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Test mode

How to tell whether a studio is connected with test credentials, what is safe, and how to go live.

Stripe accounts come in two flavours: live, where real cards are charged and real money moves, and test, where nothing does. A studio connected in test mode behaves exactly like a live one on screen — same buttons, same dialogs, same charge history — which is precisely why the app tells you loudly which one you're in.

How to tell

Three places, and you cannot miss any of them:

  • The settings card. Studio then General → Payments shows a yellow Test mode banner under the connection status. It cannot be dismissed.
  • The charge dialog. Opening Charge a card on file on a student shows a yellow Test mode block at the top of the sheet, above everything else.
  • The start-billing dialog. Same banner, same place, when you start a family on monthly billing.

The settings banner reads:

This account is connected with Stripe test credentials. No real money moves and no real card is ever charged — use Stripe's test card numbers. Reconnect with live credentials before taking payments from real families.

If none of those banners are showing, you are live.

The banner is deliberately un-dismissible

The failure it prevents is not confusion. It is a staff member running a "test" charge against a real card on a live account, or telling a parent their payment went through when it only went through in test mode. Both are conversations nobody wants to have, and one line of unmissable text prevents them.

What is safe in test mode

Everything. That is the point.

  • Charge a card, refund it, partially refund it.
  • Start monthly billing, watch the first charge land, stop it.
  • Have a family add a card and pay for a belt test.
  • Trigger a decline on purpose and see what a Past due row looks like.

No real card is ever touched, no real money moves, and nothing you do in test mode ends up on anybody's statement.

You will need Stripe's test card numbers rather than a real card. Stripe publishes them; 4242 4242 4242 4242 with any future expiry and any CVC is the standard "this always succeeds" card, and Stripe's docs list the numbers that produce specific declines if you want to see a failure path.

What test mode does not tell you

Test mode proves the flow works. It does not prove your live Stripe account is ready — that is what the status card's three flags are for (Charges enabled, Payouts enabled, Details submitted). A test connection can look perfect while a live account is still pending Stripe's review.

Switching to live

There is no toggle. Test versus live is a property of the credentials the connection was made with, so going live means reconnecting:

  1. Stop anything you set up while testing

    Stop any monthly billing you started against the test account, from the Billing column on Students then Enrollments. Test subscriptions are harmless, but they clutter the roster and they will not survive the reconnection meaningfully.

  2. Disconnect

    Studio then General → Payments → Disconnect. The studio drops back to Independent mode. Your Stripe data stays in Stripe.

  3. Reconnect with live credentials

    Pick Stripe again and go through Connecting Stripe. Check afterwards that the Test mode banner is gone and the status reads Connected and ready.

  4. Turn the switches back on

    Card charging, and then automatic monthly billing if you use it. They are not cleared by disconnecting, but confirm their state rather than assuming it.

  5. Re-start monthly billing for each family

    Anyone who was on monthly billing needs starting again against the live account, with a card they have saved against the live account. Cards do not carry across from test to live.

Cards, customers and subscriptions do not transfer

Test and live are separate worlds inside Stripe. Every saved card, every customer record and every subscription created in test mode exists only in test mode. After going live, families have to add their card again, and every monthly billing arrangement has to be started again.

Which is a good argument for doing your testing before you invite families in, rather than after.

A sensible order for a new studio

  1. Connect in test mode if you want to rehearse. Run one charge, one refund, one monthly billing start and stop.
  2. Disconnect, reconnect live, and confirm the banner is gone.
  3. Then email families and ask them to add a card.

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