Estimates · deposits · payments
ShootPortal is photography invoicing software built into each project. The estimate, the approval, the deposit, the payment request, and the receipt sit next to the shoot and the files, and clients pay by card straight into your own Stripe account.
Real ShootPortal screens from a live account. Client details are blurred.
Where the money gets stuck
Most photographers don't have a pricing problem. They have a follow-through problem between the quote and the payment.
The client approved one price by email; the invoice app has another because the travel fee went missing.
You deliver Friday and write the invoice Monday, and the payment clock starts three days late.
Once the download link is out, there is little reason for a busy client to pay quickly.
Outstanding balances live in your head, a spreadsheet, and a banking app.
Asking for 30% up front means another link, another email, another thing to reconcile.
When a client asks what a charge was for, you search three apps to find the shoot.
How payments flow
Payments in ShootPortal follow the project. Here is what you do, and what the system does for you.
See it in action
A 37-second walkthrough: the instant preliminary estimate, your official estimate, the client's approval, the payment link created on approval, Stripe checkout, and marking a check paid.
Real ShootPortal screens from a live account. Client details are blurred. No sound.
Invoicing features
Estimates & proposals
Estimates and proposals are built from line items in your service catalog, with an optional travel fee calculated from ZIP-to-ZIP distance. Edits create a new version and the old one is archived, so there is no question about which price was approved. Clients approve or request changes in the portal and can download the estimate as a PDF.
1. Estimate approved
Scope, price, and terms agreed before you drive anywhere.
2. Deposit paid
A percentage or flat amount secures the date.
3. Media uploaded
Client can preview and review; downloads stay locked.
4. Balance paid
Card payment online, straight to your Stripe account.
5. Downloads unlock
Full-resolution and MLS files become available.
Card payments
Each payment request is a Stripe payment link. The client pays by card on Stripe Checkout, and the money goes to your own Stripe account through Stripe Connect. Stripe's standard processing fees apply. Clients reach the payment from the project in their portal, next to the work it pays for.
Tracking
Every project shows its payments and what is still owed. Your dashboard lists outstanding payments, and the client list shows lifetime revenue and outstanding balance for each client, with a filter for clients who owe you.
Pay before download
Downloads can stay locked until the project reaches Delivered, and the project can move to Delivered automatically when payment comes in. Clients preview photos and video in the portal right away, and the download buttons open once they pay.
Be clear on the fit
ShootPortal takes payment for jobs. It doesn't replace your accounting software, and it isn't trying to.
Invoicing and accounting apps
Best fit: Your bookkeeping and tax records. Many photographers keep one alongside a job system.
ShootPortal
Best fit: Getting paid for each shoot quickly, with the payment, files, and conversation in one place.
ShootPortal doesn't generate numbered invoice documents or add sales tax, and payments are in US dollars. Refunds are issued from your Stripe dashboard. For a broader look at tools, see our photography invoicing software comparison.
The client's side
The estimate, approval, and payments are on the project in their portal.
A familiar Stripe Checkout page instead of bank details in an email.
Clients see what they've paid and what is still owed.
Sent automatically when a payment clears. You can turn client receipts off.
The portal carries your logo, colors, and domain.
Funds go to you through Stripe Connect; ShootPortal never holds them.
See the full client experience on the photography client portal page.
Built by a working drone photographer
ShootPortal was built by Jackson Bridges. Founder & Developer of ShootPortal · Owner of Swift Aerial Media · FAA Part 107 Certified Drone Pilot. Collecting deposits on aerial jobs and chasing balances after delivery is why payments live on the project.
Pricing
Simple pricing
$29/month
Or $24/month billed annually. One flat Studio plan with the full feature set: no per-listing or per-delivery fees. Card payments from your clients go through your own Stripe account at Stripe's standard rates.
FAQ
Estimates and proposals download as PDFs, and each payment has a Stripe receipt (or a payment record PDF). ShootPortal doesn't produce separate numbered invoice documents. The "invoice" your client sees is the payment request on their project.
By card on Stripe Checkout. You connect your own Stripe account during setup, and payments go directly to it. Stripe's standard processing fees apply.
Yes. Require a percentage or fixed deposit when the proposal is approved, then request the balance later. A project can have several payments, and the client sees what is still owed.
Record them with "mark as paid" on the payment. It updates the project and sends the receipt, just like a card payment.
No. There is no tax line and no accounting integration. Keep your accounting software for bookkeeping and tax; use ShootPortal to get each job paid.
Yes. 14 days free, no credit card required. Sign up with Google or a five-field form, then connect Stripe in the guided setup to start taking payments.
Keep reading
Ten invoicing and payment tools photographers actually use, compared on published card and ACH fees, deposits, estimates, and how well each one connects payment to the job and the delivery.
Late payments usually come from unclear policy, not bad clients. Here's how to structure payment, explain it to agents, and connect it to delivery without damaging relationships.
Most listing photographers price by copying the competition. This guide covers what agents actually pay and order, then shows how to build packages and add-ons that are profitable on every listing.
More of ShootPortal
Send a proposal, collect a deposit if you want one, and let payment open the downloads, all in one place.
14 days free. No credit card required.
