Online payments for contractors: cards, bank transfers and the rules

Why take payments online at all?

Because the slowest part of most service businesses is collecting money for work that is already done. A paper invoice in the mail, a check that sits on a counter, a reminder call nobody wants to make. A pay link on the invoice lets the customer pay from their phone the minute the job is finished, and the payment lands in your records without anyone typing it in.

Online payment also changes how the job ends. The crew finishes, the CRM sends the invoice, the customer pays before the truck is out of the neighborhood. No driving back for a check. No awkward conversation at the door.

The cost is a processing fee on each payment. Whether that fee is worth it depends on your ticket size, how fast you need the cash, and which payment methods you push customers toward.

What is the difference between card and ACH payments?

Cards and bank debits move money through different networks with different costs, speeds and risks.

The examples are Stripe's standard U.S. list prices as shown on its pricing page in October 2026. Manually keyed cards and international cards cost more there (an extra 0.5% and 1.5%). Other processors price differently, and the payments built into field-service software may have their own rates, so check yours.

The math matters on bigger tickets. On a $6,000 job, a 2.9% card fee plus 30¢ is $174.30. The same payment by ACH at 0.8% with a $5 cap costs $5. On a $60 visit the gap is a dollar or two. That is why many contractors push bank payment on large invoices and accept cards everywhere.

ACH has a catch. Stripe's ACH Direct Debit documentation says payments can take up to four business days to confirm, that a payment can fail any time before confirmation (and, in rare cases, after it shows as succeeded), and that customers can generally dispute a debit on a personal account through their bank for up to 60 calendar days (two business days for a business account), with no appeal through the ACH network. Don't release a large order of materials on an ACH payment that hasn't cleared.

Can you add a fee for paying by card?

Sometimes. A surcharge is an extra charge added when a customer pays with a credit card. It is governed by two sets of rules: the card networks' rules, which your processor enforces, and state law. Get both right or don't surcharge.

Visa's merchant guidance (a one-page summary dated August 2023 and a surcharge Q&A dated February 2024, both linked from its small business fees page in October 2026) sets these conditions for U.S. merchants:

• Credit only. Surcharges apply only to credit transactions. Debit and prepaid cards cannot be surcharged, and the Q&A says that holds even when a debit cardholder picks "credit" on the terminal.
• Capped. The surcharge can't exceed your merchant discount rate for that card or 3%, whichever is lower.
• Notice first. You must notify your acquirer (the company that processes your cards) at least 30 days before you start.
• Disclosed. Customers must be told at the point of entry and the point of sale, in store and online, and the surcharge must be shown as its own line on every receipt.

Mastercard, Discover and American Express each set their own surcharge rules, and card network rules change, so ask your processor for the current rules of every network you accept. On a pay-by-link invoice, "point of sale" means the customer must see the surcharge before they pay, not after.

State law is the second layer. Both Visa documents say some states prohibit or limit surcharging, and the list of states Visa named grew between the 2023 summary and the 2024 Q&A. Visa itself warns that its list may contain errors and isn't legal advice. We are not going to list states here because a list goes stale. Check your state attorney general's site or ask an attorney before you add a surcharge, and recheck once a year.

A plainer alternative: build card costs into your prices and offer a discount for bank payment on large invoices. Visa's Q&A says a discount offer has to show either the card price alone or the card and cash prices side by side, and that a card total built by adding a fee on top can be treated as a surcharge. Before you call anything a discount for paying by bank or cash, confirm how your state treats it.

When should you take a deposit?

Take a deposit when you will spend money before the job is finished, when you are holding a date that you could sell to someone else, or when the job is large enough that a no-show would hurt. Typical cases: custom materials, multi-day projects, peak-season bookings, and new customers on big tickets.

Good deposit practice:

• State the deposit amount, what it covers and when it is refundable on the quote itself, before the customer approves.
• Collect it online at the moment of approval, so approving and paying are one step.
• Apply it to the final invoice automatically, so the customer sees exactly what is left.
• Check your state's rules for deposits on home improvement contracts, which can be strict. California's licensing board for contractors (the CSLB) is one example: it limits a home improvement down payment to the lesser of $1,000 or 10% of the contract price, with no exception for special-order materials, and it says later payments can't run ahead of the value of the work performed (CSLB).

A CRM that links the quote, the deposit and the final invoice saves a lot of explaining later. Our guide on quote follow-up covers how online approval fits in.

How do card on file and autopay work?

Card on file means the processor keeps a token for the customer's card so you can charge it later without the customer re-entering it. Autopay means you charge that card on a schedule or when an invoice is created. For recurring work like lawn care, pool service, cleaning or pet waste removal, it is the difference between getting paid every visit and chasing dozens of small invoices.

The customer's consent is the foundation. Stripe's documentation on saving payment details says you can only use a saved payment method for the use described in your terms, and that to charge a customer when they aren't present your terms should include:

• the customer's agreement to you starting a payment or series of payments for specified transactions;
• the expected timing and frequency of the payments;
• how the amount is determined;
• your cancellation policy, if it is a subscription.

Stripe also says to keep a record of the customer's written agreement. In practice: an unchecked box at checkout ("Save my card and charge it after each visit"), a short plain-English summary next to it, and a copy of those terms in the confirmation email. For bank accounts, the ACH authorization (a mandate) plays the same role, and Stripe's ACH documentation says that for recurring debits you must tell customers how the amounts are calculated (or the range to expect) and give at least seven calendar days' notice if you change the timing.

Two habits prevent most autopay complaints. Send the receipt every time you charge. And when something unusual happens (an extra service, a price change, a larger bill than normal), tell the customer before you charge, not after. Our recurring billing guide goes further into price changes, pauses and failed payments.

How should a small contractor set this up?

1. Open a payment processor account in your company's name, so the money and the customer payment records are yours.
2. Connect it to your CRM so every invoice carries a pay link and every payment marks the invoice paid automatically.
3. Turn on both cards and ACH. Show ACH first on large invoices.
4. Write your deposit, card on file and cancellation terms once, in plain language, and attach them to quotes.
5. Decide on surcharging only after checking network rules and your state's law.
6. Review your processing fees as a share of revenue every quarter. If they creep up, look at your payment mix before blaming the rate.

If your current software makes any of this awkward, a custom CRM can wire payments, deposits and autopay into your own workflow on your own Stripe account. Not sure where money is slipping? Our free system quote looks at the path from first call to paid invoice.

Frequently asked questions