“Why I Stopped Dodging Credit Card Fees (and You Might Too)”

I Refused to Accept Credit Cards—and Slowed Down My Cashflow

In this episode of No Se Habla Taxes, I’m coming clean about a hill I used to die on: refusing to accept credit card payments from clients. Yep, I said no to the easiest way to get paid—because I didn’t want to eat the 2.9% fee.

I told myself I was protecting my margins. I was wrong.

Here’s the truth: every time I resisted credit card payments, I made it harder for clients to pay me. And that friction? It cost me in ways I didn’t expect—slower cashflow, delayed invoices, and lost time.

Tune in for:

💳 My full confession and what finally changed my mind
 🔄 The cashflow lesson I learned while paying my own vendor
📈 How to build credit card fees into your pricing (without eating the cost)
🧾 Options for passing down fees or setting minimums
📊 Tools that make it easy (like QuickBooks Online and Stripe)

If you’ve been dodging credit card fees like they’re financial quicksand, this one’s for you. Spoiler: the real risk is slowing your money down to avoid a minor fee.

🎧 Don’t forget to subscribe, and send this episode to a fellow founder who still only takes checks (bless their heart).

💌 Want more real talk about DIY bookkeeping? I’ve got a newsletter and a bookkeeping bootcamp launching soon. Stay tuned!

Let's connect!

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armstrongmelissacpa/

Website: https://steadyhandaccounting.com/

Coaching Program Waitlist: https://steadyhandaccounting.myflodesk.com/ofgzp2o7tc

Transcript

0:12

Welcome to No Se Habla Taxes. The podcast where A CPA does her own books and confesses every"should have known better" moment along the way. I'm Melissa Armstrong, a fractional controller, solo practice owner, and the financial bestie you never knew you needed. And today's confession, it's about something I've resisted for a long time. I didn't wanna accept credit card payments from clients. There I said it. Why the fees? Obviously every percentage point felt like money slipping through my fingers. I told myself I was being smart, preserving my margins. I told myself I was being smart, preserving my margins, protecting my bottom line, running a lean business. But you know what else I was doing? I was making it harder for clients to pay me. It hit me one day as I was paying one of my vendors. They only took credit cards and I paid it without blinking because you know what a credit card gives me? Time, time to float that payment until my next client invoice clears time to manage cash flow more smoothly, especially during those slow months. And that's when it hit me. Uh, if I expect that flexibility as a customer, then why was I denying it to my own clients? I realized I was shooting myself in the foot by not accepting credit cards. I was adding friction to my client's payment process. I was slowing down cash and flows to avoid a measly 2.9% fee. That's like skipping dinner to save on groceries and spending the evening hangry and unproductive. No, no. Credit card processing fees? They're not a scam. They are not. They're a cost of doing business like a grownup, just like insurance, Zoom subscriptions. Or your coffee pods. And honestly, it is a cost that you can absolutely plan for. Here's how to make peace with credit card fees and keep your sanity. Number one, bump your prices build that 2.9 into your pricing. You don't have to call it out. Just know it's baked in. That way, when the money hits your bank account, you will be receiving the amount you originally intended. You can also pass down the fees to your customers. You're gonna have to do some due diligence to find out what the regulations are in your home state, and in some cases you may not be able to pass down a hundred percent of the fees, but most of it. And it's all fine as long as you disclose it. And newsflash, most clients are okay with that. It's a convenience for them. You can also set minimums. You can require a minimum invoice amount to accept cards, or you can reserve it for retainers and high ticket services. Use the tools at your disposal. QuickBooks Online, Stripe. They both let you accept credit cards and auto sync to your books. Use whatever integrates best with your system. And, finally, offer some options. Some clients still prefer ACH and that's fine, but let them choose. Make it easy for them to pay you. So that's my confession. I avoided credit card fees thinking I was saving money when I was actually slowing down my cashflow. And listen, if you're DIY-ing your books and hesitant to add one more platform, I hear you. One more fee? I get it. Nobody wants that. But making it easier to get paid, that's not extra. Mm-hmm. That is essential. If this episode made you rethink how you accept payments, hit that subscribe button and send it to a fellow funder who still only takes checks, bless their heart. And if you want more real talk on messy money system and clean bookkeeping strategies, I've got a newsletter and a DIY bookkeeping book camp launching soon. Until next time, stay scrappy, stay solvent, and yes, accept the damn credit card. Bye.