Billing & Payments

What Is the Billing & Payments Add-On?

The Billing & Payments add-on ($29/mo) automates the financial side of running a flight school or flying club:

Auto-generate invoices when a member checks out of an aircraft, based on Hobbs or tach time
Manage pre-paid member account balances
Send invoices with Stripe payment links so members can pay online
Receive payments directly into your bank account via Stripe Connect

Billing & Payments requires an active Aloft360 base plan (Starter, Pro, or Max). It is designed for organizations that manage multiple members and want to automate per-flight billing.

Enabling Billing & Payments

Go to Billing in the sidebar.
Under Add-ons, click Add to Plan next to Billing & Payments.
Complete checkout (30-day free trial if you haven't used one yet).

Once active, a Billing & Payments section appears in Settings, and member account balances become visible in Settings → Members → [Member Name].

Setting Up Stripe Connect

Before you can receive payments, you need to connect a Stripe account. This routes invoice payments and member top-ups to your bank.

How to Connect

Go to Settings → Billing & Payments or the Billing page.
Click Connect Your Stripe Account.
You'll be redirected to Stripe's onboarding form. Have the following ready:
- Business name and address
- Bank account details (routing + account number)
- Tax ID (EIN for businesses, SSN for sole proprietors)
- Business owner's date of birth and last 4 of SSN (for identity verification)
Complete the form and click Submit.

After Submitting

Stripe reviews new accounts before enabling payouts. This typically takes 1–3 business days — it is not instant. You'll see a "Pending Review" status in Settings while Stripe processes your application. The status updates automatically once approved.

Until Stripe Connect is active, you can still create and send invoices, but payments collected will not route to your bank.

Stripe Connect Statuses

Status	What It Means
Not connected	Setup not started. Payments cannot be collected.
Pending review	Onboarding submitted. Stripe is reviewing your account (1–3 business days).
Active	Payouts enabled. Invoice payments and top-ups deposit to your bank.

Rate Cards

Rate cards define how much to charge per flight hour. They are set per aircraft.

Setting a Rate Card

Go to Aircraft and open the aircraft you want to configure.
Go to the Settings or Billing tab within the aircraft detail.
Set the rate type:
- Hobbs — charged based on Hobbs time logged at check-out
- Tach — charged based on tach time logged at check-out
Enter the hourly rate (e.g. $120.00/hr).
Save.

When a member checks in and out, Aloft360 calculates the charge as:

Flight time (Hobbs or tach) × hourly rate = invoice line item

Billing Mode

Billing mode controls how charges are applied when a member checks out.

Mode	Behavior
Balance First	Deduct from the member's pre-paid balance automatically. If insufficient, generate an invoice for the remainder. Best for flying clubs.
Invoice Only	Always generate an invoice regardless of balance. Member pays via the invoice payment link. Best for flight schools.

To change:

Go to Settings → Billing & Payments.
Select Balance First or Invoice Only.
Click Save Changes.

Invoices

How Invoices Are Generated

Invoices are drafted automatically when a member checks out of an aircraft. Each invoice includes:

Member name
Aircraft tail number
Flight date
Hobbs or tach time logged
Rate per hour
Total amount due

Invoices start as Draft — you can review and edit line items before sending.

Sending an Invoice

Go to Members → [Member Name] → Account Balance or the Billing section.
Open the draft invoice.
Add or edit line items if needed (e.g. add a fuel surcharge or ground instruction time).
Click Send Invoice.

The member receives an email with a Stripe-hosted payment link. They can pay by credit or debit card.

Invoice Statuses

Status	Meaning
Draft	Auto-generated, not yet sent. You can still edit it.
Sent	Emailed to member with payment link.
Paid	Payment received via Stripe. Balance updated automatically.
Void	Cancelled — no payment expected.

Marking an Invoice Paid Manually

If a member pays outside of Stripe (e.g. cash or check), you can manually mark it paid:

Open the invoice.
Click Mark as Paid.

Member Account Balances

What Is a Member Balance?

Each member can hold a pre-paid credit balance. When a flight charge is generated, the balance is debited (in Balance First mode) instead of generating a new invoice.

Viewing a Member's Balance

Go to Settings → Members.
Click on the member's name.
The Account Balance card shows:
- Current balance (positive = credit, negative = owes)
- Any outstanding invoices (shown as negative, with invoice numbers)
- Net position (balance minus outstanding)
- Recent transactions

Adding a Manual Credit

You can add credit to a member's account (e.g. to correct an error or apply a discount):

Open the member's profile.
In the Account Balance card, click + Credit.
Enter the amount and an optional note.
Click Add Credit.

Recording a Manual Debit

You can manually debit a balance (e.g. for a ground lesson or admin fee):

Open the member's profile.
Click − Debit.
Enter the amount and note.
Click Record Debit.

Member Top-Ups (Stripe)

Members can add credit to their own balance by topping up via Stripe:

They visit their account page and click Add Credit / Top Up.
They complete a Stripe Checkout payment.
The credit is applied to their balance immediately.
If Stripe Connect is active, the payment goes directly to your bank.

Refunding a Top-Up

To refund a member's Stripe top-up:

Open the member's profile → Account Balance.
Find the top-up transaction and click the refund icon (↩).
Enter the refund amount (up to the original amount, capped at current balance).
Add an optional reason.
Click Confirm Refund.

If the original payment was made via Stripe, the refund is returned to the member's card. Otherwise, it's applied as a balance adjustment.

Wet Rate vs. Dry Rate Policy

The Rate Policy setting controls whether fuel is included in the aircraft's hourly rate or billed as a separate line item.

Policy	How It Works
Wet Rate	Fuel is included in the hourly rental rate. No separate fuel line item on the invoice. Best for organizations that absorb fuel costs in their rates.
Dry Rate	Fuel is billed separately. At check-in, the pilot enters the fuel amount consumed. The invoice includes a fuel line item based on aircraft fuel settings.

Setting the Rate Policy

Go to Billing in the sidebar.
Scroll to Billing Policy (admin/owner only, requires Billing add-on).
Select Wet Rate or Dry Rate.
Click Save Policy.

You can also override the org policy per aircraft in the aircraft settings (Fuel & Billing section).

Aircraft Fuel Settings

To support dry-rate invoicing, configure each aircraft's fuel settings:

Go to Aircraft → [Aircraft] → Edit.
In the Fuel & Billing section, enter:
- Fuel Burn Rate — average gallons (or lbs) per hour
- Fuel Unit — Gallons/hr or Lbs/hr
- Fuel Cost per Unit — e.g. $6.50/gal
- Billing Rate Policy Override — optionally override the org default for this aircraft

The fuel burn rate is used to pre-fill the fuel amount at check-in (editable by the member).

CFI Billing

When an instructor is listed on a reservation, Aloft360 can automatically add CFI instruction line items to the invoice.

Setting a Default CFI Rate

Go to Billing in the sidebar.
In Billing Policy, enter a Default CFI Rate ($/hr).
Click Save Policy.

This rate applies when an instructor is on a reservation and no per-instructor rate is set.

Setting a Per-Instructor Rate

You can set a different rate for each instructor:

Go to Settings → Members.
Open the instructor's profile.
In the Roles card, you'll see a CFI Hourly Rate field (shown for CFI and Contract Pilot roles, admin/owner only).
Enter their rate and click Save Roles.

The per-instructor rate takes precedence over the org default.

How CFI Line Items Appear on Invoices

At check-in, when a billing-enabled reservation has an instructor, the check-in dialog shows a CFI Instruction section:

Flight Instruction (hrs) — flight time with the instructor
Ground Instruction (hrs) — ground briefing or debrief time

Each entry generates its own invoice line item:

CFI Flight Instruction — X hrs × $Y/hr
CFI Ground Instruction — X hrs × $Y/hr

Leave these fields empty if no instruction occurred.

Auto-Send Invoice

When enabled, invoices are automatically emailed to the pilot immediately after check-in — no manual "Send" step required.

Requirements:

Auto-send must be enabled in Billing Policy
Stripe Connect must be active (status: Active)
The reservation must have a pilot email address

To enable:

Go to Billing → Billing Policy.
Check Auto-send Invoice.
Click Save Policy.

If Stripe Connect is not yet active, invoices are still drafted but are not auto-sent. You can send them manually from the invoice detail page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can members see their own balance? Not directly in this version — admins and owners view balances in Settings → Members.

What happens if a member's balance goes negative? The balance can go negative. An outstanding invoice is shown in the member's Account Balance card so the admin can see the net position.

Do I need Stripe Connect to use invoicing? No. You can generate and send invoices without Stripe Connect. However, the payment links on those invoices won't route to your bank account until Connect is active.

Can I use both billing modes? The billing mode is an org-level setting. All members use the same mode.

Can I override wet/dry rate for a single aircraft? Yes. In the aircraft edit page (Fuel & Billing section), set the Billing Rate Policy Override to Wet or Dry. This overrides the org-level default for that aircraft only.

What if I have a mix of CFI rates? Set per-instructor rates on each CFI's member profile. If a CFI doesn't have a rate set, the org default CFI rate is used. If neither is set, no CFI line item is added to the invoice.