What happens if Stripe is not connected at a gig

The gig still starts and requests still work, but the audience sees no tip button until Stripe has approved you.

You can go live without Stripe. The gig starts and requests work straight away. Nobody at the gig sees a tip option until Stripe has approved your account.

What the audience sees

Nothing. There is no tip button on your page. If someone follows a direct link to tip, they see "{your name} is not set up for tips yet."

What you see

On the Dashboard: a setup step headed Turn on tips says "The audience cannot tip you until you connect Stripe. It is free to set up and takes about five minutes." Press Set up tips.
On the Go Live form: if your account has Pro, the Tips row shows Off and cannot be changed, with the line "Tips are not set up, so nobody at this gig will see a tip option." and a Set up payments link. It does not stop you going live.
Also on the Go Live form, with Pro: the Paid requests row says "Payments are not set up, so requests stay free at this gig."
On Setup, in the Tips section: the form is greyed out with "Tips are not set up, so none of this does anything yet."

When Stripe is connected but not approved

The card changes to match where you are:

Finish setting up tips: you started connecting Stripe and did not finish.
Stripe has not switched tips on yet: you have sent everything and Stripe has not switched tips on. Sometimes that is a check that finishes on its own, and sometimes Stripe is waiting for one more thing. Press See what Stripe says.
Your tips cannot reach your bank: tips are being taken, but Stripe is holding them. Press See what Stripe needs. See When you get paid.

To fix it

Follow Setting up Stripe. Once Stripe approves you, the tab shows You can be tipped and your tip button is live on your page.

If you have connected Stripe and the button still does not show, see My tip button is not showing.