Managing Payment with Stripe, PayPal or Paystack
Plan requirement: Selling courses is available on every plan. Compare plans.
This article explains how a Super Admin sets up payments in Coursebox. Link Stripe, PayPal or Paystack to sell courses, monthly Group memberships and a trainer's time.
For video walkthroughs, see the Coursebox YouTube video library.
Open Payments
Click your profile picture and select Payments.
Payments shows in mobile browsers, but not inside the Coursebox mobile app. Use a browser to change payment settings.
Show or hide Payments for other users
The eye icon next to Payments in your profile menu controls whether other users see it.
Eye open: other users who have permission can see Payments.
Eye crossed out: Payments is hidden from other users.
Hiding Payments only affects other users. As the Super Admin, you always see it.
Link Stripe
Open Payments.
Under Receive Payments, click Link Stripe.
If you don't have a Stripe account, fill in the form to create one. If you do, click Sign in in the top-right corner.
Enter the 6-digit code Stripe sends to your phone.
Click Connect my Stripe account.
Once Stripe is linked, the button changes to Unlink Stripe. Click it if you want to disconnect Stripe later.
Learners pay by card through Stripe's hosted checkout, which supports 3D Secure bank checks. Payments go to your own Stripe account.
Send a Stripe invoice for each sale
Under Receive Payments, turn on Send a Stripe invoice for each course sale if you want Stripe to email the buyer a formal invoice for every course payment. Stripe charges you a fee for each invoice it creates. The switch is shown in the screenshot above.
Coursebox doesn't store your card details. All transactions are handled by the payment provider.
Link PayPal
Before you link PayPal, email support@coursebox.ai so we can activate it on your portal.
Open Payments.
Under Receive Payments, click Link PayPal, then log in to PayPal to authorise the connection. The button is shown in the Link Stripe screenshot above.
There is no separate Enable PayPal switch. As soon as PayPal is linked, learners see it as a payment option at checkout.
Once PayPal is linked, the button changes to Unlink PayPal.
You don't need a PayPal payment link. Link PayPal here, then set the course to Sell this course with a price (see Set a course price below). A PayPal link pasted as an External Payment Link takes payment outside Coursebox, so learners aren't enrolled automatically unless you connect it with Zapier.
Link Paystack
Paystack is an extra payment gateway, popular in African markets.
Open Payments.
Under Receive Payments, click Link Paystack, then log in to Paystack to authorise the connection. The button is shown in the Link Stripe screenshot above.
Once Paystack is linked, it's available as a payment method for your courses.
Set a course price
Open the course and click Share.
Under Access level, select Sell this course.
Enter the Price, choose the Currency and add any Additional Tax %.
Click Save.
You can save a price and add an external payment link without linking a payment gateway. Link Stripe, PayPal or Paystack if you want learners to pay by card or PayPal at checkout. Learners see the payment methods you've linked.
Buy-now-pay-later (Afterpay/Clearpay, Klarna, Zip) isn't supported.
Coursebox's Stripe checkout offers card payments (credit and debit) only. Turning on Afterpay/Clearpay, Klarna, Zip or a similar method in your own Stripe account won't make it appear at your course checkout, because Coursebox doesn't pass those methods through. This is a Coursebox limitation, not a Stripe setting, so contacting Stripe support won't fix it. The same applies to PayPal and Paystack.
Workaround: add an External Payment Link (see below) to a checkout that supports buy-now-pay-later, and enrol the buyer in the course with Zapier.
External payment link
In the course price settings, you can add an External Payment Link, for example to Shopify or another checkout. Learners who click the course thumbnail go to that link. Click Save after adding it.
If you leave External Payment Link empty, learners see the checkout options for the gateways you've linked, such as Pay with Card (Stripe) or Pay with PayPal.
Portal licensing and VIP codes
Use Portal Licensing to decide who can sign up to your portal. A VIP code works like a password for signing up: you create it, and you give it only to the people you want to let in.
How a VIP code works
When you turn on Private, two fields appear: Monthly Fee and VIP Code. What happens when someone registers depends on the fee:
No fee (0.00): your portal is invite-only. People can register only if they enter the VIP code. You must save a VIP code for this to work.
A monthly fee: people pay the fee to register, after a 30-day free trial. Anyone who enters the VIP code registers for free. Stripe must be linked to charge a fee.
For example, charge the public a monthly fee, and give your own staff the VIP code so they join for free.
Set up a VIP code
Click the dropdown (▼) next to your profile icon and select Payments.
Under Portal Licensing, turn on Private.
Click the pencil icon next to VIP Code and enter your code.
To charge a fee, click the pencil icon next to Monthly Fee and enter the amount. Leave it at 0.00 for a free, invite-only portal.
Give the code to the people you want to let in.
People enter the code in the VIP code field on the registration form. See Log In to Coursebox using Magic Link.
VIP members
Separately from the VIP code, a Super Admin can mark any user as a VIP member. VIP members can join Groups that allow VIP members straight away, without approval or payment.
Mark a user as VIP
Plan requirement: The Users section is available on Pro + LMS and Enterprise. Compare plans.
Click Users in the left-hand menu.
Click the user's name to open their profile.
Click the pencil icon next to their name.
Turn on Set as VIP.
Click Save.
Let VIP members join a Group instantly
A Group can let VIP members join straight away, skipping approval or payment. Everyone else follows the Group's normal access rules. To turn this on, see Group Management.
Troubleshooting payments
My Stripe account isn't linking.
Complete every step of Stripe's sign-in, including the 6-digit code. If the connection fails, clear your browser cache and try again. Stripe must be a live account, not in test mode, for payments to work.
Learners can't see the payment option on my course.
Check that the course's Access level is Sell this course, that a price is saved, and that Stripe, PayPal or Paystack is linked under Payments.
Afterpay (or another buy-now-pay-later option) isn't showing at checkout.
Coursebox checkout doesn't offer buy-now-pay-later. Turning it on in your Stripe or PayPal account won't make it appear, and contacting Stripe or PayPal support won't fix it. Use an External Payment Link to a checkout that supports it, and enrol the buyer with Zapier.
My paid course let someone in without paying.
Check the following before treating it as a bug:
Access level is Sell this course. Open the course, click Share and check that Access level is Sell this course, not Public or Restricted.
The price is saved. A price and currency must be entered and saved.
A payment method is linked. Stripe, PayPal or Paystack must be linked under Payments.
How the learner was added. Adding someone under Share → People with access gives them access without paying. Use this on purpose, for example for testers or reviewers.
Whether the learner was already enrolled. Anyone enrolled before you switched the course to Sell this course keeps their access.
Test as a real learner. As the course owner or an admin you never see the paywall, even in learner view or preview. To test checkout, open the course link in a private browser window while logged out.
How do I make a paid course free again?
Open the course, click Share and change Access level to Public (publish as open access), or Restricted (publish as private) to keep it invite-only. The course then shows Get Started instead of Buy Now.
What do buyers get after paying?
When a learner completes checkout (Buy Now with Stripe or PayPal, or a connected Shopify or WooCommerce purchase), they're enrolled in the course automatically and get full learner access. Coursebox doesn't store payment records, so your transaction history is in your Stripe or PayPal dashboard.
Where do I set course prices?
Prices are set per course. Open the course, click Share, set Access level to Sell this course, then enter the price, currency and any tax. Repeat this for each course you sell.