Card payments go-live guide

Overview Card payments let your clients pay your invoices and payment links by card, with the money going straight to your bank account. A standard processing fee applies per transaction. Going live takes five steps: apply, each owner confirms, e-sign, review, then collect. Most firms are live within 1 to 2 business days of signing. The table below shows who each step is waiting on.

Who is waiting on whom

Step	Waiting on	How long
1. Apply in Settings, Payments	The firm owner	About 10 minutes
2. Each owner confirms	Every owner listed on the application	A few minutes each, by emailed code
3. E-sign the application	The owner marked as the person in control	A few minutes, once the email is found
4. Review	The payment processor	Usually 1 to 2 business days
5. Collect on links and invoices	Nothing: it connects on its own	Within about an hour of approval, or at once with Refresh status

1. Apply

Sign in as the firm owner and open Settings → Payments.
Click Set up card payments and complete the application: the business and its address, industry, the owners, how you take payments, the bank account payouts go to, and documents.
Have each owner's photo ID and a voided check or bank letter ready. Depending on the business, the application can also ask for recent processing or bank statements, financials, or proof the business exists.
Mark the right owner as the person in control of the business (by default the first, primary owner) and check their email address carefully. The application is sent there for e-signature, not to whoever is signed in to LucaLedger.

2. Each owner confirms

Before the application is sent, every owner listed on it gets a one-time code by email and confirms for themselves: the identity and credit check, the accuracy of their details, and for the primary owner the personal guarantee. The application goes to the processor once every owner has confirmed.

3. E-sign

The payment processor emails the person in control a link to review and e-sign the application. Review does not start until it is signed.
If it is not in the inbox, check spam and any filtered folders for an email from the payment processor.
Email never arrived, or went to the wrong address? In Settings → Payments, use Application stuck or signing email never arrived? Replace it with a new one. It sends a new application for signature and withdraws the first. This is offered only before the application is signed.

4. Review

Once signed, Settings, Payments shows Application signed and in review. Most reviews take 1 to 2 business days.
If the review team needs anything more, we will be in touch. The firm owner gets an email and an in-app notice when there is a decision.
Approvals are picked up automatically within about an hour, and card payments then connect on their own. Refresh status in Settings, Payments checks with the processor straight away.

5. Collect on payment links and invoices

Once Settings, Payments shows connected, sent invoices and active payment links can take card payments. Nothing else needs switching on.
Each payment link collects one payment. After it is paid it shows as Paid and its public URL stops taking payments. To charge several people the same amount, send each one an invoice or create a link for each customer. The payment step in an onboarding funnel gives every client their own copy of the link.
Each payment link also has a Test / Live switch. It is a label for your own records and does not change how the link charges: a link marked Test takes real card payments too. Set your links to Live so your records match.
To try the flow end to end, create a separate $1 link, pay it, then refund it from Payment Links (Refund appears on a paid link). Don't test on the link you plan to share: paying it uses it up.

For API integrations

API access. The firm needs API access turned on first: request it in Settings → Developer / API.
Scopes. Reading invoices, payments, payment links and the payments status needs read:billing. Creating, changing, sending, voiding, deleting and marking invoices paid, and creating or deleting payment links, needs write:billing (which includes read:billing). Only the firm owner can grant write:billing, by creating a key or editing one in Settings → Developer / API. A key with write:billing can email invoices to your customers with no one clicking anything, so give it to an automated agent only if that is what you want. The AI connector's keys never carry billing scopes.
Check status. GET /v1/payments/status returns connected, the stage (not_started, awaiting_signature, in_review, approved, connected, ...), the processor's last status, the next_step in plain words and waiting_on (you, processor, or null when nothing is waiting). Poll it instead of guessing.
Payment links. PATCH /v1/payment-links/{id} with {"payment_mode": "live"} sets a link's label to Live. Like a link made in the app, a link made over the API collects one payment.
Missing a scope? The 403 insufficient_scope response names the scope and says who can add it. Full reference: API documentation.

Support

Stuck on a step? Email support@lucaledger.net with your firm name and what Settings, Payments shows, and our team will help.