No hidden fees.
No surprises. Ever.
Certxa keeps every billing stream transparent: Stripe handles your card payments, your Wallet covers pay-as-you-go extras, and your plan's included SMS keeps clients in the loop. Here's exactly how each piece works.
Card payments, powered by Stripe
Certxa does not process payments itself. We connect your business directly to Stripe — the same infrastructure used by Amazon, Shopify, and millions of businesses worldwide. Your money flows from client card to your Stripe account, and we never touch it.
Connect your Stripe account
From your Certxa dashboard, go to Payments → Connect Stripe. If you don't have a Stripe account yet, you'll create one for free in about 3 minutes. Your Certxa account and Stripe are now linked via Stripe Connect.
Get the Stripe M2 card reader
Purchase the Stripe M2 card reader directly from Stripe Terminal — not from us. The M2 is a compact Bluetooth reader that accepts chip, swipe, and contactless tap. You own it outright.
Take your first payment
Open a checkout from any appointment in Certxa and tap to charge. The M2 reader communicates directly with Stripe — card data never passes through Certxa. Funds settle in your Stripe account on Stripe's payout schedule.
Stripe pays you out
Stripe deposits your earnings directly into your linked bank account — typically the next business day. Certxa has no access to your funds, cannot hold them, and plays no part in your payouts.
What does it cost per transaction?
Stripe charges their standard card-present processing rate on every transaction (see Stripe's pricing → — typically 2.7% + 5¢ for US cards in-person). On top of that, Certxa charges a flat $0.60 connection fee per transaction. That's it — no percentage cut, no monthly gateway fee, no minimums.
Example: A $100 service with a US card costs roughly $2.70 + $0.05 (Stripe) + $0.60 (Certxa) = $3.35 total — leaving you $96.65.
Your prepaid balance for pay-as-you-go extras
The Certxa Wallet is a dollar balance inside your account. It funds usage-based extras like AI Receptionist calls and overflow SMS — separate from your subscription, separate from your Stripe payments. You only add money when you need those features.
What the Wallet covers
One balance. Every pay-as-you-go feature on your account draws from it.
Autumn AI Receptionist
Every call Autumn handles draws from your Wallet balance. Billing is per minute — $0.0041 per second, which works out to $0.25 per minute of connected call time.
$0.25 per minuteSMS Overage
When your plan's monthly SMS allowance is used up, your Wallet covers additional messages so notifications keep going without interruption.
$0.026 per SMSAI Phone Number
Provisioning the dedicated phone number that Autumn uses to take inbound calls is a one-time charge drawn from your Wallet.
One-time provisioning feeFuture Extras
As Certxa rolls out new usage-based features, your existing Wallet balance will cover them automatically — no new payment method needed.
More coming soonHow topping up works
Add funds manually any time, or let auto-refill keep your balance healthy automatically.
Open Wallet
Go to Billing → Wallet inside your dashboard
Add funds
Choose an amount and pay via Stripe Checkout — one-click with a saved card
Balance is live instantly
Funds appear immediately — Autumn and other extras can draw from them right away
Review usage
Every charge is logged in a transaction ledger so you see exactly where every cent went
Auto-Refill — set it and forget it
Set a low-balance threshold (e.g. $5) and a refill amount (e.g. $25). When your Wallet drops below the threshold, Certxa automatically charges your saved card and restores the balance — so Autumn never drops a call and SMS notifications never miss a beat. Enable it from Billing → Wallet → Auto-Refill in your dashboard.
Your plan includes SMS — Wallet covers the rest
Every Certxa subscription includes a monthly SMS allowance at no extra cost. If you send more than your plan allows, each additional message is billed at a flat rate drawn directly from your Platform Wallet — no packages to buy, no credits to manage.
📅 Monthly SMS Allowance
Every subscription comes with a built-in SMS allowance that resets automatically at the start of each billing period. Use it for appointment reminders, confirmations, and marketing — it's already part of what you pay.
- No extra cost — included in every plan
- Solo plan: 200 SMS/month
- Professional & Elite: Unlimited SMS
- Resets automatically each billing cycle
💼 Wallet SMS Overage
Once your monthly allowance is used up, additional messages are charged directly to your Platform Wallet at a flat per-message rate. Your Wallet balance is the same one used for AI Receptionist calls — one balance, all usage-based features.
- $0.026 per SMS beyond your plan allowance
- Charged to your Platform Wallet automatically
- Set Wallet auto-refill so messages never stop
- Full usage log in your dashboard
Most salons never hit their limit
On the Professional or Elite plan, SMS is unlimited — you'll never pay overage. On the Solo plan, 200 messages covers the average solo stylist's reminders for the month. If you do go over, the Wallet rate is simple and transparent: $0.026 per message. Enable Auto-Refill on your Wallet and it handles itself automatically.
See your real monthly cost
Choose your plan and adjust the sliders to match your expected volume. The full breakdown updates instantly — so you go into your first month with zero surprises.
🧮 Monthly Cost Estimator
Select a plan, then adjust the sliders to reflect your expected usage. All calculations are estimates based on typical Stripe US card-present rates.
Billing questions, answered
No surprises on day one.
Or any day after.
Start your free 60-day trial — a credit card is required to subscribe, but you won't be charged until the trial ends. Connect Stripe and pick up the M2 reader whenever you're ready to take in-person payments.
Questions? Chat with our team — typical response time under 5 minutes.