The platform fee, payouts and failed payments
What Playlee charges on online payments, when the club gets paid, who carries failed payments and chargebacks, and how to record, refund and chase payments.
Reviewed 26 September 2026 · Verified for Clubs web and app · September 2026
Before you start
- Club owner, club admin or treasurer access
- Stripe connected in Settings → Money for online payments
Open full-size screenshotOn this page
How the money works
Online payments go through the club’s own Stripe account. Playlee has no monthly fee and no contract. The only charge is a platform fee of 3.25% + 20p on each online payment, and it already covers Stripe’s card and Direct Debit processing. Parents pay exactly what the club sets. The fee comes out of that payment before the money reaches the club.
The club owns its collections. Failed payments and chargebacks are borne by the club, never by Playlee. Nobody has to pay online: record cash and bank transfers as paid and no fee is charged on them.
Where to go
- Money (web)
- The page is titled Payments. It has the dashboard tiles, payment plans and the invoice list with manual reconciliation, refunds and payer links.
- Settings → Money
- Connect Stripe, open the Stripe dashboard, choose the collection mode, offer Bacs Direct Debit, and read the retry rules.
- Settings → Notifications → Payments
- Receipts, failed payment notices, upcoming reminders and two-day overdue reminders to payers.
- Staff app → Club → Payments
- Due, Overdue and Received lists, Record offline payment (or Mark received) and Send reminder.
The platform fee in practice
- 3.25% + 20p on each online payment, taken from the payment. On a £30 payment the fee is £1.18 and the club receives £28.82.
- When several fees fall due for the same payer at once, they are usually collected as one payment, so the 20p is charged once.
- No fee is charged on cash, bank transfers or anything else you record by hand.
- There is no separate Stripe fee on top. The platform fee includes it.
Payouts
- Money collected online goes to the club’s own Stripe account and is paid out to the club’s bank automatically every day, after Stripe’s standard holding period.
- Direct Debit payments take a few working days to confirm, so they reach the club later than card payments.
- Use the Stripe dashboard button in Settings → Money to see payouts and the club’s Stripe balance.
Record, refund and chase payments
- 1
Mark a cash or bank transfer payment as paid
Open Money, find the invoice in “Invoices and manual reconciliation” and expand it. Under Manual reconciliation, choose the payment type (cash, bank transfer, waiver, discount, injury pause, write off, correction or external refund), enter the amount and a reference, then press Reconcile. In the staff app, use Record offline payment (Mark received for clubs that collect manually).
Open full-size screenshotThe payments dashboard highlights expected, outstanding and failed amounts before showing the affected player records.WEB · captured 1 September 2026 - 2
Find payments that need attention
The dashboard shows Overdue and Failed / retrying totals. In the invoice list, use the Failed or Overdue filter. Rows that need chasing carry a “Needs follow-up” badge and a line explaining the retry state, for example “Retry scheduled, attempt 2 of 3” or “Collection failed”.
- 3
Check whether the payment method itself has died
If a row says “Direct Debit needs re-authorising” or “Card needs re-authorising”, retries can’t work. The parent has to set up a new method in the app. You can also press Send payer link to email them a secure payment link for that invoice.
- 4
Chase from your phone
In the staff app, open Payments, go to the Overdue list and use Send reminder.
- 5
Refund an online payment
Expand a paid invoice on the Money page, enter an amount (leave it blank for the full amount) and a reason, then press Refund via Stripe. The money goes back to the parent’s card or bank. The club’s share is returned from its Stripe balance, and Playlee returns its fee in proportion to the amount refunded. The child’s plan and later payments are not changed.
- 6
Cancel a charge that should not be paid
Use Void unpaid invoice with a reason. It only works on invoices that haven’t been paid.
How automatic retries work
- Cards: up to 3 attempts, retried after 2, 3 and then 5 days while the payer has a saved card.
- Direct Debit: the bank reports a failure days after the attempt, so it is retried up to 2 times, 4 days after each failure is reported.
- A Direct Debit still settling after about 8 days is flagged as “Direct Debit delayed” so you can check it in Stripe.
- If retries run out and the plan has “Retry failed recurring payments” switched on, Playlee tries again once a month alongside anything else then due.
Treasurer checklist
- Stripe shows as enabled in Settings → Money, with payments and payouts enabled.
- Bacs Direct Debit is switched on if you want to offer it.
- Every cash and bank transfer payment has been reconciled with a reference.
- Failed and overdue invoices have been reviewed this week.
- Payers whose card or Direct Debit needs re-authorising have been contacted.
Common questions
Who pays if a Direct Debit bounces?
The club. Playlee never carries failed payments. Nothing is received, so there is nothing for Playlee to take a fee from. Playlee retries automatically and the invoice stays open for you to chase or reconcile.
What happens with a chargeback?
If a parent disputes a payment with their bank, the disputed amount is taken back from the club’s Stripe balance. Chargebacks are borne by the club, never by Playlee.
Why did we receive less than the fee we set?
The 3.25% + 20p platform fee is taken from each online payment before it reaches the club. Stripe processing is included in it, so there are no other deductions.
Why was I charged 20p?
The 20p is the fixed part of the platform fee on each online payment. It comes out of the club’s share, not the parent’s. If several fees are collected in one payment, it is charged once.
A parent paid cash. Why does it still say unpaid?
Cash never passes through Stripe, so someone has to reconcile it. Use Reconcile on the web or Record offline payment in the staff app and the invoice will show as reconciled.
Can we run the club without taking payments online?
Yes. Set the collection mode in Settings → Money to Manual and offline reconciliation, or use the Manual / offline only billing type on a plan, and record payments as they come in.
How do I refund someone who paid cash?
Refund Stripe only works for online payments. Hand the money back yourself, then record it on the invoice with the External refund type so the books match.
When does the money reach our bank?
Stripe pays out automatically every day, after its standard holding period. Direct Debit payments are confirmed a few working days after collection before they can be paid out.