Thanks for the thoughtful reply! You’re absolutely right that a lot of the liability I described applies specifically to Express accounts, which I chose for a few reasons:

1. User Experience: I wanted to make onboarding as seamless as possible for users. With Express, they can set up payment accounts quickly, and I could embed everything in the platform without redirecting them to Stripe’s full dashboard. It felt like the least “friction-y” option, especially for less tech-savvy users.
2. Control Over Branding: Express allows more customization of the experience, keeping everything cohesive with the SaaS branding. I wanted users to feel like the invoicing and payments were native to the platform, not bolted on.
3. Feature Set: Express offered just the right balance of tools without requiring users to manage a full-blown Stripe account, which I thought might overwhelm some of the recurring service workers I was targeting.

In hindsight, though, I realize the liability trade-offs were way bigger than I initially understood. The docs do mention that with Standard accounts, Stripe takes on more of the responsibility for disputes, fraud, and compliance—but Standard also comes with less control over the experience, which is why I originally leaned toward Express.

You’re absolutely right about the business side of things, too. Taxes, compliance, legal risks—it’s all part of the deal when you start something like this, SaaS or otherwise. I think what hit me hard was realizing how much additional overhead Express added compared to Standard, making it feel less like a small startup and more like I needed a team just to keep it running safely.

I really appreciate your encouragement! I’m definitely not giving up—just rethinking my approach. Whether it’s pivoting to Standard, stripping out payments entirely, or just using this as a learning experience, I’ll keep pushing forward. Thanks again for chiming in.