Conduit payments sit at the end of the same loop you run every day: finish the work, create the invoice, send the payment link, and record the money. This overview explains how online payments work, when ACH saves money, and lets you play the customer on the exact page they see.
For initial Stripe connection, fee pass-through, ACH discounts, payouts, and refunds, use Payments Setup. For the daily workflow, start with Job → Invoice → Payment. For invoice fields, credits, retention, receipts, and reminders, use Invoicing and Payments.
Payment fee details
If your invoice shows a credit-card surcharge, the displayed credit total includes the maximum surcharge for that invoice. Your actual surcharge may be lower or zero depending on your card and location. You will see the exact surcharge and total before confirming payment.
Debit and prepaid cards have no credit-card surcharge. Bank-transfer fees or discounts, if offered, are shown separately. Your payment receipt lists any surcharge actually charged.
How the payment link works
Once Stripe is connected, every invoice can include a public payment link customers pay from directly, no app or account needed. The link offers the online methods you accept (card, bank transfer, or both); an invoice set to Off, check only shows your payment instructions instead of a Pay button, and its email has no Pay link. Set the default and per-invoice choices as described in Payments Setup. For payments that come in another way, use Record Payment on the invoice detail page instead, walked through in Invoicing and Payments.
Enable Card surcharges in Payments settings after Stripe onboarding, then confirm your U.S. business and service scope, required customer notices, and a payment option without a card surcharge. Eligible credit cards use up to 3%, or 2% where required; lower applicable limits are checked for each payment. This includes eligible credit cards in digital wallets and recurring payments. Customers review the price before paying, and saved-card autopay requires separate authorization for each card. Existing invoice-only mandates do not authorize an added surcharge. Debit and prepaid cards have no card surcharge. The processing basis is 2.9% plus 30 cents; recovery is capped and may not cover every processing cost. Conduit’s 1% platform fee is excluded. Bank transfer fees and discounts have separate location checks.
Practice this in the guided lesson.
ACH vs card fees
ACH and card payments both collect money online, but their fees behave differently.
ACH bank transfer is usually best for larger invoices. In Conduit fee examples, ACH is a $1 Conduit fee plus Stripe ACH processing at 0.8%, capped at $5. That makes the ACH cost $6 max on an invoice.
Card payment is usually best when speed or customer convenience matters more than fee savings. Standard card processing at 2.9% plus 30 cents is about $290 on a $10,000 invoice before any platform fee.
On a $10,000 invoice:
- ACH: $6 total using $1 plus capped Stripe ACH processing.
- Card processing: about $290 at 2.9% plus 30 cents.
- Difference: about $284 before any additional card platform fee.
Practice this in the guided lesson.
Passing processing fees to customers
The Card surcharges preference is separate from Include bank transfer fees on invoices. Card surcharges require completion of the business and notice declarations and remain subject to card and location eligibility on each payment. The bank transfer setting controls an itemized ACH fee where available for your location. See Payments Setup. This simulated business is not enrolled for card surcharges, so its card surcharge is zero; switch payment methods to compare its bank transfer fee.
Practice this in the guided lesson.