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Getting started

5 min read · Quickstart · Updated 2026-05-19

Quickstart5 min
Documentation sections

This is the five-minute path from “just heard about LiteHQ” to your first paid booking. If you operate one space and you've done a Stripe setup before, you can comfortably finish this on a coffee break. If it's your first time, give yourself 15 minutes and a clear afternoon.

Each step ends with a green tick: that's the “you're done with this step” signal. If a step doesn't land, email us at hello@litehq.com. We answer in office hours within an hour.

Heads up. This guide uses our demo Stripe keys. The same flow works in production. Just swap sk_test_ for sk_live_ on the Stripe Connect screen.

Step 1

Sign up and create your workspace

2 min · keyboard only · no credit card yet

Head to litehq.com/signupand create an operator account. You'll be asked for your name, work email, and a workspace slug (this becomes your member portal's URL (e.g. strand.litehq.com)).

What happens after signup

  1. We email a verification link. Click it within 10 minutes (it expires for security).
  2. You land in the operator dashboard with an empty location and zero members. The first thing you'll see is the “Connect Stripe” banner.
  3. Your slug is reserved. You can change it once for free in the first 14 days; after that it requires support to migrate any existing member-portal URLs.
The operator dashboard right after signup: an empty location, zero members, and the Connect Stripe prompt.
Your email address is the platform identity, not the operator identity. You can later add team members under the same workspace without re-creating any data.
Step complete

Workspace created, slug chosen, email verified.

Step 2

Connect Stripe

3 min · the only step that talks to a third party

LiteHQ uses Stripe Connect. You own the Connect account, your tenants are charged through your platform. Funds settle directly into your bank account; we never touch them. Click Connect Stripe on the dashboard banner.

The onboarding flow

  1. You're redirected to Stripe's hosted onboarding. Fill in business name, ABN / NZBN / EIN, bank account, and ID verification. Stripe handles compliance (we never see these documents).
  2. Stripe redirects you back to your LiteHQ dashboard. You then configure two webhook secrets manually: STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET (platform events) and STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET_CONNECT (connected-account events). Both secrets come from your Stripe webhook dashboard and are stored in your operator settings.
  3. The webhook dual-verification means failed deliveries are auto-retried (no missed confirmations even if your laptop's asleep).
webhook_verification.example
bash
# Example webhook endpoint (what LiteHQ verifies)
POST https://your-slug.litehq.com/api/webhooks/stripe
Stripe-Signature: t=1683158400,v1=abc123...

# Both secrets are tried in order:
# 1. STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET           (platform.account.updated, etc.)
# 2. STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET_CONNECT  (charge.succeeded on connected account)
Don't hand-edit a webhook's payment_intent_id field in the dashboard. It must always be a pi_* value, never a checkout session cs_*. Our DB has CHECK constraints that reject this anyway, but it's a common foot-gun.
Step complete

Stripe connected, both webhook secrets configured, test charge cleared.

Step 3

Add your first room

1 min · resource setup

A “room” is any bookable resource (a meeting room, a hot desk, a podcast studio, a phone booth). We default to the simplest case: one meeting room, hourly pricing, no rules. You'll add complexity later.

The minimum viable room

  1. Click + Add resource. Choose Meeting room from the type selector.
  2. Give it a name (“Boardroom”), capacity (8), and an hourly rate (NZ$45). That's it.
  3. Tap Save. Your room is live and bookable from the public member portal at your-slug.litehq.com/book.
Adding your first meeting room: a name, a capacity, and an hourly rate are all it takes.
Resources can be set private (members only), member-tier-gated, or public. Public resources accept guest bookings with Stripe Checkout for pay-as-you-go. See the Booking rules guide for the full breakdown.
Step complete

One resource live, visible at the public member portal URL.

Step 4

Invite your team

1 min · roles + permissions

Team members are host members(staff who work for you, the operator). They're distinct from tenant members who book through you. Roles available today: owner, admin, member.

Who gets what

  1. Owner.Full access. There's exactly one owner (usually you). Can assign other roles. Owner cannot be deleted, only transferred.
  2. Admin. Full access except billing/payouts and role assignment.
  3. Member. Standard host team access: manage members and bookings, no settings or billing.
team_invite.example
json
{
  "email": "team@strand.example.com",
  "role": "member",
  "default_location_id": "loc_demo_strand",
  "expires_at": "2026-05-29T00:00:00Z"
}
Invites expire after 7 days. If a teammate misses the window, hit Re-send invite: we never reactivate stale tokens.
Step complete

At least one teammate invited, role assigned, login confirmed.

Step 5

Start booking

2 min · end-to-end test

End-to-end test: book your boardroom as a guest, pay with Stripe's test card, watch the booking land in your dashboard.

The full test flow

  1. Open an incognito tab. Navigate to your-slug.litehq.com/book.
  2. Pick the boardroom, choose a slot 30 minutes from now, enter a guest email.
  3. At Stripe Checkout, use the test card 4242 4242 4242 4242with any future expiry and any CVC. (Live mode rejects this card: it's test-mode only.)
  4. You're redirected to the success page. The booking is now visible in your operator dashboard andthe member portal “Your bookings” list.
The booking row exists in our DB from step 2 onwards (even before Stripe finishes) to hold the slot while the visitor is in checkout. The 4-layer confirmation pipeline (success page + platform webhook + connect webhook + scheduler self-heal) guarantees the booking flips to confirmed within ~5 seconds of payment. Idempotent on the same payment_intent_id; safe to re-run.
A confirmed test booking: paid via Stripe and visible in both the operator dashboard and the member portal.
Step complete

Test booking paid + confirmed; visible in both operator and portal views.

Next steps

You’ve shipped the basics. Pick what’s next.

These are the four guides operators most commonly read next. None of them are required, but each one unlocks a class of capability you'll want before your second week.