Why dropzone payments still hurt

Most dropzones run money the same way they did twenty years ago. A line at the counter on a busy Saturday morning. Jump tickets on paper or in old manifest software. Someone chasing negative balances at the end of the day. Cash in a drawer that has to match a spreadsheet.

None of that is jumping. Every minute a jumper spends in the payment line is a minute your manifest staff are not building loads.

How it works

1. Connect your Stripe account. During setup you connect your dropzone's own Stripe account through Stripe Connect. Your dropzone is the merchant. We set it up with you directly.
2. Jumpers top up in the app. In the free Manifest app, a jumper picks your dropzone and tops up their account with Apple Pay or a card. In the US they can also pay with Cash App Pay.
3. The money goes to you, not to us. The payment is made to your Stripe account. Manifest never holds your money.
4. The balance shows on the desk instantly. The jumper's account updates on Manifest Desk the moment the payment goes through. Staff see it on the jumper's account and on the Today page.
5. Jumps are charged from the balance. When the jumper is on a load, the jump comes off their account. No ticket to print, no card to swipe again.
6. Stripe pays out to your bank. Payouts follow Stripe's normal payout schedule for your account, exactly as with any other Stripe business.

Apple Pay for skydiving, done properly

Apple Pay is the fastest way to pay on an iPhone: Face ID and done. For a jumper standing on the landing area deciding whether to go again, that matters. The top-up happens where they already check their load, so topping up and getting back on a load is one flow, not two queues.

Jumpers can pay with:

Apple Pay, cards and Cash App Pay (US), processed by Stripe into your dropzone's own account.

Jumper accounts and balances on the desk

Manifest Desk is the browser screen your manifest staff work from. Money is part of the same system as your loads, not a separate tool:

• Jumper accounts: every jumper has an account with a balance. Staff can look anyone up and see their balance at a glance.
• Balances in real time: top-ups from the app appear the moment they are paid. The Accounts card on the Today page shows what is owed to you and what is held.
• Holds and blocks: hold or block an account from the desk when something needs sorting first.
• Desk payments stay yours: cash, your card terminal and anything else you take at the desk can still be added to an account, with no fee from us.
• Staff pay: staff and staff pay live on the same desk, so the money coming in and the money going out to your instructors and packers sit side by side.
• Reports: see what was charged for jumps today against last week, without exporting anything.

See the full desk on the Manifest Desk page, or read how it compares to other skydiving manifest software.

Top-ups work best with self-manifest

Payments get faster again when jumpers can also book themselves. With self-manifest, a jumper tops up, books themselves and their friends onto a load or joins standby, all from the app. You set the limits and the desk always has the final say. For the whole picture, from the desk to the jumper's Lock Screen, see how Manifest works.

What it costs

There is one fee on payments, and only on top-ups jumpers make in the app. It is small, lower on bigger plans, and part of the founding price we set with each dropzone.

No fee per booking. No fee on cash or your own card terminal. Every plan is a monthly subscription with no lock-in and nothing to pay until your desk goes live. See the plans and ask for your price.

Questions dropzone owners ask