Stripe
Connect,
Express
edition
&
a
handbook
for
thirteen
LLCs.
Step-by-step instructions to set up Stripe Connect for application fees and administrative fees across all 13 Styles Property Management apartment communities — one parent account, 13 connected property LLCs, single dashboard. No coding required.
You'll create one parent Stripe account for Styles Property Management, enable the Connect product, then open the Stripe-generated onboarding link for each of the 13 property LLCs and complete the hosted form yourself (EIN, bank info, owner info). Stripe verifies each one automatically. The whole flow is no-code and self-serve — no inviting, no emailing, no waiting on anyone else.
Total cost. Card payments 2.9% + $0.30 · ACH 0.8% (capped at $5). If you let Stripe charge processing fees directly to each LLC, you pay $0 in Connect platform fees.
Push applicants and residents to ACH. On a $150 admin fee, ACH costs $1.20; cards cost $4.65. On a $75 application fee: ACH $0.60 vs card $2.48. Cards run roughly 4× ACH on every transaction.
Stripe reviews your platform application (1–3 business days) before you can onboard live LLCs. File the platform profile first, before you start onboarding any of the 13 LLCs.
Stripe will stall in five different places if any one of these is missing. Sit down with the folder or notebook first.
For Styles Property Management · the parent platform
Suggested wording (copy this):
For each of the 13 property LLCs · one packet per property
Use the ledger below to track gathering info for each property. Check the box once you have everything for that LLC.
| Property | State | Domain | Status |
|---|
For each property LLC, you need
- Legal LLC name (exact match to IRS CP 575 EIN letter)
- EIN
- Physical business address — the apartment community street address
- Bank routing + account number (or shared sister-LLC account)
- Responsible person: name, DOB, address, last-4 SSN, title
- Beneficial owners ≥25%: name, DOB, address, last-4 SSN
- Best contact email for the LLC (used internally by Stripe; can be the executive's email)
- Short property description — "Operates a [#]-unit apartment community at [address]. Collects application fees from prospective residents and administrative fees from current residents."
Property LLCs rarely have their own websites. Use each property's existing domain (already in the table above) as the LLC's "business website" during onboarding. Don't reuse the Styles PM URL for all 13 — that triggers manual review.
Open this URL in your browser:
Use a business email only you control — this becomes the root admin and is annoying to change later.
Stripe sends a verification email within ~1 minute. Click the link titled "Verify your email."
Stripe forces this. Pick Authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, or 1Password). Avoid SMS — Stripe will nag you to upgrade.
Scan the QR code, enter the 6-digit code, and save the backup codes Stripe shows you. Print them.
From the dashboard, click the "Activate your account" banner at the top, or go directly to:
The form asks for, in order:
- Country — United States
- Type of business — pick Company → Limited liability company (LLC)
- EIN — 9 digits, no dashes
- Legal business name — exactly as on EIN letter
- DBA — leave blank or use same name
- Business address — physical street address
- Business phone
- Business website
- Industry — pick "Real estate" or "Property rental". Avoid "Other."
- Product description — paste the description from Phase 0
- Average transaction — typical fee size. For a blended mix of application + administrative fees, ~$100–150 is reasonable.
- Monthly volume estimate — total monthly application + administrative fee volume across all 13 properties (depends on application traffic and lease turnover).
On the "Add a business representative" screen, type your legal name (matching driver's license), DOB, home address, SSN (or last-4 if Stripe asks for that), title (e.g., "Managing Member"), and email.
Check the box confirming you're authorized to act on behalf of the company.
Click + Add owner for each person owning 25%+ of Styles PM.
Type routing + account number on the "Bank details" screen.
Click Submit or Agree & Submit. Stripe usually verifies within minutes. Occasionally they email within 24 hours asking for additional documents (driver's license front/back, articles of organization, EIN letter).
Parent account is now active — but Connect is not enabled yet. That's a separate application (Phase 2).
In the Stripe dashboard left navigation, click More at the bottom and look for Connect. Or go directly to:
On the Connect intro page, click the Get started button.
When asked "What are you building?" pick Platform or marketplace (NOT "Stripe Connect for my own business"). Click Continue.
This is the most important screen. Direct URL:
Stripe asks roughly these questions:
- Business model: "I collect payments from customers and pay out to multiple sellers/service providers"
- Who are your users: Businesses
- What kind of business: "Real estate / Property management" if available, otherwise "Other" with the description below
- Where are your users: United States
- Payment methods: Check both Cards AND ACH Direct Debit (ACH is critical — 0.8% capped at $5 vs 2.9% + $0.30 on cards)
- Average transaction size, monthly volume
- Payout speed: Standard (daily rolling) — you can override per-LLC later
- Will your platform hold money: No
- Describe your platform:
Click Submit for review.
Usually 1–3 business days. You'll get an email when approved. Until then, you can use Test mode (toggle in top-right) but you can't onboard live LLCs.
- Upload Styles PM logo (square, at least 128×128 PNG)
- Pick brand color (Styles' primary color)
- Display name shown to property LLCs: Styles Property Management
- Click Save
Skip this and Stripe blocks the onboarding link with: "You must update your Connect branding settings with icon in order to create an account link."
After approval, go to:
You'll see Express, Standard, Custom. Make sure Express is enabled and disable Standard and Custom so you can't accidentally pick the wrong one.
Both options are valid. The right one depends on whether you want to mark up Stripe's fees to applicants and residents.
Option A · Stripe handles pricing
- Stripe bills the standard 2.9%+30¢ (cards) / 0.8% max $5 (ACH) directly to each property LLC
- You (platform) pay $0 in Connect fees
- 1099-K forms generated, e-filed, and delivered automatically — free
- You can still collect a flat % management fee on each fee payment, routed to the Styles PM balance
- Saves ~$450–600/year vs Option B
Option B · You handle pricing
- $2 per active LLC per month
- + 0.25% + $0.25 per payout to each property's bank
- + $2.99 per IRS 1099-K e-file, $1.49 per state e-file per LLC per year
- You control what rate each LLC pays — useful if you want to mark up
Phase IV · Pricing arithmetic
How much processing actually costs
Card processing runs roughly 4× ACH on every fee. Move the dials to see what your portfolio pays each year across application and administrative fees.
Stripe pricing as of May MMXXVI — cards 2.9% + $0.30 per txn, ACH 0.8% capped at $5. Math covers application + administrative fees only. Verify current rates before relying.
Pick Option A unless you specifically want to mark up Stripe's fees. For 13 LLCs, Option A saves roughly $450–600 per year and requires no decisions per property.
Where to set this: During the Platform Profile (Phase 2.3), Stripe asks "Will your platform set processing fees for your users?" — pick "No, Stripe sets the rates" for Option A.
You can change this later at: Settings → Connect settings → Pricing
Onboard ONE property end-to-end first as a pilot (pick the smallest), verify a real or test transaction routes correctly, then do the other 12, 4–5 per session so you can troubleshoot any stuck ones.
The page is empty the first time. You'll see a + Create button.
A dialog opens titled "Create connected account." Fill in:
- Country → United States
- Email → an internal address you control (used by Stripe for account notifications; the LLC representative does not need access)
- Account type / Dashboard access → Express
- Business type → Company
- Legal name → exact LLC name (e.g., "Waterford Bay Apartments LLC")
- Optional pre-fill to save typing later: address, website (use property's own domain — see table in Phase 0), product description, EIN
Click Copy link OR click Open to launch it directly in a new tab. Open it yourself — you're completing the form, not delegating it.
In a new tab, paste the link Stripe generated. The form is Stripe-hosted and asks for the LLC's legal name + EIN, business address, industry, business representative info (DOB, address, last-4 SSN), beneficial owners ≥25%, bank routing/account, and SMS verification of the rep's phone, plus acceptance of the Stripe Connect Service Agreement. Have the Phase 0 packet for that property in front of you and fill in everything from there. Most onboardings finish in ~10 minutes.
Usually instant to a few hours. Sometimes 1–2 days if Stripe needs document uploads (Articles of Organization, EIN letter, driver's license).
You'll get an email titled "[Property LLC] has connected with Styles Property Management."
Back at dashboard.stripe.com/connect/accounts, the new property should show a green Enabled badge.
If it shows yellow Restricted or Action required, click into the account → Actions required → either submit the missing info directly, or click Send remediation link, send it to yourself, open it, and resolve the missing info directly.
Same flow, 12 more times, ~10 min each. Track each one in the Phase 0 table.
Default: Stripe pays out to each LLC's bank daily, on a rolling basis. First payout for each LLC happens 7–14 days after the first fee payment lands (this is Stripe's standard hold for new accounts to manage chargeback risk). Subsequent payouts are daily.
To change to weekly or monthly
- Go to https://dashboard.stripe.com/connect/accounts
- Click an LLC → click into the Money movement section
- Look for Payout schedule → click Edit
- Choose Daily, Weekly, or Monthly → click Save
If the dashboard doesn't let you change schedule for an LLC, call Stripe Connect support at +1-888-926-2289 — they can flip it on your behalf without code.
Flow · routing
Where the fees go
Each application or administrative fee lands in Stripe and is routed to the LLC that owns the property. Hover any node for detail.
Particles sample the live mix — most fee payments arrive by card; ACH costs roughly a quarter as much.
- All 13 properties at once.
https://dashboard.stripe.com/connect/accountsShows status, balance, last payout, and required actions per property. Filter by status, search by name or EIN, export CSV.
- Drill into one property. Click any LLC — see that property's payments, payouts, disputes, balance, tax forms.
- "View Dashboard As". Click the overflow menu in the upper-right of an account page → View Dashboard as → you see exactly what the property manager sees.
- Property managers' login.
https://connect.stripe.com/express_loginOnce each LLC is enabled, its property manager can log in at the URL above to view payments and payouts for their LLC. The executive provisions and onboards; the property manager only logs in afterward to monitor.
At year-end, Stripe automatically generates a 1099-K for each connected LLC meeting the IRS threshold ($5,000 currently, transitioning toward $600 — confirm current threshold for the tax year).
- Option A (Stripe handles pricing). 1099-Ks generated, e-filed with IRS & states, delivered to each LLC — free. Each LLC sees their 1099-K in their Express dashboard.
- Option B (You handle pricing). Same automation, but billed: $2.99 per IRS e-file + $1.49 per state e-file + $2.99 for any paper mailing.
- You see all of them. https://dashboard.stripe.com/tax-reporting
- Edit a 1099-K before filing if a transaction outside Stripe needs to be added: Tax reporting → click form → Edit.
- Same generic website URL for all 13 LLCs. Stripe's reviewers flag this. Use each property's own domain (already in the table above) instead of
styles-pm.comfor everyone. - Vague business descriptions. Don't write "rental income." Write: "Application fees and administrative fees collected from prospective and current residents of [property name], a [#]-unit apartment community in [city, state]."
- Forgetting the parent account is separately activated. Enabling Connect doesn't activate the parent. Phase 1 must complete first.
- Skipping Connect branding (Phase 2.5). Without a logo, Stripe blocks onboarding link creation.
- Shared bank accounts across sister LLCs trigger a flag the first time. Stripe will allow it, but may open manual review for the second LLC. Workaround: complete LLC #1 fully, wait for "Enabled," then onboard LLC #2 to the same bank. If Stripe asks for proof, upload the bank's signature card or a bank letter listing both LLCs as authorized signers.
- "Other" industry on platform profile. Triggers manual review. Always pick the closest real-estate option.
- Onboarding LLCs before platform profile is approved. Test mode works anytime; live mode is blocked until approval.
- Payout-hold sticker shock on first payment. First fee payment to a brand-new LLC won't pay out for 7–14 days — universal across Stripe. Plan onboarding around that gap.
- Beneficial-owner KYC failures. If a 25%+ owner of a property LLC is a trust, estate, or another LLC, the standard form may stall. Call Stripe Connect support at +1-888-926-2289 — they have a manual process for layered ownership common in real estate.
- Confusing Express Dashboard with full Stripe Dashboard. Property managers get a stripped-down view (balance, payouts, transactions only). They can't see other LLCs or your platform fees. Login URL:
connect.stripe.com/express_login - ACH vs. card rates. On a $150 admin fee: ACH = $1.20, cards = $4.65. On a $75 application fee: ACH = $0.60, cards = $2.48. Cards cost roughly 4× ACH on every transaction. FL and TX both currently allow card surcharging with proper disclosure — verify with your attorney before adding a 3% card convenience fee.
- Volume threshold re-verification. Stripe pauses payouts at certain volume thresholds (~$50K cumulative, then again at higher tiers). Watch for "Action required" banners and resolve the remediation link directly when it shows up.
Enable ACH Direct Debit on every LLC — don't accept cards-only. Decide payout schedule per LLC: daily for cash flow, monthly for accounting cycle.
$80K+/month total card volume. Call Stripe sales for custom pricing — often below 2.9%+30¢. Single LLC doing $1M+/year. Ask Stripe to enable IC++ pricing for that LLC.