Bussing Payment System - SIMPLIFIED Proof of Concept

Overview

Minimal viable product with just the essentials to prove the concept works.

Part 1: Simplified Table Structure (1-2 Tables)

OPTION A: Single Table (Simplest)

Table Name: Bus Registration (bus_registration)

Column Name	Data Type	Required	Notes
Registration ID	Auto-number	Yes	Primary key
Student Name	Text	Yes
Parent Name	Text	Yes
Email	Email	Yes
Phone	Phone	Yes
Grade	Text	Yes	e.g., “5” or “K”
Amount	Currency	Yes	Default: $200 (or whatever fee)
Payment Status	Choice	Yes	Options: Pending, Paid, Failed
Stripe Payment ID	Text	No	Store payment_intent ID
Payment Date	Date and Time	No	When paid
Created On	Date and Time	Yes	Auto-populated

That’s it! Everything in one table for POC.

OPTION B: Two Tables (Slightly Better)

Table 1: Bus Registration

Column Name	Data Type	Required	Notes
Registration ID	Auto-number	Yes	Primary key
Student Name	Text	Yes
Parent Name	Text	Yes
Email	Email	Yes
Phone	Phone	Yes
Grade	Text	Yes
Amount	Currency	Yes	Default: $200
Payment Status	Choice	Yes	Pending, Paid, Failed
Created On	Date and Time	Yes	Auto

Table 2: Payment

Column Name	Data Type	Required	Notes
Payment ID	Auto-number	Yes	Primary key
Bus Registration	Lookup	Yes	Link to registration
Stripe Payment ID	Text	Yes	payment_intent_xxx
Amount	Currency	Yes
Status	Choice	Yes	Pending, Succeeded, Failed
Payment Date	Date and Time	No

Part 2: Simplified Power Automate Flow

Single Flow: Registration + Payment

Trigger: When a Bus Registration record is created

Steps:

Initialize variable: Stripe Secret Key
- Name: stripeKey
- Type: String
- Value: sk_test_YOUR_KEY_HERE (get from Stripe)
Initialize variable: Amount in Cents
- Name: amountCents
- Type: Integer
- Value: mul(triggerOutputs()?['body/cr123_amount'], 100)
- (Multiplies $200 by 100 = 20000 cents)

HTTP - Create Stripe Payment Intent

Method: POST
URI: https://api.stripe.com/v1/payment_intents

Headers:

Authorization: Bearer @{variables('stripeKey')}
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

Body:

amount=@{variables('amountCents')}&currency=usd&metadata[registration_id]=@{triggerOutputs()?['body/cr123_busregistrationid']}&metadata[student_name]=@{triggerOutputs()?['body/cr123_studentname']}&automatic_payment_methods[enabled]=true

Parse JSON (from Stripe response)

Content: body('HTTP')

Schema:

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "id": {"type": "string"},
    "client_secret": {"type": "string"},
    "amount": {"type": "integer"},
    "status": {"type": "string"}
  }
}

Update Bus Registration record
- Set Stripe Payment ID = body('Parse_JSON')?['id']

Send Email (Office 365 Outlook connector)

To: triggerOutputs()?['body/cr123_email']
Subject: “Complete Your Bussing Payment”

Body:

<p>Hi @{triggerOutputs()?['body/cr123_parentname']},</p>

<p>Thanks for registering @{triggerOutputs()?['body/cr123_studentname']} for school bussing.</p>

<p>Amount due: $@{triggerOutputs()?['body/cr123_amount']}</p>

<p><a href="https://yourpowerpage.com/payment?session=@{body('Parse_JSON')?['client_secret']}">Click here to pay now</a></p>

<p>Registration ID: @{triggerOutputs()?['body/cr123_busregistrationid']}</p>

That’s your core flow!

Part 3: Simple Power Pages Setup

Page 1: Registration Form (5 minutes to build)

In Power Pages, create new page “Bus Registration”
Add a Form component
Connect to Bus Registration table
Show fields: Student Name, Parent Name, Email, Phone, Grade
Set Amount field to hidden with default value ($200)
Set Payment Status to hidden with default value (Pending)
Success redirect: Show thank you message

Page 2: Payment Page (Basic HTML + Stripe)

Create a simple page with this code:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <script src="https://js.stripe.com/v3/"></script>
  <style>
    #payment-form { max-width: 400px; margin: 50px auto; }
    button { background: #5469d4; color: white; padding: 12px 24px; 
             border: none; border-radius: 4px; cursor: pointer; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <div id="payment-form">
    <h2>Complete Payment</h2>
    <div id="payment-element"></div>
    <button id="submit">Pay Now</button>
    <div id="error-message"></div>
  </div>

  <script>
    // Get client_secret from URL parameter
    const urlParams = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search);
    const clientSecret = urlParams.get('session');

    const stripe = Stripe('pk_test_YOUR_PUBLISHABLE_KEY'); // Replace with your key
    
    const options = { clientSecret: clientSecret };
    const elements = stripe.elements(options);
    const paymentElement = elements.create('payment');
    paymentElement.mount('#payment-element');

    document.getElementById('submit').addEventListener('click', async () => {
      const {error} = await stripe.confirmPayment({
        elements,
        confirmParams: {
          return_url: 'https://yoursite.com/confirmation',
        },
      });

      if (error) {
        document.getElementById('error-message').textContent = error.message;
      }
    });
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Part 4: Stripe Webhook (Optional for POC)

Simple webhook to update payment status:

Trigger: When HTTP request is received

Steps:

Parse JSON (webhook body)
Condition: Check event type
- If body('Parse_JSON')?['type'] equals payment_intent.succeeded
Get Registration
- Filter: Stripe Payment ID equals body('Parse_JSON')?['data']?['object']?['id']
Update Registration
- Payment Status = Paid
- Payment Date = utcNow()
Send confirmation email
- “Payment received! Your student is registered.”

Part 5: Quick Start Guide

Step 1: Create Table (5 min)

Go to make.powerapps.com
Click “Tables” → “New table”
Name it “Bus Registration”
Add the columns from Option A above

Step 2: Get Stripe Keys (5 min)

Go to stripe.com/test
Sign up (free)
Get test keys:
- Publishable key: pk_test_…
- Secret key: sk_test_…

Step 3: Create Power Automate Flow (10 min)

Create new cloud flow
Trigger: When row is added (Bus Registration table)
Copy the steps from Part 2 above
Replace YOUR_KEY_HERE with your sk_test key

Step 4: Create Power Pages Form (5 min)

Create new Power Pages site (or use existing)
Add form connected to Bus Registration table
Publish

Step 5: Test! (2 min)

Submit registration form
Check email for payment link
Use test card: 4242 4242 4242 4242
Verify status updates to “Paid”

Test Cards (Stripe Test Mode)

Success: 4242 4242 4242 4242
Decline: 4000 0000 0000 0002
Requires 3D Secure: 4000 0025 0000 3155

Use any future expiry date and any 3-digit CVC.

What This POC Proves

✅ Parents can register online ✅ Payment requests are created automatically ✅ Stripe handles secure payment processing ✅ Payment status updates automatically ✅ Confirmation emails are sent ✅ All data stored in Dataverse

When You’re Ready to Expand

After POC is approved, add:

Webhook for real-time updates
Payment tracking table
Admin dashboard
Route assignment
Refund handling
Reporting

Estimated POC Cost

Power Pages: Free trial (30 days) or ~$200/month
Power Automate: Included in most M365 licenses, or $15/month
Stripe: FREE in test mode, 2.9% + $0.30 in production

Total to test: $0 (using trials)

POC Success Metrics

Can you:

Submit a registration in under 2 minutes?
Receive payment email automatically?
Complete payment with test card?
See status change to “Paid”?
Retrieve data from Dataverse?

If yes to all = POC SUCCESS! ✅

Next Steps After POC

Demo to stakeholders
Get feedback on user experience
Add webhook for real-time updates
Expand to 2-3 table design
Add admin reporting
Switch to production Stripe keys
Go live!

Quick Troubleshooting

Flow doesn’t trigger:

Check table permissions
Verify flow is turned ON
Check flow run history

Payment fails:

Verify Stripe key is correct (sk_test_…)
Check amount is in cents
Use valid test card

Email doesn’t send:

Connect Office 365 Outlook
Check email address is valid
Look in spam folder

Need help with any specific step? Let me know!

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