payment link is one way to get paid. Most businesses offer two or three methods so each client can use the one their finance team prefers. Here is how the common options compare from the point of view of the person paying.

Write the methods in the payment terms or notes field, add the link to the payment link field, and keep the invoice number in every instruction. Asking clients to use the invoice number as their payment reference makes matching a bank transfer to an invoice almost effortless.

How to create an invoice for payment, step by step

An invoice that gets paid online quickly has the same building blocks as any good invoice, plus a working link. In the free invoice generator the order looks like this.

• Add your business details and logo, then your client's name, address and email.
• Check the invoice number, the issue date and the payment terms; the due date follows from the terms.
• Enter each line item with a description, quantity and unit price, plus your own tax labels and rates and any discount.
• Choose the currency your client pays in. Every ISO 4217 currency is available with its correct decimals.
• Paste your Stripe or PayPal link into the payment link field. If it is a Stripe link, confirm that its amount matches the invoice total.
• Add notes such as bank details for clients who prefer a transfer, then download the PDF and send it.

With a Pro account, the same invoice can be saved, numbered automatically, emailed with its online page and followed through to Paid. During Early Access these Pro features are free for signed-in users; see pricing.

Payment link mistakes to avoid

• Sending a test link. Stripe test links contain test_ in the address, like the example in Stripe's own documentation, and they cannot take real money. Open every link yourself in a private browser window before the invoice goes out.
• A wrong amount. If a fixed-price link was created for an old quote, the client may pay the outdated figure. Create a new link whenever the total changes.
• A deactivated or archived link. Links you switch off in your provider dashboard stop working for clients who still have the old PDF. Keep links active until the invoice is settled.
• A personal account for business income. Check that the link belongs to the account where you want business payments to land, especially if you hold more than one.
• No alternative. Some companies cannot pay by card or PayPal at all. Add bank details in the notes so their accounts team has a route that fits its procedures.

When the client is a larger company

Corporate clients often pay through an accounts payable department that follows fixed procedures: a supplier must be registered, invoices must quote a purchase order, and payments go out in scheduled batches by bank transfer. In those organisations the person who hired you may be happy to click a link, while the department that releases funds is not allowed to.

Ask about the process at the start of the engagement. If the company pays only by transfer, put full bank details on the invoice and keep the link as a convenience for smaller, urgent amounts. Include the remittance email where they should send confirmation, so you are not left guessing which payment covers which invoice.

Keeping your clients safe from payment fraud

Invoice fraud often works by changing payment details: a fake email claims your bank account has changed, or a forged PDF carries a different link. A few habits make that much harder.

• Use links from well-known providers only. That is why Prima Invoice accepts only Stripe and PayPal formats.
• Tell clients how you will invoice them, for example that your invoices always come from the same address and always use the same PayPal.Me name.
• Never announce new bank details by email alone. If they change, confirm by phone or another channel your client already trusts.
• Encourage clients to check the online invoice page, which shows the same link as the PDF, when anything looks unusual.

If a client ever reports a message asking them to pay a different account in your name, treat it seriously: warn your other clients, change your email password, enable two-factor authentication, and report the impersonation to your provider. Prima Invoice also has a report-abuse route for emails sent through it; see the contact page.

Who benefits most from payment links

• Freelance designers, writers, translators and developers with clients overseas, who would otherwise wait days for an international wire.
• Plumbers, electricians, gardeners and other tradespeople whose customers are homeowners happy to pay from a phone on the doorstep.
• Tutors, coaches, photographers and musicians billing parents, students or couples who expect a modern, card-friendly checkout.
• Wedding vendors, caterers and venues collecting deposits weeks or months ahead of the event.
• Small online shops and makers sending custom orders, where a quick checkout keeps a handmade commission moving.

In each case the principle is identical: fewer steps between reading the invoice and paying it means fewer reasons to postpone the payment.

How other invoicing tools take online payments

Different tools solve online payment in different ways. Based on pages checked on 25 October 2026, Invoice Home says customers can pay your invoice online via PayPal or credit card and that it supports PayPal and Stripe payment gateways. Wave lists card processing fees on its pricing page, such as 2.9% plus 0.60 US dollars per credit card transaction on its Starter plan. Invoice Ninja's free plan lists Accept Payments Online with a Click.

Prima Invoice takes the simplest route on purpose: it does not process payments at all. You keep your existing Stripe or PayPal account, your existing fees and your direct relationship with your provider, and Prima Invoice puts the link in the right places.