Platform Fee & Stripe: Setup, Billing, and Troubleshooting

How the monthly Platform Fee works, how to connect Stripe, and what to know if you're offboarding, moving to referral status, or setup isn't registering.

Overview

Side charges a monthly Platform Fee. Who is billed for it — the Partner or the individual Agent — depends on how your team is set up. If you're not sure who's responsible for Platform Fee billing on your team, check with your Partner or accounting before assuming it applies to you directly.

Invoices are generated on the 1st of each month, and payment is charged on the 5th. Payment is collected automatically through Stripe once a payment method is connected.

Billed individually? If you're billed individually rather than through your Partner, it's normal to receive more than one email from Stripe inviting you to set up a payment method. This doesn't mean anything went wrong — no need to reach out about it.

Setting Up Your Payment Method

Access the Stripe customer portal: billing.stripe.com
Enter your Side email address.
Within 5 minutes, Stripe will send an email with a link to your Customer Profile — use that link to add or edit your payment method.

Important Stripe confirming the connection on your screen doesn't always mean Side's system has finished syncing that update. Allow up to 24 hours before assuming something is wrong — see the troubleshooting section below if reminder emails continue after that.

Offboarding or Moving to Referral Status

This is the most common Platform Fee conversation support has with agents — and it usually starts the same way: an invoice goes out, and the agent reaches out wanting to offboard or move to referral status instead of paying it.

An invoice already issued is not automatically cancelled Submitting an offboarding or referral status request does not cancel or waive a Platform Fee invoice that's already gone out. That invoice stands as-is unless accounting or PSM approves cancelling it. Status changes and billing are handled separately.

Timing	What Happens
The Partner submits the offboarding or referral status change before the 1st of the month	No invoice is generated for that billing period — the change takes effect before invoicing runs.
The change is submitted on or after the 1st	That month's invoice has already been generated and still stands by default. It is not cancelled automatically. Cancelling or waiving it requires explicit approval from accounting or PSM — it is not guaranteed.

If an agent is offboarding or moving to Referral Agent status, the Partner needs to submit that change — either the offboarding request or the status update to Referral Agent — before the 1st of the month. Invoices are generated on the 1st based on active status at that time, so a change submitted on or after the 1st won't stop that month's invoice from going out.

Already been billed and want to discuss it? Reach out to accounting or your PSM directly — support can route the request, but the decision to cancel or waive an existing invoice sits with them, not with Stripe or general support.

"I Already Set This Up" — Troubleshooting

Before resubmitting payment details a second or third time, check the following:

What you're seeing	What to do
You connected Stripe but got another reminder email within 24 hours	This is expected — reminder emails are sometimes queued before the sync completes. No action needed yet.
It's been more than 24 hours and the reminder is still coming	Don't reconnect a third time. Contact help@side.com with a screenshot of your Stripe confirmation screen so support can check the sync status directly rather than risk a duplicate connection.
You used a different email in Stripe than the one Side has on file	This is the most common cause of a "successful" Stripe connection not registering. Reconnect using your Side account email.

Common Questions

I'm offboarding this month — do I still owe this invoice?

Yes, by default, unless the change was submitted before the 1st of the month. Offboarding and referral status changes must be submitted by the Partner before the 1st to stop that month's invoice — after that, the invoice has already been generated and cancelling it requires approval from accounting or PSM.

Why do I keep getting reminder emails after I've already paid?

Sync between Stripe and Side's system can take up to 24 hours. If reminders continue past that window, contact support rather than reconnecting again.

Can I pay by check or wire instead of Stripe?

Stripe is the standard method for the Platform Fee. If you have a specific reason you can't use Stripe, reach out to support to discuss options.

What happens if my Platform Fee isn't paid on time? See what happens if a payment is missed →

Missed payments can affect account status. Reach out as early as possible if you expect a delay.