Core Integration

Stripe For
Rental and Sales eCommerce

Circulio's native Stripe integration is built for the full rental payment lifecycle: hire fees, sales revenues, deposits, pre-authorisations, full captures, refunds and channel-specific Stripe accounts. It is not a basic checkout add-on. It is structured payment infrastructure integrated into the rental eCommerce platform.

Built for rental workflows

Rental Payments Are Not
Retail Payments

Online booking only works if payments are secure, flexible and operationally aligned. Rental businesses need more than a simple sales checkout. Circulio's Stripe integration is designed for real-world rental and sales eCommerce, not retail.

Explore real-time online booking →

A retail payment is straightforward: charge a card, fulfil an order, done. A rental payment is structurally different. It involves a rental fee, often a sale as well, a deposit to be collected several days before the loan or rental starts, a pre-authorisation held against a card as security, a full capture at dispatch, a refund on clean return and a partial deduction if damage is found.

Most payment integrations were not built for this lifecycle. Circulio's Stripe integration was.

What the integration supports
  • Mixed rental and sales orders in a single transaction
  • Online deposit payments at the time of booking or;
  • Online deposit payments a set number of days before the hire start
  • Pre-authorisation for damage security holds
  • Full captures for hire charges and deposit collection
  • Partial and full refunds including deposit refunds
  • Damage waivers collected at checkout
  • Channel-specific Stripe accounts per brand or channel
  • Trade and retail payment logic independently configured

Some form of security is central to rental eCommerce. As pre-authorisations are time-bound and vary by issuing bank, a deposit based on the replacement value of the goods being hired or loaned works best. Refunds therefore become an expected part of the process too. Most integrations focus primarily on invoices and contacts, but deposits and refunds are often where the customer support and reconciliation workload actually lives.

Circulio handles the complete deposit lifecycle through Stripe, with every transaction synced back into Xero automatically. Finance teams can trust the ledger because every deposit collected and every refund issued is reflected in accounting without manual re-entry.

Deposit and refund workflow
  • Customer books online and pays deposit via Stripe
  • Deposit receipt posts automatically to Xero
  • At return, positive condition assessment automatically initiates the refund
  • Missing items or damage automatically triggers a Damage workflow
  • Full refund or partial deduction processed via Stripe
  • Refund posts to Xero against the original deposit record
  • No manual export, no manual reconciliation required
How Xero integration works alongside Stripe →
Deposits and refunds

Full Deposit Lifecycle
Fully Accounted For

Refunds sync back into Xero via Circulio. Accounting reflects the true payment lifecycle of the rental, not just the initial charge. This is where most rental payment integrations fall short. Circulio does not.

Multi-channel payments

One Stripe Account
Or One Per Channel

Circulio provides flexibility to structure payment processing in line with commercial strategy. Whether a business operates with a single Stripe account or a separate one per brand, the platform supports it.

Explore multi-channel architecture →

For businesses operating multiple separately branded channels, Circulio supports a dedicated Stripe account per channel. This enables clean separation of revenue streams, independent reconciliation and brand-level financial reporting.

What per-channel Stripe accounts enable
  • Trade and retail revenue reported and reconciled separately
  • Manufacturer programme payments processed independently
  • Regional channels with distinct payment configurations
  • Acquisition brands retaining their own payment setup
  • Revenue mapping aligned to channel-level Xero account codes
Processor switching without downtime
  • Run one processor while onboarding a new one
  • Route new transactions through a replacement processor
  • Sunset an outgoing processor without disrupting live bookings
  • Maintain operational continuity through the transition

With both Stripe and Xero integrations connected, payments, invoicing and accounting operate as a single continuous system. A customer books and pays a deposit online. Stripe processes the payment. Circulio creates the invoice. Xero receives the invoice and the deposit payment. When the rental ends and a refund is issued, Stripe processes it and Xero receives the credit note. Nothing requires manual intervention at any stage.

What the connected system provides
  • Payments processed securely via Stripe
  • Invoices and credit notes posted to Xero automatically
  • Deposits and refunds synced to accounting in real time
  • Revenue mapped to the correct Xero account codes per channel
  • Channel-level revenue reporting intact across the full stack
  • Finance teams can trust the ledger as operations scale
Explore the Xero integration →
Stripe and Xero together

Commerce + Accounting
Seamless Processes

This is what connected rental eCommerce looks like: payments process via Stripe, invoices post to Xero, deposits and refunds sync automatically, and channel-level reporting remains intact — without any manual step between them.

Compliance and security

3DS, SCA and
Pre-Authorisation

Configuration is managed within your Stripe account. Circulio processes payments in accordance with those settings, ensuring compliance without additional platform complexity.

Circulio supports 3D Secure and Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) where required by regulation or enabled in your Stripe account. For rental businesses operating in markets where SCA applies, this is handled automatically at checkout.

Authorisation and capture logic
  • Pre-authorise transactions where a merchant account supports it
  • Capture immediately where appropriate for the transaction type
  • Process deposits independently from hire charges and final invoices
  • Flexible capture timing aligned to operational workflows
Who benefits most from the Stripe integration
  • Businesses operating multiple channels with separate revenue streams
  • Businesses that take deposits and process refunds at scale
  • Businesses serving both trade and retail customers with different payment rules
  • Businesses that need accounting aligned to the real payment lifecycle
  • Businesses transitioning from a legacy system with disconnected payment processing
See the full feature list →
Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Stripe integration for rental

Does Circulio support multiple Stripe accounts?

Yes. Circulio supports a dedicated Stripe account per channel, enabling multi-brand operations, regional channel separation and channel-level revenue reporting.

Can Circulio handle rental deposits through Stripe?

Yes. Circulio supports online deposit collection, pre-authorisation, full capture and automated refund processing via Stripe. Deposit refunds sync back into Xero automatically.

Does Circulio support Stripe pre-authorisation?

Yes, where your merchant account supports pre-authorisation. Circulio can pre-authorise transactions for deposits or damage protection and capture them at a defined point, or capture immediately where appropriate.

Can I switch payment processors without downtime?

Yes. Circulio supports running one payment processor while onboarding another, enabling a controlled transition without disrupting live transactions or causing booking downtime.

Does Circulio support 3D Secure and SCA?

Yes. Circulio processes payments in accordance with the 3D Secure and Strong Customer Authentication settings configured in your Stripe account, ensuring compliance without additional platform complexity.

Are Stripe refunds synced into Xero automatically?

Yes. Refunds, including deposit refunds processed via Stripe, sync into Xero through Circulio's native Xero integration, keeping accounting aligned with the full payment lifecycle of every rental transaction.

Secure payments, fully connected to your rental operations and accounting

Book a demo to see how Stripe integration within Circulio supports structured deposits, pre-authorisation, multi-channel payment processing and automatic Xero synchronisation.

Book a demo → Explore Xero integration