Payment processing for portable toilet and septic companies
2.25% on every card. ACH is free.
On the Growth plan, PortaPro pays Stripe's processing fees and charges one flat rate in their place. No 30 cents a payment, and nothing extra for an Amex or an international card.
On Growth, 2.25% flat
$450
At 2.9% + 30¢ a payment
$595
$145 a month stays with you. Paid by bank transfer, it costs $0.
2.9% + 30¢ is Stripe's standard US card price, which accounts outside the Growth plan pay Stripe directly. Real Stripe fees vary with card mix.
They pay from the invoice.
Every invoice links to a pay page with your logo and color, built on Stripe, and the invoice marks itself paid. The office sees the same payment from its side.
- Methods you choose
- Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link, Amazon Pay, and bank transfer are on from the start. Cash App Pay and buy now, pay later are a switch away, and on those you're paid in full up front.
- A card on file
- The customer saves it while paying, or you key it in while they read it to you. The card goes to Stripe's vault; PortaPro keeps the brand and the last four digits, and card numbers never touch PortaPro.
- Over the phone, by check, in cash
- Collect Payment charges a saved card in one click, sends the pay link, or takes a card typed in on the spot. Checks and cash are recorded against the invoice with the check number and the day they arrived. Pay more than the balance and the extra becomes credit for the next invoice.
- A payment that didn't post
- If Stripe's confirmation goes missing, a check every 30 minutes finds the payment and marks the invoice paid. If money was captured and the invoice still reads unpaid, admins get an alert.
- What it actually cost
- View payment shows what the customer paid, the processing fee, and what was deposited, read from Stripe's own record of that charge. Not an estimate.
Paid at the job trailer.
Open the invoice on your phone and tap Show payment QR. The customer scans it with their own camera and pays on the spot. Not standing there? Text the pay link from your business number.
Some customers pay by Zelle or Venmo. Upload your code once and it prints on every invoice. Those payments you record yourself.
When a customer pays by bank.
ACH is free on Growth, and it takes a few days to clear. PortaPro handles the wait.
The day they pay
The invoice says ACH Pending.
The balance stays open until the bank confirms, but reminders and late fees stop, and Collect Payment warns anyone about to charge again. The customer already did their part.One to five business days
It turns Paid on its own.
The same end state as a card. A receipt goes out now if the customer asked for one.If the bank sends it back
You hear about it first.
The invoice returns to open, a red ACH Failed mark appears, and admins are notified. The customer very likely thinks they paid.
Questions operators ask
Is 2.25% on every plan?
No. The flat card rate and free ACH come with the Growth plan. On an invoice priced under the Cash Discount Program the card rate is 2.9%, which your customer pays in the card price. On Starter and Core, Stripe bills your account directly at Stripe's own rates, and PortaPro adds nothing on top. Moving to the flat rate from the Payments page in Settings sets up a new connected Stripe account and takes a few minutes.
What does setup take?
Connect Stripe from the Payments page in Settings. PortaPro creates a new Stripe Express account for your business, filled in from your company settings, and Stripe asks for your business details and the bank for payouts. Verification usually takes one to two business days, and a new Stripe account holds its first payouts for 7 to 14 days. Linking a Stripe account you already have isn't supported today, so talk to support first if you have one.
Can repeat customers pay automatically, and can I take a deposit?
Yes to both. Once a card is on file, turn on autopay and it charges each cycle invoice as it's issued, or open invoices on their due date. If the card declines, the customer gets a notice with an Update card and pay button, and you get an alert. A deposit is its own small invoice, from a quote or a job, as a percentage or a fixed amount. The customer pays it online like any invoice, and it's credited against the final invoice. A quote can wait for the deposit before the job is booked, and the balance invoice can go out a set number of days before delivery. The card the customer saves with the deposit can be charged for the balance or for damage later.
Can I give a discount for paying by check?
Yes, with the Cash Discount Program. Every quote and invoice lists one price that covers card processing, and a customer who pays by cash, check, ACH, or a method you add, like Zelle, pays your own price. The discount is locked to what a card actually costs you under the program, 2.9% on the flat rate with no fixed fee, so you net the same either way. When ACH is one of your cash methods, the online pay page offers card at your posted price or bank account at the cash price. Each settled card payment books its real Stripe fee as an expense, so net profit stays true.
