How you get paid — Stripe vs Direct deposit

Two ways to receive your money

When a client books a consultation with you and pays, the money has to travel from their card into your bank account. LeyApp gives you two paths for that final leg: Stripe Connect (recommended) or Direct deposit (manual bank transfer). You pick which one in your earnings settings, and you can switch at any time.

Both options end with the same amount in your account — the lawyer fee you set, minus Stripe's small card-processing fee, minus IRPF if you've enabled retention. The difference is HOW fast, HOW visible, and WHO is holding your money in between.

The one-line difference

With Stripe, your money lives in your own Stripe account from the moment the client pays. Stripe transfers it to your bank automatically every 7 days. LeyApp never holds it — we just take our 15% commission as the payment goes through.

With Direct deposit, your money lives in LeyApp's Stripe balance until an admin manually transfers it to your bank by SEPA. Transfers go out weekly (typically every Friday). You see what's owed to you on the LeyApp dashboard, but you don't have a separate Stripe portal for it.

With Stripe Connect (recommended)

• Money in your bank: 7 days after the consultation, automatic, no admin action needed.
• Real-time balance you can see anytime via the Stripe dashboard (the "Stripe dashboard" button in your LeyApp earnings page opens it).
• 10-minute one-time onboarding through Stripe: ID upload, business info, bank details. After that, you never re-enter anything.
• Stripe issues a payment confirmation automatically; you generate the legal invoice from your accounting software using the totals shown on LeyApp.
• Stripe charges a small card-processing fee (~1.5% + €0.25 per consultation) deducted by Stripe before payout. LeyApp's 15% commission is also taken on the way in.
• Your money never sits in LeyApp's hands. If anything were to happen to LeyApp, your Stripe balance is still yours.

With Direct deposit (bank transfer)

• Money in your bank: roughly once per week, in a batch run by LeyApp admin. There's a mandatory 48-hour hold after each consultation completes before the booking becomes eligible for payout — this is to absorb the rare refund or chargeback that arrives late.
• You see the running total on your LeyApp earnings page (upcoming, on-hold, ready, paid). No separate Stripe portal — just LeyApp.
• Enter your IBAN once. LeyApp asks you to re-type it as a safety check and shows a confirmation step before saving. The first transfer goes out in the next weekly batch after your IBAN is on file.
• You generate the legal invoice the same way you would for a normal client. LeyApp shows you the breakdown (lawyer base + IVA + commission) so the totals match.
• No Stripe-side card fee for you — LeyApp absorbs that cost. LeyApp's 15% commission is the same as with Stripe.
• LeyApp is your custodian until each weekly batch runs. We hold your money for at most 7 days; the audit trail per payout is visible on your earnings page and on each completed payout email.

How Stripe Connect works (step by step)

The client pays LeyApp. Behind the scenes, Stripe routes that payment through a destination charge — the money lands in YOUR Stripe Express account, not LeyApp's, with LeyApp's 15% commission deducted automatically as an application fee.

Stripe then runs your payout schedule. Default is rolling 7 days: anything settled today is paid out next week. You can change this from the Stripe dashboard if you prefer daily or monthly payouts.

Refunds (the rare 24-hour cancellation case) are handled by Stripe automatically — they reverse the destination charge, which pulls the money back from your Stripe balance before payout. You never have to chase the client or manually send it back.

How to set it up

1. Go to /dashboard/earnings and click "Connect Stripe". You'll land on Stripe's onboarding page (not LeyApp).
2. Fill in your professional details: legal name, address, tax ID (NIF). Takes about 5 minutes.
3. Upload an ID document (front + back). Stripe verifies this within a few minutes for Spanish IDs.
4. Add the IBAN where Stripe should send your weekly payout. This is between you and Stripe — LeyApp never sees it.
5. Click "Save". You're done. Within ~30 minutes Stripe marks your account as payable and LeyApp will route new bookings through Stripe automatically.

How Direct deposit works (step by step)

The client pays LeyApp. The money lands in LeyApp's Stripe balance as a normal charge. LeyApp's 15% commission stays with LeyApp; the rest is what you're owed.

After the consultation is marked completed AND 48 hours have passed (the hold window), the booking becomes "eligible" for the next weekly payout batch. You can see this in real time on your earnings page — bookings move from "on hold" to "ready".

Every Friday, the LeyApp admin generates a SEPA Credit Transfer XML file containing every lawyer who's eligible that week, uploads it to LeyApp's business bank (Banco Sabadell), and the bank executes all transfers in one batch. You receive your money in your bank account by Tuesday at the latest.

How to set it up

1. Go to /dashboard/earnings and choose "Direct deposit".
2. Type your IBAN. LeyApp validates the format and checksum in real time (you'll see a green checkmark if it's well-formed).
3. Re-type the IBAN in the second field. They must match — this is the typo guard.
4. Enter the holder name as it appears on the bank account. If this is different from your LeyApp profile name (married name, business account, etc.), you'll see a soft warning — the save still works, but our admin will verify before the first payout.
5. Click "Save". A confirmation modal appears showing the masked IBAN (ES91 ···· ···· 1332) + holder name — read it carefully, then confirm. Your first payout goes out in the next weekly batch (typically the next Friday).

How to decide between them

There's no wrong answer — both options end with your money in your bank account. The decision usually comes down to three things: how fast you want to be paid, how much visibility you want into the in-between state, and whether you already have a Stripe relationship.

Most lawyers pick Stripe because it's faster and gives you a separate, professional-looking dashboard. A handful prefer Direct deposit because they don't want to manage another login or because they have a particular reason to avoid Stripe.

You can switch from one to the other at any time from /dashboard/earnings. Money already in flight stays on the path it started — only NEW bookings use the new method.

Pick Stripe Connect if you

• Want to be paid every 7 days automatically, no admin in the loop.
• Want a real-time dashboard you can show your accountant.
• Are comfortable with one extra login (Stripe Express).
• Already use Stripe for other things and want it consolidated.

Pick Direct deposit if you

• Prefer a single LeyApp-only dashboard and don't want another portal.
• Have a Stripe account that's currently restricted or in dispute.
• Are billing through a business with a corporate IBAN you can't easily move.

Switching later

Go to /dashboard/earnings → Payout method → pick the other option → Save. The change applies to NEW bookings only — any in-flight payout finishes on its original path so you don't lose track of what's been settled.

If you switch from Direct deposit to Stripe, your existing IBAN stays on file (in case you ever switch back) but is no longer used. If you switch from Stripe to Direct, your Stripe account stays active for the rolling-7-day window so any pending payouts complete normally.

What about IVA?

IVA is your responsibility either way — LeyApp doesn't issue invoices on your behalf. The lawyer fee shown to the client INCLUDES IVA at the rate you set in your profile; LeyApp's 15% commission is on top of that.

Your earnings page shows the breakdown per booking (lawyer base + IVA + commission) so the figures match whatever invoice you issue. Many lawyers paste these directly into their accounting software.

What happens if a client requests a refund?

LeyApp's refund window is 24 hours after the consultation. With Stripe, the refund is processed by Stripe automatically — money is pulled back from your Stripe balance before the next payout. With Direct deposit, if the refund hits before the weekly batch runs, your eligible amount is reduced. If it hits AFTER you've been paid, LeyApp will deduct it from your next payout (we'll always notify you first).

My money is late — what do I do?

Stripe payouts always land within 7 days of the consultation; if it's later, check the Stripe dashboard — usually it's a missing piece of KYC documentation. Direct deposit goes out Fridays; if you haven't seen it in your bank by the following Tuesday, the LeyApp dashboard's "Did you receive these payouts?" banner will let you flag it for admin follow-up.