The big picture
Sutra is built around spaces (your courses, communities, programs, events). Any space can be set to Paid, which turns its registration page into a checkout. People pay to get in.
The thing they actually buy is a Plan. A space can offer one plan or many. Each plan is a purchasable option with its own price, billing schedule, and rules. When someone buys a plan, they get an Enrollment — the record of their access — and they're added to the space (plus any other spaces that plan unlocks).
Space (set to "Paid")
└── Plan(s) ──→ the buyer picks one (or several)
└── Enrollment ──→ access granted + membership created
Money moves through Stripe. You connect your own Stripe account; payments go to you directly, and Sutra takes a small platform fee on top. Sutra never holds your money.
One important change to know about: Sutra used to have four separate payment setups — one-time, recurring, flexible, and bundles. These have been unified into a single, more powerful model called Plans. Plans do everything the old setups did and more (guest checkout, terms & conditions, multiple-plan selection, pay-what-you-can, trials, billing caps). If you have an older space, you can migrate it to Plans. This guide focuses on the modern Plans system, with notes where the legacy behavior still matters.
1 · Before you can charge
To accept money on a space you need both:
1. At least one active Plan on the space.
2. A connected Stripe account.
If either is missing, the paywall won't turn on. You can build plans before connecting Stripe, but you can't take payment until Stripe is connected.
Connecting Stripe
Go to Manage → Privacy & payment settings and set the space's privacy to Paid.
Click Connect Stripe Account. This launches Stripe's secure OAuth flow.
You can connect an existing Stripe account or create a new one in the flow.
Once connected you'll see your Stripe account ID, a View on Stripe link, and a Disconnect option.
Stripe handles KYC/identity verification. Two flags matter: charges enabled (you can take payment) and payouts enabled (you can receive money). Both come from Stripe once verification is complete.
Payouts happen on your own Stripe schedule (set in your Stripe dashboard — typically daily, weekly, or monthly directly to your bank). Sutra doesn't sit in the middle of payouts; Stripe pays you directly.
2 · Payment types
Every payment type below is just a Plan configured a certain way. Here are the shapes that matter.
1. One-time purchase
A single charge for permanent access. Set the plan frequency to once.
Best for: a course, a workshop, a downloadable resource, a one-off event, lifetime community access.
2. Recurring subscription
Charges automatically on a schedule. Set frequency to monthly, quarterly, or yearly.
Best for: membership communities, ongoing coaching, content libraries, mastermind groups.
You can cap how long billing runs (see Billing limits below) — e.g. "$200/month for 6 months" for a fixed-length program.
3. Pay-What-You-Can (PWYC)
Let the buyer choose their own price within bounds you set. Enable Pay What You Can on the plan.
You control a minimum, an optional maximum, and a suggested/default amount.
Works on both one-time and recurring plans.
If you set the minimum to $0, people can effectively get in free while still going through checkout.
Best for: accessibility/sliding-scale pricing, donation or "tip" models, "name your price" launches, solidarity pricing for mission-driven work.
4. Free trial
Give a free period before the first charge on a recurring plan. Set trial period days (0 up to 730 days / 2 years).
The buyer enters a card but isn't charged until the trial ends.
Best for: "try the community for 7 days," reducing friction on higher-priced memberships.
5. Bundle
A single plan can grant access to multiple spaces at once. You don't need a separate "bundle" feature anymore — just attach several spaces to one plan, or let buyers select multiple plans in one checkout.
6. Free (by invitation)
Plans can't be priced at literally $0 as a listed price. To give specific people free access to a paid space, send them a free invitation instead — or use a 100%-off coupon, or a PWYC plan with a $0 minimum.
3 · Every plan option
This is the complete set of configurable options on a single plan. You'll find these in Manage → Privacy & payment settings → Plans → Add plan (the Plan Editor).
Identity & presentation
Name — The plan's title on the checkout card (e.g. "Annual Membership").
Short description — One-line tagline shown on the plan card.
Long description — Fuller description (supports rich text) shown at checkout.
Features — A checklist of benefits displayed on the card ("Access to all courses," "Monthly live calls," etc.).
Recommended — Highlights the plan with a "Recommended" badge to steer buyers.
Sort order — The order plans appear at checkout (drag to reorder).
Price & currency
Amount — The price. Stored internally in cents; you enter dollars/euros etc.
Currency — One of 12 supported: USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, CHF, NZD, BRL, MXN, INR, PLN, SEK (and RUB exists in the backend).
Pay What You Can — Toggle on to let buyers set their own price.
PWYC minimum — Lowest amount allowed (can be 0).
PWYC maximum — Highest amount allowed (optional — leave blank for no cap).
PWYC default — The suggested amount pre-filled for the buyer.
Billing schedule
Frequency — once, monthly, quarterly, or yearly.
Billing limit type — For recurring plans: Ongoing (forever), Fixed count (charge N times then stop), or Until date (charge until a specific date).
Billing count — How many charges, when using Fixed count (e.g. 6 monthly payments).
Billing until date — The stop date, when using Until date.
Trial period days — Free days before the first charge (0–730).
Access & gating
Spaces — Which space(s) this plan unlocks. Attach several to build a bundle/all-access pass.
Prerequisites — Require membership in another space/plan before this one can be purchased (build tiered or sequential offers).
Max purchasers — Cap total sales. Once reached, the plan shows Sold out. Great for cohorts, limited seats, scarcity launches.
Visibility & flow
Visibility — Visible (shown on the checkout page) or Hidden (purchasable only via a direct link — e.g. ?plan=...). Use hidden plans for special pricing you share privately.
Show on registration — Offer this plan on the registration page/signup flow.
Redirect after purchase — Send buyers to a custom URL after a successful payment (a welcome page, onboarding form, thank-you video).
Status — Active (live) or Inactive (hidden/retired, without deleting it).
4 · Space-wide settings
These are configured once for the space, in General Payment Settings, and affect every plan.
Multiple plan selection
Allow buyers to select multiple plans at checkout and pay for them in one transaction. This replaces the old "bundles" workflow — a buyer can grab "Course A + Course B + Community" together.
Guest checkout
Let visitors pay with just an email address, before creating a Sutra account. After paying they land on a confirmation page to finish setting up their account, and they also get an invitation email.
Lowers friction dramatically on paid registration.
Constraint: guest checkout and plan prerequisites can't both be active — Sutra can't verify prior membership for someone who has no account yet. Remove prerequisites to enable guest checkout (and vice versa).
You can write a custom invitation message included in the post-purchase email.
Terms & conditions
Require buyers to accept your terms before paying.
Configure a link label (default: "Terms and Conditions") and the terms content (rich text). The terms open in a modal at checkout.
Best for: refund policies, code of conduct, program agreements, liability waivers.
Tax collection
Toggle Collect taxes on every transaction. Buyers enter an address, and tax is calculated and added via Stripe Tax.
Alternative payment (legacy)
A legacy option lets you show an alternative payment message (e.g. "To pay by bank transfer, email us") for buyers who can't or won't pay by card.
5 · Coupons & discounts
Create discount codes buyers enter at checkout. Found in Privacy & payment settings → Create coupon.
Code — up to 30 characters → Saved in uppercase; case-insensitive at checkout.
Discount type — Percentage or Fixed amount → Percentage applies across all currencies; fixed amount is set per currency.
Value / amounts — the % off, or the amount off → For fixed, you set an amount for each currency you sell in.
Duration — First payment only or All payments (forever) → "Forever" keeps discounting every recurring charge.
Expiration date — optional → No expiry unless you set one.
Plan restrictions — specific plans, or all plans → Limit a code to certain plans, or leave open.
At checkout, buyers type the code, click Apply coupon, and see the discounted total before paying.
Creative uses:
Launch discount — percentage off, with an expiration date, to create urgency.
Founding member — a "forever" recurring discount that rewards early subscribers for the life of their membership.
Free access for VIPs — a 100%-off code instead of manually inviting people.
Partner/affiliate codes — a unique code per partner, restricted to specific plans.
Win-back — a fixed-amount code emailed to people who didn't convert.
6 · The checkout experience
For a Paid space, the registration page is the checkout — share its link to start selling. The buyer:
1. Sees the available plans (with prices, frequencies, trial notes, "Recommended" badges, "Sold out" states, and feature checklists).
2. Picks a plan — or several, if multi-select is on.
3. For PWYC plans, enters their own amount (validated against your min/max).
4. Optionally applies a coupon and sees the discount breakdown.
5. Signs in or registers — or pays as a guest with just email, if enabled.
6. Enters an address if tax collection is on.
7. Accepts terms if required.
8. Pays by card through Stripe (Apple Pay / Google Pay / wallets handled automatically; 3-D Secure handled when the bank requires it).
9. Gets instant access to the space(s) the plan unlocks — and is redirected to your custom URL if you set one.
After they're in
Members manage their own subscriptions — update card, or cancel by leaving the space (which cancels the recurring Stripe charges). They find this under the space's three-dots menu → Payments.
To stop charging someone from your side, remove them from the space — that cancels their recurring payment.
Refunds are issued from your Stripe dashboard; Sutra updates the payment's status automatically.
Failed recurring payments: Sutra notifies managers, and the member may lose access until payment succeeds.
7 · Tracking your money
Go to Settings → Members → Payments tab to see every payment: who paid, how much, when, and status — plus your total earnings. You can export to Excel or CSV.
Behind the scenes Sutra keeps your Stripe data in sync — charges, invoices, refunds, subscriptions, and MRR (monthly recurring revenue) — so your dashboard reflects what's actually happening in Stripe.
8 · Fees
Payments are processed by Stripe, which charges its standard processing fee (varies by country/card).
Sutra takes a platform fee (an "application fee") on top. The exact percentage depends on your Sutra subscription tier — higher Sutra plans generally mean a lower platform fee. Check your current pricing tier for the exact number.
You can choose who absorbs Sutra's fee: pass it to the buyer (added at checkout) or absorb it yourself (comes out of your revenue).
Money flows directly to your connected Stripe account; Sutra's fee is deducted automatically per transaction.
9 · Recipes
Here's how to combine the options above into real offers.
Self-paced course
One-time plan · fixed price · attach the course space · optional "Recommended" badge · redirect-after-purchase to a welcome video. Add a launch coupon with an expiration date for urgency.
Membership community
Monthly and yearly plans side by side (mark yearly "Recommended" to nudge annual commitment) · short feature checklist on each · 7-day free trial to lower the barrier. Offer a "forever" coupon to founding members.
Tiered offer
Three plans with escalating prices and feature lists · mark the middle one "Recommended." Use prerequisites so higher tiers require the base tier, or keep them independent. Hidden plans can hold special/enterprise pricing shared by direct link only.
Limited cohort
Recurring plan with Fixed count billing (e.g. 6 monthly payments for a 6-month program) · Max purchasers set to your seat limit so it auto-shows "Sold out" · terms & conditions enabled for the program agreement.
All-access pass
One plan that attaches multiple spaces — or turn on multiple plan selection so buyers assemble their own bundle and pay once.
Sliding-scale / accessible pricing
PWYC plan with a low (or $0) minimum, a fair-price default, and an optional maximum. Pair with a normal fixed plan so buyers can "pay it forward" or "pay what they can."
Donation / tip jar
PWYC one-time plan, $1 minimum, generous suggested amount, attached to a free or open space — turns appreciation into income without gating content.
Low-friction event
Guest checkout on (no account needed) · one-time plan · redirect to a Zoom/details page after purchase · short terms for the cancellation policy.
Free access
Send a free invitation, or hand out a 100%-off coupon — cleaner than building a $0 plan.
Quick reference
Turn on payments — Manage → Privacy & payment settings → set to Paid
Connect your bank — Privacy & payment settings → Connect Stripe
Create/edit a price — Plans → Add plan (Plan Editor)
Offer multiple options in one purchase — General Payment Settings → Allow multiple plan selection
Reduce signup friction — General Payment Settings → Guest checkout
Require an agreement — General Payment Settings → Terms & conditions
Collect tax — General Payment Settings → Tax collection
Make a discount code — Privacy & payment settings → Create coupon
See who paid / export — Settings → Members → Payments tab
Refund someone — Your Stripe dashboard
A note on terminology
Space = your course/community/program/event.
Plan = a purchasable option (price + schedule + rules). The heart of the system.
Enrollment = a buyer's access record.
Coupon = a discount code.
Bundle = simply a plan that unlocks multiple spaces, or a multi-plan checkout.
Stripe = the payment processor; your money lands in your Stripe account.
This guide reflects Sutra's current Plans-based payment system. Older spaces using the legacy one-time/recurring/flexible/bundle setup can be migrated to Plans, which is the recommended path forward.
