Payable forms are digital forms used to facilitate payments for products and event registrations. When customers interact with these forms, they’re shown the total amount owed and prompted to pay without being redirected to a different platform. According to a 2024 McKinsey survey, about 9 in 10 customers in the United States and Europe report having made some type of digital payment in the past year, and payable forms are a simple way for businesses to harness this trend.

Below, we’ll explain how payable forms work, how businesses can improve payment collection, and how to overcome common challenges with payable forms.

What’s in this article?

• How do payable forms work for businesses?
  
• How can payable forms improve payment collection?
  
• How does Stripe simplify payable form creation?
  
• What are common challenges with payable forms and how can you avoid them?
  

How do payable forms work for businesses?

Payable forms are a simple, effective way to handle payments. The form collects everything needed to process a payment: the customer’s information, the payment method, and the amount due. Once the customer fills out the form and hits “Pay,” it connects to a secure system that handles the transaction. This system encrypts the details, sends them off for approval, and processes the transaction.

As soon as the payment is approved, both the seller and the customer are notified right away. These forms often sync with your existing tools—such as your accounting or customer relationship management (CRM) software—so payments are tracked and organized without additional work on your end.

How can payable forms improve payment collection?

Payable forms can resolve many payment challenges. Here’s how they can make a difference for your business.

They make paying too easy to ignore

Many late payments happen because paying can feel like a hassle for customers. Payable forms mitigate this by simplifying the process: amounts are prefilled, there’s no need to print anything or write checks, and customers can pay in a couple of clicks.

They prevent common billing issues

Errors such as wrong invoice numbers, missing amounts, and expired credit cards can lead to major delays. Payable forms handle these issues automatically. They calculate the correct totals, validate credit card information, and sync with your records so no one has to search for and fix mistakes.

They improve the customer experience

A sleek, secure form shows customers that you take their time and money seriously.

They turn payments into insight

Payable forms track everything—who paid, how they paid, when they paid. Over time, you’ll start to see patterns, such as which payment methods your customers prefer. This insight lets you fine-tune your process to bring in payments even faster.

They keep your cash flow predictable

The faster payments come in, the less you have to worry about whether or not there will be enough in the bank to cover payroll or a big expense. Payable forms can make cash inflows more predictable.

How does Stripe simplify payable form creation?

Stripe makes payable form creation highly adaptable to different business needs. Stripe’s payments infrastructure allows you to design a form specific to your brand and workflow. Here’s how payable form creation works with Stripe.

Customizable payment fields

Stripe Elements is a library of prebuilt UI components (e.g., card fields, payment methods, error handling) that allows you to design your own payable form without building every component from scratch. These components are highly customizable and fit into the design of your website or app, while Stripe manages backend tasks such as encryption and tokenization.

Dynamic payment links

Stripe Payment Links let you skip the development process entirely. You can create a payment form directly from the Stripe Dashboard by entering the amount, currency, and payment method. Then, you receive a shareable link to a hosted form that you can send to customers through email, text, or even a QR code.

Integration with Stripe Checkout

Stripe Checkout is a prebuilt payment page that adapts to your customer’s device and location to offer relevant payment methods and currencies. It’s a polished, fully hosted solution that can enable features such as recurring payments and coupons with a few clicks in the Dashboard. It’s ideal for businesses that need a reliable form but don’t want to build it themselves.

Localized payment methods

Stripe can adapt forms to local payment preferences. For example, if your customer is in Europe, your Stripe-hosted form can automatically prioritize payment options such as SEPA Direct Debit and iDEAL. This dynamic adjustment makes paying easier for customers and increases your chances of getting paid quickly.

Built-in fraud detection

Stripe simplifies form creation by embedding fraud detection directly into the payment process. Every payment collected through a Stripe-powered form is automatically scanned by Stripe Radar, an AI-powered system for fraud prevention.

Tax and pricing adjustments

Stripe simplifies automatic tax and discount calculation with built-in tools. For instance, you can use Stripe’s Tax feature to calculate and display tax automatically based on the customer’s location. Similarly, you can apply discounts and promotional codes at checkout without manual setup or third-party integrations.

Post-payment automation

With Stripe’s application programming interface (API) or the Dashboard, you can link your payable forms to actions such as sending payment confirmation emails, updating CRM records, and triggering order fulfillment processes. This makes your forms part of a larger, automated workflow.

What are common challenges with payable forms and how can you avoid them?

Payable forms are great but they can come with some issues that frustrate customers, delay payments, or even lose you money. Here’s what to watch for and how to avoid it.

Overcomplicated forms

If your form feels like a chore to fill out—too many fields, unclear instructions, or a clunky design—customers might leave before they hit “Pay.”

Solutions

• Keep it simple. Ask for only the information you really need.

• Make it clean and easy to follow. Labels should be clear, and the layout shouldn’t feel crowded.

• Test it yourself. If you wouldn’t want to fill it out, your customers won’t either.

Not enough payment options

Not everyone pays the same way. Limiting your form to credit cards, for example, can exclude customers who prefer Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers or digital wallets such as Apple Pay.

Solutions

• Offer a mix of payment options. Credit and debit cards are a must, but consider adding digital wallets, ACH transfers, or local payment methods if you’re serving international customers. Many platforms (including Stripe) make this easy to set up.

• Pay attention to your audience. If most of your customers live overseas, research which payment methods are popular in those regions.

Ineffective error handling

Filling out a form, clicking “Submit,” and receiving a vague error message—or worse, no message at all—can be frustrating for customers.

Solutions

• Use real-time error messages. For instance, if the card number is invalid, let customers know immediately instead of after they try to click “Submit.”

• Make errors clear and actionable. If a card fails, tell the customers why (e.g., expired, declined) and guide them on what to do next.

Vague charge information

If customers can’t immediately understand what they’re being charged for or why, that creates doubt. Confusion at this stage is an easy way to delay or lose a payment.

Solutions

• List out what the total includes right on the form.

• Link to policies such as refunds and terms of service if they’re relevant.

Concerns about security

If your form doesn’t look and feel secure, customers won’t be confident about entering their payment information.

Solutions

• Use a reliable payment processor that has proven security measures and complies with data handling rules.

• Make the form look polished and branded so customers know they’re paying you, not a third party.

• Emphasize security features, such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and “Secure Checkout” badges, to reassure them.

Poor integration

If your form doesn’t sync with the tools you’re already using (such as your accounting or CRM software), payments can get lost and create more work for you and complications for customers.

Solutions

• Test integrations thoroughly. Ensure payments flow into your systems without breaking anything.

• Choose tools that work well together. Many platforms have plug-and-play integrations that simplify this step.

Expired links

If you’re using payment links that are valid for only a certain number of days, expired links can create unnecessary friction. Customers get frustrated, and you lose out on payments.

Solutions

• Set reasonable expiration dates. Don’t rush customers to pay within 24 hours unless it’s absolutely necessary.

• Make it easy to regenerate links, if needed. A simple “Need a new link?” button can solve this problem.

Bad mobile experience

More people are paying with their phones than ever. In the United Kingdom, for example, 69% of online shoppers used a smartphone to make purchases in 2023. If your form isn’t refined for mobile, you’ll likely lose out on payments from those customers.

Solutions

• Use a responsive design so your form adjusts to any screen size.

• Test the form on different devices and browsers to ensure it works everywhere.

Failure to follow up

Sometimes, customers forget to pay. If you don’t follow up, you’ll lose that revenue.

Solutions

• Automate reminders for incomplete forms.

• Include links in your follow-up emails so customers can pick up exactly where they left off.