Stripe Review — Payment Processing for Contractors Who Invoice Online

Real Pricing

⚠ ACH debit: 0.8% capped at $5 per transaction. Instant payout: 1% extra. International cards: additional 1.5%. Card reader for in-person payments: $59. No monthly fees.

What It Actually Does

Stripe processes payments. Credit cards, debit cards, ACH bank transfers, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more. But unlike Square, which is built around the physical card reader and the point-of-sale experience, Stripe is built around online payments and software integrations. It’s the payment engine that powers millions of websites and apps, including many of the field service platforms and invoicing tools contractors already use.

When you send an invoice through Jobber, Housecall Pro, FreshBooks, or InvoiceASAP and the customer clicks pay now, Stripe is often the company actually processing that payment behind the scenes. You’re already using Stripe whether you know it or not. What changes when you set up Stripe directly is that you gain control over the payment experience, the fee structure, and the automation beyond what your invoicing tool provides.

The feature that matters most for trade contractors is ACH bank transfer pricing. Stripe charges 0.8 percent for ACH payments and caps the fee at $5 per transaction. On a $50,000 pool project, that’s $5 in fees versus roughly $1,300 for a credit card at 2.6 percent. For large jobs where the customer is paying online anyway, offering ACH through Stripe saves dramatic money.

Square vs Stripe

Most contractors should have both. Square handles in-person payments — you’re standing in the customer’s kitchen, they tap their card on your phone, and the payment processes instantly. Square’s card reader is free and the interface is designed for exactly this scenario. Stripe handles online payments — you send an invoice by email, the customer clicks pay now, and the payment processes through their browser.

The fee structures are different in ways that matter. Square charges 2.6 percent plus 10 cents for in-person card transactions. Stripe charges 2.9 percent plus 30 cents for online card transactions. For an in-person $500 electrical repair, Square costs about $13 and Stripe on a card would cost about $15. The difference is negligible for small amounts. For a $10,000 HVAC system replacement paid online, Square card processing costs about $260 and Stripe ACH costs $5. That difference is not negligible.

The setup experience is different too. Square is plug and play. Sign up, plug in the reader, start taking payments. Stripe requires more technical setup — you need to integrate it with an invoicing tool or build it into your website. Most contractors use Stripe through whatever invoicing software they already have rather than setting up Stripe directly.

The ACH Advantage

ACH payments are the reason to care about Stripe specifically. When a customer pays by bank transfer instead of credit card, the fee structure changes dramatically. Stripe charges 0.8 percent for ACH with a $5 cap. Square’s ACH equivalent isn’t as straightforward or as widely available through their invoicing tools.

For pool contractors taking large progress payments, HVAC contractors selling $15,000 system replacements, and landscapers doing major hardscape installations, offering ACH as a payment option saves hundreds of dollars per transaction compared to credit card processing.

The trade-off is speed. Credit card payments clear in one to two days. ACH payments take three to five business days. For most contractors, the wait is worth the savings. Use cards for smaller amounts where the convenience outweighs the fee. Use ACH for large amounts where the fee savings matter.

From the Trenches

Most contractors don’t need to think about Stripe at all. If you invoice through Jobber, Housecall Pro, FreshBooks, or InvoiceASAP, Stripe is likely already processing your payments behind the scenes. You’re getting Stripe’s reliability without needing to set anything up.

The contractors who need to think about Stripe directly are the ones processing large online payments where the fee structure matters. A pool contractor billing $50,000 progress payments. An HVAC contractor selling high-end system replacements with online financing. A landscaper invoicing major hardscape projects. For these contractors, the decision to offer ACH through Stripe instead of processing everything through Square’s card system saves thousands of dollars a year in fees.

For everyone else, stick with Square for in-person payments and let your invoicing tool handle the online payments through whatever processor they use. The payment experience matters more than the processor. Customers want to tap their phone and be done. Give them that experience and they won’t care which company processed the transaction.

Alternatives

• Cheaper: Square (free reader, 2.6% + $0.10 in person, simpler setup)
• Simpler: Square (built for in-person payments, more intuitive for on-site use)
• More powerful (and more expensive): Custom invoicing platform built on Stripe's API (for high-volume businesses needing full automation)