--- title: "Billing says it is set up but parents cannot pay" description: "If your invoices look ready but families have no way to pay, Stripe verification is almost certainly unfinished. Here is how to see what it wants." type: troubleshoot updated: 2026-09-08 canonical_url: https://help.nestlicare.com/owners/faq/billing-says-set-up-but-parents-cant-pay roles: ["super_admin", "center_admin"] platforms: [web] --- You have created billing plans, sent invoices, and everything on the billing side looks finished. But families open the app and there is no way to add a card or pay. Nothing you change on the Billing page makes any difference. Almost every time, the cause is the same: **your payment account exists, but Stripe has not finished verifying it.** Until it does, Stripe keeps charges switched off, and an account with charges switched off cannot accept a payment no matter how correct your invoices are. ## Check this first Open **Billing & Payments → Finances**. - If the page names something Stripe still needs, such as a Social Security number or a photo ID, **that is your answer**. Add it there and payments switch on for your families automatically, usually within a few minutes of Stripe accepting it. - If the page says Stripe is reviewing your details, there is nothing to do. Reviews normally finish within a day. - If the page invites you to request payments setup, your account was never provisioned. See [Enable online payments](/owners/billing/enable-online-payments). ## Why the rest of the app still looks fine This trips people up, and reasonably so. Invoices, billing plans, families, and amounts are all yours. They work the moment you create them, and they keep working whether or not online payment is switched on. You can send invoices, track what is owed, and record cash or check payments the whole time. Online payment is the only piece that depends on Stripe. So an unfinished verification looks like "billing is set up" everywhere except the one screen where a parent tries to pay. ## What Stripe usually asks for Stripe has to confirm who is legally responsible for the account before it will move money. For a US account that generally means: - The **account representative's Social Security number**. - A **photo ID** for that person, such as a driver's license or passport, when the Social Security number alone does not produce a confident match. Being asked for the photo ID is routine. It is not a sign that anything is wrong with your daycare. These details go directly to Stripe and NestliCare never sees them, so we genuinely cannot enter them or upload them for you. Please do not email us a photo of your ID. If you already have, delete it from your sent folder and we will delete our copy. ## If Stripe keeps rejecting your ID Your upload is probably fine and the automatic scanner is the problem. Try this: 1. Photograph the physical document, not a photocopy and not a picture of a screen. 2. Lay it flat on a dark surface in bright, even light. 3. Fill the frame, with all four corners visible. 4. Avoid glare across the photo and the text. A passport is usually read more reliably than a license, so use one if you have it. If it still fails, go around us. Your Stripe account is a standard one, which means you have your own login: sign in at [dashboard.stripe.com](https://dashboard.stripe.com) with the email address on the account, then contact Stripe support from there. They can see the exact reason your document was rejected, which NestliCare cannot. ## Once it clears Nothing further is needed from you. Card and bank payments switch on for your families automatically, and any invoices you have already sent become payable straight away. Families pay in the NestliCare app; see [Pay an invoice](/parents/payments/pay-an-invoice) for what they will see. Related: [Why can't I connect my own Stripe account?](/owners/faq/why-cant-i-connect-my-own-stripe-account), [Enable online payments](/owners/billing/enable-online-payments), [Where is my first payout?](/owners/faq/where-is-my-first-payout).