> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.crevio.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Checkout

> Understand how buyers purchase your products through Crevio's checkout flow

Crevio provides a streamlined checkout experience powered by Stripe's custom UI mode. Buyers complete their purchase without leaving your storefront, keeping the experience on-brand and distraction-free.

## How checkout works

<Steps>
  <Step title="Buyer adds items">
    A buyer selects a price variant on your product page, or clicks a checkout link you have shared. This creates a checkout session with the selected items.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Payment details">
    For paid products, Stripe's embedded payment form collects the buyer's card details, billing information, and any applicable tax. The form renders directly within your storefront -- buyers are never redirected to a third-party page.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Discount codes">
    If you have created [discount codes](/features/discounts), buyers can enter them during checkout to reduce the total.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Order completion">
    Once payment succeeds, Crevio creates an order, grants the buyer access to the purchased experiences, and sends a confirmation.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Crevio determines the checkout mode automatically based on the items in the cart. If any item is a subscription or payment plan, the checkout runs in **subscription** mode. Otherwise, it runs in **one-time payment** mode. You cannot mix subscription/payment plan and one-time items in a single checkout.
</Note>

## Checkout links

Checkout links are shareable URLs that take a buyer directly to a pre-configured checkout. Instead of sending someone to your storefront and asking them to find the product, you give them a link that starts the purchase flow immediately.

Each checkout link:

* Contains one or more pre-selected price variants
* Generates a **QR code** automatically, which you can download and embed in presentations, print materials, or social posts
* Can optionally have a **discount code** pre-applied
* Can include a **custom success URL** that the buyer is redirected to after purchase

<Tip>
  Checkout links are great for promotions, email campaigns, and social media CTAs. Share a single URL and the buyer lands straight on the payment step.
</Tip>

### Checkout link rules

* A checkout link must include at least one price variant.
* You can only include one price variant per product in a link.
* You cannot mix subscription/payment plan and one-time variants in the same link.
* Only one subscription or payment plan variant is allowed per link.

## Shopping carts

Buyers browsing your storefront can add multiple products to a shopping cart before checking out. The cart:

* Supports multiple items with individual quantities
* Shows the total across all items
* Tracks the buyer by session (anonymous) or by customer account (logged in)
* Merges automatically when a session-based cart is associated with a logged-in customer

When a buyer proceeds to checkout from their cart, Crevio creates a checkout session containing all cart items.

<Note>
  All items in a cart must use the same currency. If a buyer tries to add items with different currencies, the checkout will not proceed.
</Note>

## Free checkout

If every item in a checkout has a free price variant, Crevio skips the Stripe payment flow entirely. The buyer completes the checkout without entering any payment information, and you do not need a connected Stripe account for free-only products.

This is useful for:

* Lead magnets and email list builders
* Free community access
* Gated content that requires sign-up but no payment

## Setup fees at checkout

If a subscription or payment plan variant includes a [setup fee](/features/pricing#setup-fees), the fee appears as a separate line item during checkout. The buyer sees both the recurring amount and the one-time setup fee before confirming payment. The setup fee is collected together with the first recurring charge.

## Checkout states

Every checkout session moves through one of these states:

| State         | Description                                                                                                             |
| ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Open**      | The checkout has been created and the buyer is actively completing it.                                                  |
| **Complete**  | Payment succeeded (or the checkout was free) and an order has been created.                                             |
| **Abandoned** | The buyer left without completing payment. This happens when a new checkout replaces a previous one from the same cart. |
| **Expired**   | The Stripe session expired before the buyer completed payment. Stripe sessions have a built-in expiration window.       |

## Pre-filled email

When a checkout is created from an [invoice](/features/invoices), the buyer's email address is pre-filled from the invoice record. This saves the buyer a step and reduces friction for invoice-initiated purchases.

## Discount codes at checkout

Buyers can enter a discount code during the checkout flow. The discount is validated in real-time -- Crevio checks that the code is active, has not exceeded its redemption limit, has not expired, and (if applicable) targets the specific price variant in the checkout.

See [Discounts](/features/discounts) for details on creating and managing discount codes.

## Cross-sell recommendations

During checkout, Crevio can display **cross-sell product recommendations** based on the items already in the buyer's cart. These are configured at the [price variant](/features/pricing) level and encourage buyers to add complementary products before completing their purchase.