Common Issues
payments
Payments Go Through but Orders Don't Appear
Your customers are paying — you can see the charges on your Stripe or PayPal dashboard — but the orders aren't appearing in your app. Customers are reaching out saying they paid but didn't receive confirmation, and you have no record of what they ordered.
This is a critical issue because you're taking people's money without delivering what they bought. It damages trust, creates refund requests, and can lead to chargebacks that cost you extra fees. Every hour this goes on, you're creating angry customers and potential legal problems.
The root cause is usually a disconnect between your payment processor confirming the charge and your app recording the order. The payment works, but the step after it fails silently.
Error Messages You Might See
No error visible to the customer — the payment succeeds
Webhook delivery failed (in Stripe dashboard)
500 error on webhook endpoint
Order not found
No confirmation email received
Common Causes
- Webhook not set up or broken — Stripe/PayPal sends a notification when payment succeeds, but your app isn't listening for it or the webhook URL is wrong
- Success page code failing — The code that runs when a customer lands on the "payment successful" page has an error and silently fails
- Database write failing — The payment succeeds but saving the order to your database fails due to a connection error or validation issue
- Customer closes page too early — The customer closes the browser after paying but before the confirmation page finishes processing
- Webhook secret mismatch — Your app has the wrong webhook signing secret, so it rejects legitimate payment notifications from Stripe
How to Fix It
- Check your payment provider's webhook logs — In Stripe Dashboard, go to Developers > Webhooks to see if webhooks are being sent and if they're succeeding or failing
- Verify the webhook URL is correct — Make sure the URL in your Stripe webhook settings points to your live app, not localhost or an old URL
- Check your app's error logs — Look for errors happening around the time of payments that might explain why orders aren't being saved
- Process missed orders manually — Cross-reference your Stripe dashboard with your app's orders to find and manually fulfill any missing orders
- Set up a fallback — Use both webhook-based AND redirect-based order creation so if one fails, the other catches it
Real developers can help you.
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Anthony Akpan
Developer with 8 years of experience building softwares fro startups
Yovel Cohen
I got a lot of experience in building Long-horizon AI Agents in production, Backend apps that scale to millions of users and frontend knowledge as well.
ISHANTDEEP SINGH
Senior Software Engineer with 7+ years of experience in React, JavaScript, TypeScript, Next.js, and Node.js. I’ve also worked as a tech lead for startups, owning end-to-end technical execution including architecture, development, scaling, and delivery. I bring a strong mix of hands-on coding, product thinking, and technical leadership, and I’m comfortable building products from scratch as well as improving and scaling existing systems.
zipking
I am a technologist and product builder dedicated to creating high-impact solutions at the intersection of AI and specialized markets. Currently, I am focused on PropScan (EstateGuard), an AI-driven SaaS platform tailored for the Japanese real estate industry, and exploring the potential of Archify.
As an INFJ-T, I approach development with a "systems-thinking" mindset—balancing technical precision with a deep understanding of user needs. I particularly enjoy the challenge of architecting Vertical AI SaaS and optimizing Small Language Models (SLMs) to solve specific, real-world business problems. Whether I'm in a CTO-level leadership role or hands-on with the code, I thrive on building tools that turn complex data into actionable value.
Kingsley Omage
Fullstack software engineer passionate about AI Agents, blockchain, LLMs.
Matt Butler
Software Engineer @ AWS
Krishna Sai Kuncha
Experienced Professional Full stack Developer with 8+ years of experience across react, python, js, ts, golang and react-native. Developed inhouse websearch tooling for AI before websearch was solved : )
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I'll fill this later
Meïr Ankri
Full-stack developer specializing in React / Next.js / Node.js with 6+ years of experience. I've worked across various sectors including automotive (Reezocar/Société Générale), healthcare (Medical Link SaaS), and e-commerce (Glasman). I build web apps end-to-end, from architecture to production, with a focus on scalability, performance, and code quality. I also mentor junior developers and contribute to technical decisions and code reviews.
Describe what's wrong in plain English. No technical knowledge needed.
Get HelpFrequently Asked Questions
What is a webhook and why does my app need one?
A webhook is like a phone call from your payment provider to your app saying 'hey, someone just paid.' Without it, your app has no reliable way to know when a payment succeeds. It's the most important part of payment processing after the payment itself.
Customers already paid but orders are missing. What do I do?
First, check your Stripe or PayPal dashboard for all successful payments. Cross-reference with your app's orders. Manually create any missing orders and reach out to those customers with an apology and confirmation.