Integration

Pilot + Stripe: payment-link charges, subscriptions, and automatic reconciliation

Connect Stripe to Pilot as the gateway for the payment-link module. Charge by card, manage subscriptions, and reconcile revenue against invoices without anyone exporting a CSV.

Request a demo

What Stripe does with Pilot

Pilot is an AI-driven, end-to-end business system, fully turnkey: payments, billing, sales, CRM, and operations are all included. If you also use Stripe, Pilot connects it and orchestrates your payments with AI: payment links, subscriptions, and reconciliation, without asking you to switch gateways.

Stripe is the favorite payment gateway of technology, professional-services, and SaaS companies for one reason: the API is excellent and global coverage is broad. Pilot has its own payment-link module (Zelr), and Stripe can be one of the gateways that module uses to process the customer's card, without you having to touch the Stripe API.

The integration uses Stripe's Secret API Key (live or test mode). Pilot creates Payment Intents, Customers, Subscriptions, and Invoices in Stripe based on what happens in your CRM, calendar, ecommerce, or conversation with the customer over WhatsApp. The most common flow: the AI agent closes a sale over WhatsApp, generates a payment link, the customer pays by card via Stripe, and Pilot marks the opportunity as won in the CRM and issues the receipt.

For subscriptions (SaaS, memberships, recurring services), Pilot orchestrates the cycle: create a plan, charge the customer, handle failed charges (dunning), notify before renewal, and cancel if the customer churns. For reconciliation, payments collected in Stripe are matched against open invoices in Pilot and marked as paid with no manual work.

What you can do

Payment link via Stripe: the AI agent or your team generates a link with an amount and description, and the customer pays by card on any device.
Recurring subscriptions: create plans in Stripe, charge monthly/annually, handle automatic dunning.
Charge at the close of a sale over WhatsApp, webchat, or phone; the AI builds the payment link inside the chat.
Automatic reconciliation: payments in Stripe mark invoices as paid in Pilot without a manual export.
Multi-currency: USD, EUR, MXN, COP, CRC, BRL; Stripe handles the conversion, Pilot records in the customer's currency.
Refunds and disputes: you manage refunds from Pilot and they're reflected in Stripe (and in the CRM as a customer note).
Consolidated reporting: gross revenue, Stripe fees, net collected, subscription churn, MRR (if applicable).
Compatible with Stripe Checkout, Stripe Billing, and Stripe Connect (marketplaces).

Pilot modules that connect

Payment links (Zelr)

Payment links for WhatsApp and SINPE, built into the CRM.

Invoicing

Electronic invoicing that builds, sends, and reconciles itself.

Accounting

Stress-free monthly close; AI categorizes and reconciles.

Cash flow

AI cash-flow forecasting with shortfall alerts.

Sales

Sales board with live revenue and real-time alerts.

What about Stripe's native integration with my CRM?

Stripe has official apps for HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive that sync customers and payments. They work well for the basic case. Pilot goes further: beyond syncing, the AI agent generates the payment link inside the conversation with the customer (WhatsApp, webchat, Instagram), handles automatic subscription dunning, and consolidates the cash-flow report with data from your CRM, calendar, and ecommerce. If you live 100% inside the Stripe Dashboard, the official apps are enough. If you want charging to be conversational, Pilot fills that gap.

Compared with MercadoPago, PayPal, or local gateways: Pilot supports several gateways in parallel. Stripe for international card customers, SINPE for Costa Rica, MercadoPago for Argentina/Mexico; the customer pays with whatever they prefer and everything reconciles in the same place.

Use cases where this integration shines

Teams that connect this tool with Pilot usually start with these scenarios.

Industries where this integration is most popular

Sectors with the highest combined adoption of this tool and Pilot.

How to connect it

In Stripe, go to Developers > API keys. Copy the Secret Key (it starts with 'sk_live_' for production or 'sk_test_' for testing).
In Pilot, go to Settings > Integrations > Stripe and paste the Secret Key.
Configure the Stripe webhook pointing to the URL Pilot gives you; this lets Pilot receive notifications of confirmed payments, refunds, and subscription events in real time.
If you'll use subscriptions, define the plans in Stripe (Products + Prices) or let Pilot create them via the API when needed.
Test a charge with the 'sk_test_' Secret Key before switching to 'sk_live_'; Pilot shows you the payment link in sandbox.
Save the config with the live key and start charging in production.

Frequently asked questions

Does Pilot replace the Stripe Dashboard?

No. The Stripe Dashboard remains your source of truth for payments, refunds, disputes, and regulatory reports. Pilot operates on top; it generates Payment Intents from your CRM/ecommerce/WhatsApp and records the result in your CRM. Everything that happens is also logged in Stripe.

Which countries does it work in?

In every country where Stripe operates (40+, including US, UK, EU, AU, MX, BR, CO, CR, and more). For Costa Rica, Stripe accepts international cards but not SINPE; for local SINPE, Pilot uses another gateway in parallel.

Does it handle complex subscriptions (discounts, trials, upgrades)?

Yes. Pilot uses Stripe Billing as the subscription engine; Stripe handles trials, discounts, proration, upgrades, and downgrades. Pilot orchestrates the experience (when to charge, when to notify, when to escalate to a human if a charge fails).

And Stripe's fees?

Stripe charges its standard fee (typically 2.9% + $0.30 USD for international cards, varies by country). Pilot does NOT add an extra fee for using Stripe as the gateway; it's included in the Pilot plan. The Stripe fee goes to your Stripe account directly.

Does it support Stripe Connect (marketplaces)?

Yes. If your model is a marketplace (you charge and distribute to connected sellers), Pilot supports Stripe Connect Standard, Express, and Custom. Useful for professional-services platforms, fieldwork with external technicians, etc.

Is it safe to paste the Secret Key?

The Secret Key travels over encrypted channels (TLS) and is stored encrypted at rest. It has full scope over your Stripe account; we recommend using a Restricted Key if your use is limited (Stripe lets you generate keys with limited permissions). If you revoke it from Stripe, the integration stops working.

Connect Stripe to Pilot in 10 minutes

Book a demo and we'll show you the full flow: an AI agent closing a sale over WhatsApp, generating a payment link with Stripe, charging by card, and marking the opportunity as won in the CRM, all in a single conversation.