The Complete Guide To Online Invoice Payment Processing

CDGcommerce is a merchant services provider that offers many great features at competitive pricing with no hidden fees. Notable features include a free payment processor, multiple pricing options, processing for high-risk businesses, and a free virtual terminal. You can also add on mobile payments, credit card terminals, or a traditional POS system at competitive prices.

CDGcommerce also offers exceptional customer support, including 24/7 phone support. Its customer service and top-quality products have allowed this company to hold a 97% customer retention rate. Its public reputation is excellent, with very few negative customer reviews.

CDGcommerce has numerous pricing plans. This includes One-Rate plans with no monthly fees, Interchange Plus plans that range from $19 to $49 per month, and Membership plans that range from $49 to $199 per month.

Notable features for online invoicing include:

• Free payment gateway
• Free virtual terminal
• Recurring billing
• High-risk payment processing
• Mobile payment processing
• Chargeback protection

Payment processing costs vary based on the pricing plan you select. Processing costs for One-Rate plans start at 2.75% + $0.30 per transaction. Fees for Interchange Plus plans start at interchange + 0.25% + $0.10 per transaction. Fees for Membership plans start at interchange + $0.05.

Stripe offers a variety of developer features that make it an ideal choice for online businesses, especially SaaS businesses or any business that accepts recurring payments. You have the option to use a Stripe plugin or integrate the payment service via one of its integration partnerships. You can use Stripe with your existing invoicing solution or send invoices through Stripe Billing.

Businesses can accept payments online, in person, or via mobile apps with Stripe. Stripe also has a comprehensive set of developer tools for quick and easy integration.

There are no monthly fees to use Stripe Payments — you’ll simply pay processing fees. Additional processing fees apply if you use services such as Stripe Billing or Stripe Invoicing.

Notable Stripe features for online invoicing and payment processing include:

• Subscriptions, trials, & recurring billing with Stripe Billing
• Automated payment reminders
• Support for 135+ currencies
• Numerous integration options
• Shareable payment links
• Mobile SDKs

Stripe charges a flat rate of 2.9% + $0.30 for credit card transactions and 0.8% (capped at $5) for ACH transactions.

If you use Stripe Invoicing, the flat rates above apply plus an additional 0.4% to 0.5% per paid invoice. For recurring invoices, you’ll need to sign up for Stripe Billing, which will cost 0.5% to 0.8% per recurring payment and/or one-time invoice.

Additional Stripe costs and fees may apply if you opt to use other Stripe services.

Square Invoices is part of the Square ecosystem and integrates seamlessly with other Square products, including Square POS and Square Installments. This free option is ideal for businesses that already use Square, but it’s an easy transition for businesses that are new to Square, as well.

Square Invoices has a well-designed UI and is easy to use once you grasp everything Square offers. Square Invoices users like the ease of use, mobility, and customizability of invoices.

There are no monthly fees to use Square Invoices. Sending invoices and accepting payments by cash are all free. Additional Square software and add-ons are available for a fee.

Square Invoices has a number of great features for online invoicing, including:

• Automatic payment reminders
• Recurring payments
• Auto-scheduling
• Add attachments, discounts, tips, and sales tax to invoices
• Works with other Square products, including Square Installments
• Customize the Square Invoices template with colors and logos
• Request partial payments
• Invoice tracking

Square’s online payment processing rates are 2.9% + $0.30.

FreshBooks Payments integrates with your FreshBooks accounting software, allowing you to add an online payment option to your invoices easily. Payments are automatically recorded to your FreshBooks account, so there’s no more worrying about reconciliation.

You’ll also be able to take advantage of features such as recurring invoices and other automations. FreshBooks Payments also doesn’t require a separate merchant services account. Transparent pricing, good customer support, and easy setup all add to the reasons why we like FreshBooks Payments.

FreshBooks Payments is available to FreshBooks users for no additional monthly fee — just pay for payment processing. However, you will need to have a FreshBooks subscription to use this feature. FreshBooks pricing starts at $17/month.

Here’s what you’ll receive when you use FreshBooks Payments for online invoicing:

• Scheduled payments
• Recurring invoices
• Partial payments
• Request deposits from customers
• International currency acceptance with Stripe
• Invoice tracking
• Mobile invoicing
• Reporting

Payment processing using a credit card, debit card, or Apple Pay will cost you 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

QuickBooks Payments (also known as Intuit Merchant Services) has a lot of benefits, especially if you’re already using QuickBooks software. The biggest draw for many users is that QuickBooks Payments seamlessly integrates with QuickBooks. Payments are automatically reconciled to invoices, helping you keep your books balanced.

QuickBooks Payments also has solid customer service and a good reputation among its users. If you already use QuickBooks or are looking for a full accounting and invoicing solution, QuickBooks Payments may be the right choice for you.

The pricing for QuickBooks Payments is based on what version of QuickBooks you’re using.

Pricing ranges from $0/month for QuickBooks’ pay-as-you-go plans to $20/month for a monthly plan that comes with reduced payment processing fees. These charges are in addition to your monthly software fees.

QuickBooks Desktop pricing and QuickBooks Online pricing can get complicated, so make sure you fully understand your monthly and per-transaction costs before signing up.

Here’s what to expect from QuickBooks Payments:

• Get paid via debit cards, credit cards, and mobile payments
• Recurring invoices
• Scheduled payments
• Instant deposits
• Next-day deposits
• Automatic reconciliation
• Mobile invoicing & payments
• Invoice tracking
• Payment links

Payment processing costs vary based on the QuickBooks product you use and the payment processing plan you select. Invoiced payments range from 2.9% + $0.25 per transaction to 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction.

Dharma Merchant Services has a vast selection of products and services to help your business tackle accepting online invoice payments. This includes B2B processing, the MX Merchant virtual terminal and invoicing system, and MX Merchant Express mobile processing. If you need a payment gateway, Dharma has you covered by offering the choice between Authorize.Net and NMI Gateway.

Other benefits of Dharma include transparent pricing with no contracts, early termination, PCI compliance fees, or batch fees. This certified green business has an outstanding reputation among its customers and consistently provides solid customer support.

Dharma offers four rate plans based on different business categories. Pricing ranges from $12-15/month plus per-transaction fees. Additional features such as ACH processing, invoicing, and recurring billing are available for an additional fee.

These features make Dharma a standout for online invoicing:

• Mobile processing
• Virtual terminal
• Online reporting
• B2B program with discounted rates
• Funding in two business days
• Payment links
• Customer database

Payment processing fees range from interchange + 0.10% + $0.08 per transaction to interchange + 0.20% + $0.11 per transaction.

If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution that’s easy to set up and use for accepting online payments, look no further than PayPal. You can send invoices and receive online payments exclusively using PayPal’s business products and services, or you can use a PayPal integration with your existing third-party solutions.

PayPal offers a variety of additional features and benefits for merchants, including customizable invoices with no monthly fees, mass payouts, and the PayPal Here mobile processing app. PayPal also has solid customer service and tech support and is viewed favorably by most users.

There is no monthly charge to use PayPal Checkout for invoicing and payments. However, there are upgraded payment options — PayPal Payments Pro and PayPal Payments Advanced — that some users may be interested in purchasing for a monthly fee.

PayPal’s standout features for online invoicing payment processing including:

• Mobile invoicing
• Invoice reminders
• Track unpaid invoices
• Convert estimates to invoices
• Personalized payment links

PayPal Checkout’s processing fees are 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction.

Authorize.Net offers payment processing services that integrate with numerous third-party shopping carts. You’ll also receive free virtual POS software (with a card reader available for a fee), a free mobile POS app (again, a card reader is available for an additional fee), the Customer Information Manager that allows you to store customer data securely, and Automated Recurring Billing.

Authorize.Net supports numerous payment methods, including credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, Chase Pay, Visa Checkout, and echecks. You’ll also have access to excellent customer support, transparent pricing and sales, and no hidden fees.

Authorize.Net has two monthly payment plans: one that includes just a payment gateway and another than includes a payment gateway plus merchant account. Each plan costs $25/month. Additional processing and daily batch fees apply (more on that later).

Authorize.Net has a wide range of features for online invoicing, including:

• Accept credit cards, debit cards, echecks, & contactless payments
• Mobile payments
• Recurring payments
• Discounts & partial payments on invoices
• Invoice reporting
• Advanced fraud detection

Users that subscribe to Authorize.Net’s payment gateway only will pay $0.10/transaction and a $0.10 daily batch fee. Users that subscribe to Authorize.Net’s all-in-one solution will pay 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

Braintree Payment Solutions stands out for its support of numerous payment methods, including debit, credit, ACH Direct Debit, Android, Apple Pay, Venmo, Google Pay, PayPal, MasterPass, and Visa Checkout.

Braintree also offers international processing and allows you to accept payments in over 130 currencies. Add in solid customer support and an excellent public reputation, and you’ll quickly see why this solution makes our list.

There is no monthly cost for using Braintree Payment Solutions. You simply pay payment processing fees.

Standout features of Braintree Payment Solutions include:

• Recurring billing
• Third-party integrations
• Account updater
• Developer-friendly SDK
• Simplified PCI compliance
• Transaction reporting

Braintree’s rates are 2.59% + $0.49 per transaction for domestic transactions with a card or digital wallet. International transactions come with a 1% fee, and payments made on cards issued outside the US are also charged a 1% fee.

Stax by Fattmerchant offers a decent amount of features and is easy to use. It also offers a unique pricing structure. Where Stax stands out, though, is its customer support, which customers frequently praise. Stax offers 24/7 phone and email support and a variety of other resources to help you get the most out of the service.

Stax provides invoicing through Stax Pay. You can also add on other Stax merchant services (such as mobile payments, a physical terminal, and an online shopping cart) since they are all compatible to create your personalized payment solution.

Stax by Fattmerchant’s pricing is based on processing volume. Businesses that process up to $250,000/year will pay $99/month. Businesses that process $250,000 to $500,000 per year will pay $199/month. Businesses that process over $500,000/year will need to obtain a custom quote.

Add-ons including a QuickBooks integration, next-day funding, and custom branding are available for an additional fee.

Notable features for online invoicing with Stax include:

• Scheduled payments
• Recurring payments
• Automated invoice reminders
• Payment links
• Mobile payments
• Invoice tracking

Payment processing costs for Stax are $0.08 + interchange for swiped, dipped, and tapped transactions, and $0.15 + interchange for keyed-in transactions.