Collecting Group Payments (Group Funds)

Group Funds lets a whole group pay you real money up front instead of just authorizing a card. Each traveler pays into a shared pool through one link, the money lands in your own Stripe balance, and you pay the supplier once when the pool is ready.

Perfect for: group cruises (including expedition sailings), destination weddings, family reunions, church and youth trips, corporate retreats — any departure where a bunch of travelers each owe their share toward one supplier.

How It's Different From Card Authorization

On an individual booking, JourneyFuse can authorize a client's card — but no money actually moves until you charge it to pay the supplier. Group Funds is the opposite: travelers are charged real money that nets into your account, so you're holding funds before the supplier bill comes due.

A few things worth knowing:

• The money lands in your own Stripe account (you're the merchant of record). JourneyFuse never holds your funds.
• JourneyFuse takes no markup — you pay only Stripe's normal processing (~2.9% + 30¢), versus the 5%+ some group-payment tools charge.
• Travelers can pay by card or bank transfer (ACH).
• You pay the supplier the way you always do (cruise-line portal, etc.) and record it in JourneyFuse. We don't issue a card to the supplier for you.

Before You Start: Connect Stripe

Group Funds runs on your own Stripe account. Go to Settings → Payments and connect (or create) your Stripe account first. This is the same connection used for planning fees, so if you've already set that up, you're ready. If you haven't, the Funds tab will show a Connect Stripe button.

Step 1: Open the Group's Funds Tab

Group Funds lives on group trips. Open a group (Groups → [your group]) and click the Funds tab.

The tabs only appear once a group has at least one booking or a linked proposal — so create the group and add a booking (or link a proposal) first.

Step 2: Create a Fund

Click New fund and fill in:

• Fund name (required) — e.g. "Alaska Expedition — Cabin Deposits".
• Supplier (optional) — who you'll ultimately pay.
• Supplier target (optional) — the dollar amount you need to collect to cover the supplier. Leave it blank to simply collect everyone's assigned share.
• Per-person amount (optional) — a flat amount each traveler owes. You can also set different amounts per traveler later.
• Due date (optional) — when contributions are due.
• Processing fee — choose Travelers cover the fee (recommended) so the full amount nets into your balance and your target is actually reached, or I cover the fee to absorb the ~2.9% + 30¢ yourself (collected total then falls slightly short of the target).

Click Create fund.

Step 3: Add Travelers and Their Amounts

Add each traveler to the fund with the amount they owe. Travelers added from the group roster carry over their info automatically. Each traveler gets their own contribution and their own payment link.

Step 4: Share the Payment Link

Copy each traveler's payment link and send it however you like — group chat, email, text. The traveler opens a clean, branded page, enters their card or bank details, and pays. As payments land, the fund total updates in real time and each traveler is marked paid.

Step 5: Pay the Supplier and Record It

When the pool covers the supplier — a fund with a target flips to Ready to pay once the net collected reaches it; a fund without a target is ready once every traveler has paid — pay the supplier the way you normally do (their advisor portal, etc.). Then click Record supplier payment so JourneyFuse closes out the fund and your records stay accurate.

Tip: "Ready to pay" reflects the net amount actually collected. Choosing Travelers cover the fee is the cleanest way to guarantee the pool covers the full supplier bill with nothing left short.

Refunds and Disputes

If a contribution is refunded in Stripe, JourneyFuse automatically marks that traveler's contribution refunded and re-opens the fund so the total stays correct. Card disputes are tracked too.

FAQ

Does the money go to JourneyFuse first? No. Payments go straight into your connected Stripe account. JourneyFuse never holds your funds.

Can I use this for a single client instead of a group? Group Funds is built for group trips today. For individual bookings, use the standard proposal checkout and card flow.

Do travelers need an account? No — they just open the link and pay.