Take a deposit

Deposits go straight into your own Stripe account. Whelpkeep never holds the money or takes a cut — it just creates the link and tracks when the deposit is paid.

Paid in cash or by bank transfer? You don't need Stripe for that. See Record a cash or bank-transfer payment — it lands on the same ledger, counts toward the balance and unlocks the buyer's puppy page just the same.

Before you start

You need a buyer on your waitlist. If you haven't added one yet, see Manage your waitlist & buyers.

Connect Stripe (one-time)

1. In the left menu, open Account & Settings → Payments & deposits.
2. Connect your Stripe account by following the prompts.

You only do this once. After that, every deposit link pays into this account.

Note — Buyers pay deposits directly into your Stripe account. Whelpkeep never holds the funds and takes no cut.

Send a deposit link

1. Open the buyer, or open the pup they're getting.
2. Click Create deposit link.
3. Enter the amount.
4. Send the link to the buyer.

Note — Each deposit is a one-time Stripe payment link that pays straight into your own Stripe account. It can't be edited or revoked once created. To change the amount, create a new deposit and share that link — and only that one. An already-sent link keeps working until it's paid or expires, so always share the latest.

What happens when they pay

When the buyer pays, Stripe confirms the deposit and Whelpkeep marks it Paid. A paid deposit unlocks the buyer's private puppy page.

A Stripe deposit is confirmed by Stripe, so it can't be edited, marked paid or removed by hand — that's what makes it independent proof. A payment you record yourself (cash, bank transfer) is your own record: it's labelled as such wherever it appears, and you can correct it. See Record a cash or bank-transfer payment.

Tip — A paid deposit also feeds the balance on the sale: the purchase price minus deposits paid. See Sell a pup.

Next

Once the deposit is paid, the buyer can see their puppy page, and you can move on to selling the pup. For deposit and balance fields, see the Sales & contracts reference.