Card money from your ticket sales reaches your venue in one of two ways. Which one you are on decides who pays you, when, and which report you reconcile against.

The two arrangements

| | Noctern collects payments (the default) | Your own Stripe account (Stripe Connect) | |---|---|---| | Who the buyer pays | Noctern, on your venue's behalf | Your venue | | Who pays you | Noctern, per event | Stripe, straight to your bank | | Noctern's service and card fees | Kept by Noctern before you are paid | Taken out of each charge automatically | | 1099-K | Noctern receives it | Stripe issues it to you | | On the buyer's card statement | NOCTERN* followed by your venue's name | The name set on your own Stripe account | | Report to read | Payout reconciliation | Stripe payouts (Connect) |

Either way, cash and checks never pass through Noctern — your staff took that money at the window or the door, and it is already yours.

Find out which one you are on

1. 1

   Open your venue from Manage Venues and click Edit details in the Setup card.

2. 2

   Open the Payments card.

3. 3

   Read the heading inside it: Noctern collects payments (default) or Connect your own Stripe account.

If there is no Payments card, your venue is on the default — Noctern collects payments — and connecting your own Stripe account has not been made available yet. Ask Noctern support if you want it.

You can also check from any month of Payout reconciliation: the Mode tile reads Noctern (merchant of record) or Stripe Connect.

When Noctern collects payments

This is how every venue starts.

• Payouts. Noctern pays you per event. Each event's payout is your ticket revenue for that event, plus your own box office fee, plus any fee share rebate you have negotiated. Noctern records each payout when it is made — nothing is sent automatically.
• Fees. Noctern's service fee and card fee are paid by the buyer (or come out of the ticket price on all-in pricing) and stay with Noctern. They are never deducted from your ticket revenue a second time.
• Refunds. A refund goes back to the buyer from Noctern. A ticket refunded before the event's payout is recorded is simply left out of that payout. A recorded payout is never reopened; if a refund comes later, any fee share rebate already paid on it comes off your next payout.
• 1099-K. Noctern is the merchant of record, so Noctern receives the 1099-K for these card sales, not your venue.
• Card statements. Buyers see NOCTERN* followed by a short name for your venue. To change that name, open the Confirmation instructions card on the same Edit details page and fill in Card statement name — letters and numbers only, up to 12 characters. The card shows a preview.

To see where things stand, read Payout reconciliation: Remitted is what has been paid to you and Variance is what has not been paid yet.

When you connect your own Stripe account

With Stripe Connect your venue becomes the merchant of record.

• Payouts. Stripe deposits to your bank directly, on the schedule set in your Stripe account. Noctern does not hold your ticket money and owes you no separate payout for those orders.
• Fees. Noctern's service fee and card fee are taken out of each charge automatically. Everything else the buyer paid — ticket price, sales tax, your box office fee, donations — lands in your Stripe balance. Card processing costs are covered out of Noctern's card fee, not charged to you again.
• Refunds. A refund comes back out of your Stripe balance. An order always refunds the way it was paid: orders taken before you connected are still refunded by Noctern.
• 1099-K. Stripe issues the 1099-K to your venue.
• Card statements. Buyers see the statement name from your own Stripe account. The Payments card shows it as Descriptor.
• Fee share rebate. If you have a negotiated fee share, Noctern still owes it on these orders and pays it separately.
• Everything is covered. Online sales, box office card sales, Tap to Pay at the door, gift certificates, donations and memberships all settle to your Stripe account.

To see your deposits, read Stripe payouts (Connect).

The Payments card, state by state

| What the card shows | What it means | |---|---| | Noctern collects payments (default) | Noctern is the merchant of record and pays you per event. | | Connect your own Stripe account with Onboarding or Pending review | A Stripe account has been started for your venue but Stripe has not finished approving it. | | Connect your own Stripe account with Restricted | Stripe needs more information before it will accept charges. The card lists what is missing and links to Fix in Stripe. | | Connect your own Stripe account with Active | Your venue is the merchant of record. The card also shows your Stripe account, whether Payouts are enabled, and your Descriptor. |

Switching arrangements

The Payments card has Connect with Stripe, Continue onboarding and Disconnect buttons, but changing how a venue is paid is done by Noctern. If you click one of them you will see a Not allowed message. Contact Noctern support and they will:

• start the connection, which takes you to Stripe to enter your business and bank details, or
• disconnect, which sends new orders back to Noctern-collected payments. Existing orders on your Stripe account are unaffected.

A disconnect is held back while refunds are still settling on your Stripe account or the account still has a balance. It can go ahead once those have cleared.

What Noctern does not collect

| Money | Where it goes | |---|---| | Cash, checks and other tenders taken by your staff | Straight to your venue. Reconcile with Daily cash and the Ticket ledger. | | Your box office fee | Yours in full under either arrangement. See Box office fee. | | Sales imported from a previous ticketing system | Collected before Noctern. Shown in reports for reference only and never part of a payout. |

Which report answers which question

| Question | Report | |---|---| | Has Noctern paid me for last month's card sales? | Payout reconciliation | | What did Stripe deposit, and for which orders? | Stripe payouts (Connect) | | How much cash should be in the drawer? | Daily cash | | What do I key into my books for yesterday? | Ticket ledger and the QuickBooks Desktop journal | | What did one show make after the artist was paid? | Event Profit & Loss |