Choice Eliminator for Google Forms™

Stripe Payments Setup Help Center

Learn how to connect Stripe, add your publishable and secret keys, configure every payment setting, test checkout, and safely switch your Google Form payment flow to live mode.

Open Stripe API Keys Get started

Test mode first pk_test_ / sk_test_ Live payments with pk_live_ / sk_live_

Simple Stripe setup

Get Started

Use Stripe payments when you want respondents to pay before submitting a Google Form. Start with Stripe test keys so you can confirm the payment flow without charging real cards.

Open your Google Form and launch Choice Eliminator for Google Forms™.

Open Payment Settings and enable Stripe payments.

Paste your Stripe publishable key and secret key.

Choose a submission fee or option-based pricing.

Save settings, open the preview URL, and test the checkout.

Developers > API keys

How to Get Stripe Publishable Key and Secret Key

Stripe shows API keys in the Dashboard under Developers > API keys. Test keys are for setup and testing. Live keys are for real payments.

Publishable key

This key is used on the checkout page. It is safe to expose in frontend code.

Secret key

This key authenticates server-side Stripe requests. Keep it private and never publish it in public code.

Recommended safety

Use test keys first. For live mode, store the secret key securely and rotate it immediately if exposed.

Read Stripe key security

Payment Settings

Configure the Add-on

Enable Stripe payments

Turn on Stripe payments in the add-on. Respondents will be sent through a Stripe checkout flow before the form response is accepted.

Choose pricing

Use a flat submission fee for one price per response, or option-based pricing when different choices should have different prices.

Save settings

After saving, open the preview page and complete a test payment before sharing the form with users.

Complete setup

All Payment Settings and How to Set Them Up

Use these settings to connect your Stripe account, choose how respondents pay, and test the checkout before sharing your form.

Enable Stripe payments

Turn this on when you want respondents to pay before submitting the form.

How to set up: Open Payment Settings, check Enable Stripe payments, then complete the key and pricing fields below.

Publishable key

The public Stripe key used to start checkout. It starts with pk_test_ or pk_live_.

How to set up: In Stripe Dashboard, open Developers > API keys, copy the publishable key, and paste it into this field.

Secret key

The private Stripe key used for secure payment requests. It starts with sk_test_ or sk_live_.

How to set up: In Stripe Dashboard, reveal the secret key, copy it once, and paste it into the Secret key field. Never publish or share this key.

Pricing mode

Choose how the form calculates the amount respondents need to pay.

How to set up: Select Submission fee for one fixed price per form response, or Option based if each answer choice has its own price.

Submission fee

A single flat amount charged once per submission.

How to set up: Choose Submission fee, enter an amount such as 5.00, then save. Leave empty if you do not want a flat fee.

Option based pricing

Charge different prices depending on which form options the respondent selects.

How to set up: Choose Option based, then enter a price beside each supported choice option. Use this for tickets, products, services, seats, or paid selections.

Refresh

Reloads the latest form questions, choices, and response counts into the add-on.

How to set up: Click Refresh after editing your Google Form questions or answer choices, especially before setting option-based prices.

Save

Saves your payment setup and generates or updates the respondent preview page.

How to set up: Click Save after adding keys, prices, or disclaimer text. Then open the preview link and test the full checkout.

Preview URL

The public form page where respondents complete payment and submit the form.

How to set up: After saving, copy or open the preview URL. Test it yourself before sending it to respondents.

Response editing protection

When Stripe payments are enabled, response editing should stay disabled so users cannot reuse an edit link to bypass payment.

How to set up: Keep Google Forms response editing turned off. The add-on also disables response editing when Stripe payments are enabled.

Before real payments

Test Payments

Test mode lets you confirm that Stripe checkout opens, payment succeeds, and the form response is handled correctly without charging a real payment method.

Keep Stripe in test mode.
Use keys that start with pk_test_ and sk_test_.
Save the add-on settings.
Open the form preview URL.
Complete a test checkout.
Confirm the response appears only after payment succeeds.

Test keys are separate from live keys. A successful test checkout does not mean your live keys are already configured.

Accept real payments

Switch to Live Mode

Important: live keys process real payments. Only switch after your test checkout works correctly.

Open Stripe Dashboard API keys.
Switch from test mode to live mode.
Copy the live publishable key that starts with pk_live_.
Reveal and copy the live secret key that starts with sk_live_.
Replace the test keys in Payment Settings.
Save and run one small live payment test.

Fix common issues

Troubleshooting

Payment page does not open +

Check that Stripe payments are enabled, both keys are saved, and the form preview URL was regenerated after saving.

Stripe says the key is invalid +

Make sure you are not mixing test and live keys. Test mode must use pk_test_ with sk_test_. Live mode must use pk_live_ with sk_live_.

Users can edit after payment +

Keep response editing disabled when Stripe payments are enabled, so a paid edit link cannot be reused to bypass payment.

Secret key was exposed +

Rotate the key in Stripe immediately, replace it in the add-on, and review Stripe API request logs for unknown activity.

Common questions

FAQ

Can someone log in to Stripe with my API key? +

No, an API key is not a Dashboard password. But a live secret key can make powerful Stripe API requests, so protect it carefully.

Can I show the publishable key on a web page? +

Yes. Stripe publishable keys are designed for client-side use. Secret keys are not.

Should I use test keys first? +

Yes. Always test with pk_test_ and sk_test_ before switching to live keys.

What should I do if the live secret key is lost? +

Live secret keys can only be revealed in limited cases. If you cannot retrieve it, rotate or create a new key in Stripe and update Payment Settings.

Contact Support

If the payment flow still does not work, include a screenshot, the form preview URL, whether you are using test or live keys, and the exact error message.