Getting Paid: Payouts, Fees and Matching Payments
Guests pay you through your own Stripe or Square account. Perfect Venue never holds your money. This article covers where the money goes, what gets taken out and how to match a deposit in your bank to the events behind it.
Where the money goes
Every online payment goes to the Stripe or Square account connected under Settings > Integrations. Stripe or Square then pays it out to the bank account you set up with them.
- To see or change the bank account, log in to Stripe or Square. Only the owner of that account can change it. Our team can't see or change your bank details.
- To see which processor an event uses, open the event's Payments tab and look in the lower right corner.
- Separate bank accounts for separate venues: each venue connects its own processor under Settings > Integrations, so each venue can pay out to a different bank account.
When the money arrives
- Stripe: your first payment can take up to 10 business days. After that, payouts arrive about 2 business days after the payment. You can switch to weekly, monthly or manual payouts in Stripe.
- Square: Square sends funds the evening before each business day, and they usually land in 1 to 2 business days.
- ACH (bank) payments take longer to clear than cards, typically 5-7 business days.
What gets taken out
Two fees come out of each online payment before it reaches your bank:
- The processor's fee. Stripe and Square charge 2.9% + 30 cents per card payment, American Express included. See Payment Processing Options With Perfect Venue for ACH rates.
- The Perfect Venue fee. This depends on your plan. You'll find yours under Settings > Billing as Card Rate on each venue.
Both are taken out automatically, so you never get a separate bill for them. That's why a payout is a little smaller than what your guests paid.
To see the fees on a specific payment, go to Reports > Payments. The Fee Amount column shows the processor fee and the Perfect Venue fee added together.
Want guests to cover card fees? On the Enterprise plan, Checkout Flexibility can add a 2.9% surcharge to credit card payments. See Checkout Flexibility (Enterprise Feature).
Matching a payout to events
In Stripe: every payment from Perfect Venue carries a description like this:
Deposit Payment for Smith Wedding at The Garden Room on June 14th, 2026 - Invoice #1042.
Each payment also lists the event name, guest name and email, invoice number and a link back to the event. Open a payout in Stripe to see the payments inside it.
In Perfect Venue: go to Reports > Payments and use the Payout ID column. Payments with the same Payout ID went to your bank in the same Stripe payout. Filter by Paid On to narrow it down. Payout ID is filled in for Stripe's automatic payouts only. It stays blank for Square and for manual Stripe payouts.
In Square: every payment from Perfect Venue carries the same description in its note, so you can search your Square transactions for the event name or invoice number.
Why a deposit doesn't match what you expected
- Fees. Both fees are taken out before the payout (see above).
- Refunds. A refund comes out of your Stripe or Square balance, which makes the next payout smaller.
- Disputes. If a guest disputes a charge, Stripe or Square takes that amount back out of your balance while the dispute is open.
- Timing. One payout can include several days of payments, and a payment made late in the day can land in the next payout.
- Pending payments. Bank (ACH) payments show as pending until they clear.
Still can't find a payment? Check its status in your Stripe or Square dashboard first. If it says paid there and it's not in your bank after the usual payout time, email support@perfectvenue.com with a link to the event.
Payments made outside Perfect Venue
Cash, checks and card swipes in person don't go through Perfect Venue. Log them as an offline payment so the event balance and your reports stay accurate. See Logging Offline Payments.