Stripe Connect Model

Tuish uses Stripe Connect to handle payments. This page explains how the payment flow works and why we chose this approach.

The Model: Direct Charges

Tuish uses Stripe Connect with Standard accounts and direct charges.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        Payment Flow                              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                 │
│  Customer ──▶ Stripe Checkout ──▶ Your Stripe Account           │
│                                         │                        │
│                                         ├──▶ You (payment)       │
│                                         │                        │
│                                         └──▶ Tuish (app fee)     │
│                                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

What This Means

Aspect	Direct Charges
Merchant of Record	You
Stripe Dashboard	Yours
Customer Relationship	Yours
Refunds/Disputes	You handle
Tuish's Role	Takes application fee only

Why Not Destination Charges?

Stripe Connect offers two main charge types:

Destination Charges (Not Used)

Customer ──▶ Tuish's Stripe ──▶ Transfer to You

Tuish would be the merchant of record
Payments flow through Tuish first
More control for platform, less for you

Direct Charges (What We Use)

Customer ──▶ Your Stripe ──▶ App fee to Tuish

You are the merchant of record
Payments go directly to you
Tuish just takes a small fee

We chose direct charges because:

Your money, immediately - No waiting for transfers
Your Stripe dashboard - Full visibility and control
Your customer relationships - Direct communication
Simpler taxes - You're the seller, not us

Connecting Your Stripe Account

When you run tuish connect, we use Stripe OAuth:

┌───────────────┐    OAuth    ┌───────────────┐    OAuth    ┌───────────────┐
│  Tuish CLI    │───────────▶│  Stripe OAuth │───────────▶│ Your Stripe   │
│               │            │               │            │               │
│  tuish connect│            │  Authorize    │            │  Grant access │
└───────────────┘            └───────────────┘            └───────────────┘
                                    │
                                    ▼
                             ┌───────────────┐
                             │ Tuish stores  │
                             │ account_id    │
                             └───────────────┘

We store your Stripe account ID (acct_xxx) to create checkout sessions on your behalf.

Payment Flow in Detail

1. Checkout Session Creation

// SDK calls Tuish API
await tuish.purchaseInBrowser();

// Tuish API creates checkout session on YOUR Stripe account
const session = await stripe.checkout.sessions.create({
  payment_method_types: ['card'],
  line_items: [{ price: 'price_xxx', quantity: 1 }],
  mode: 'payment',
  application_fee_amount: 299,  // Tuish's fee (e.g., $2.99)
}, {
  stripeAccount: 'acct_xxx',  // Your Stripe account
});

2. Customer Pays

Customer sees:

Your business name
Your product
Stripe's hosted checkout

Payment goes to your Stripe account with an application fee deducted.

3. Webhook Processing

After payment, Stripe sends a webhook to Tuish:

Stripe ──▶ Tuish API (webhook) ──▶ Generate License ──▶ Store in DB

The SDK polls for completion and receives the license.

Application Fee

Tuish takes a small application fee on each transaction:

Pricing	Application Fee
Example	10% or $2.99 (whichever is greater)

This is separate from Stripe's processing fees (typically 2.9% + $0.30).

Example Breakdown

For a $29.99 sale:

Component	Amount
Sale price	$29.99
Stripe fee (2.9% + $0.30)	-$1.17
Tuish app fee (10%)	-$3.00
You receive	$25.82

What You Control

Because you're the merchant of record:

Your Stripe Dashboard

View all transactions
Download reports
Manage payouts
Handle disputes

Billing Management

Issue refunds directly
Set up subscriptions
Create invoices
Manage customer data

Tax Handling

You collect and remit taxes
Your tax ID on receipts
Your responsibility for compliance

What Tuish Handles

Tuish Responsibility	Description
License generation	Creates signed licenses on payment
License verification	Provides SDK for offline verification
Checkout integration	Creates sessions on your behalf
Webhook processing	Handles Stripe events

Subscriptions

For recurring products, Tuish creates Stripe subscriptions on your account:

// Tuish API creates subscription
const subscription = await stripe.subscriptions.create({
  customer: 'cus_xxx',
  items: [{ price: 'price_xxx' }],
  application_fee_percent: 10,
}, {
  stripeAccount: 'acct_xxx',
});

License validity is tied to subscription status:

Subscription active → License active
Subscription canceled → License expires at period end
Subscription past due → License remains active (grace period)

Account Types

Tuish only supports Standard accounts (not Express or Custom):

Account Type	Used By Tuish
Standard	Yes
Express	No
Custom	No

Standard accounts give you the most control:

Full Stripe dashboard access
Direct customer relationships
Your own terms of service

Security

What Tuish Can Do

Create checkout sessions
Create subscriptions
Read payment data

What Tuish Cannot Do

Access your Stripe balance
Make payouts
Delete your account
Access other connected accounts

OAuth permissions are scoped to only what's needed for licensing.

Stripe Connect Model

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