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Set up a new organization and connect Stripe

This guide covers creating your organization in Clerestory for the first time, and connecting Stripe so you can take payments.

Who can do this: Anyone signed in to Clerestory. The person who creates the organization becomes its Owner.

Quick steps: "Set up a new organization" › fill in "Organization Details" › "Next: Review" › "Create Organization" › "Connect Stripe Account" › finish on Stripe's pages.

Before you start

  • Check that your organization isn't already on Clerestory. If colleagues already use it, ask them to invite you instead (see "Join your organization on Clerestory"). Setting up a second organization splits your records.
  • Stripe is the company that processes card payments for Clerestory and pays the money into your bank.
  • Have to hand: your organization's legal name, website, a short description, phone number and street address. A logo file is optional.
  • For Stripe you'll also need your bank details and your organization's tax and ownership information. Stripe asks for these on its own pages.
  • Your EIN (tax ID number) is not asked for here. You add it later to your payment account (see "Add a payment account, connect Stripe and set your payout schedule").

Start setting up

Page: /welcome

  1. Sign in. If you belong to no organization yet, a page opens headed "You're signed in, but not part of an organization yet".
  2. Click "Set up a new organization" at the bottom of the box.
  3. The setup page opens. At the top are three steps: "Organization Details", "Review & Confirm" and "Connect Stripe".

Step 1: Organization Details

Page: /onboarding

Fields with a red star are required.

  1. "Organization Name": type your organization's name.
  2. "Tax-Exempt Type": "501(c)(3)" is chosen to start with. Click it to pick another, such as "501(c)(4)", "Other" or "None".
  3. "Organization Logo (Optional)": click to choose an image file, or skip it.
  4. "Website": type your web address, for example sprucefir.org.
  5. "Description": a short note on your mission and who you serve. Up to 1,000 characters. It appears on your public profile.
  6. Under "Contact Information", "Contact Email" is optional. "Phone" is required.
  7. Under "Location Information", fill in "Street Address", "City", "State / Region" and "ZIP / Postal Code".
  8. "Country" is set to the United States and can't be changed.
  9. "Timezone": click it and choose your time zone.
  10. The button at the bottom reads "Complete Required Fields" until every required field is filled in.
  11. Click "Next: Review".

Step 2: Review & Confirm

  1. The page is headed "Review & Confirm". Check each section: "Basic Information", "Contact Information" and "Location & Financial".
  2. To fix something, click "Edit" at the top right of that section.

Important: clicking "Create Organization" makes a new organization with you as its Owner. It can't be deleted in the screens afterwards.

  1. Click "Create Organization" at the bottom right. It reads "Creating..." while it works.
  2. A page opens headed "🎉 Congratulations and Welcome to Clerestory!". That means your organization was created.

Step 3: Connect Stripe

You can do this now or later. Nothing that takes payments goes live until Stripe is set up.

Important: this opens Stripe's own website. You'll leave Clerestory until you finish or close Stripe's pages.

  1. On the welcome page, find the box headed "Connect Stripe to Accept Payments".
  2. Click "Connect Stripe Account". It reads "Creating Account..." while it works.
  3. You'll see "Stripe account created successfully". Stripe's setup pages then open.
  4. Follow Stripe's pages to the end. Stripe asks for your bank, tax and ownership details.
  5. When you finish, Stripe sends you back to Clerestory's Settings › Organizations page, where you can see the account's status.
  6. To finish setting up payouts and add your EIN, follow "Add a payment account, connect Stripe and set your payout schedule".

Skip Stripe for now

  1. On the welcome page, click "Go to your dashboard".
  2. Your dashboard opens. You can set up forms, memberships and events first.
  3. Connect Stripe later from Settings › Organizations (see "Add a payment account, connect Stripe and set your payout schedule").

Special cases

  • "Your role doesn't allow connecting Stripe. Ask an Administrator." Only an Owner, Administrator or Finance user can connect Stripe.
  • "Failed to upload logo. Please try again." or "Organization created but logo upload failed. You can add it later." Your organization was made; add the logo later in Settings › Organizations.
  • "Failed to save organization. See console for details." The organization wasn't saved. Try "Create Organization" again. If it keeps failing, email support@clerestoryhq.com.
  • Left Stripe before finishing. The account shows "Pending". Click "Continue Onboarding" next to it to carry on.
  • Need to change a detail on the welcome page. Click "Edit Organization Info" to go back to step 1.

If you make a mistake

  • Wrong details: change them later in Settings › Organizations.
  • Set up an organization by mistake: you can't delete an organization in the screens. Email support@clerestoryhq.com.