Should You Take Card Payments on Site?

You have finished the job, the customer is happy, and now comes the awkward bit: "I'll sort the bank transfer tonight." A week later you are still chasing it. Taking a card on the spot can close that gap in seconds, but the fees and the kit put a lot of trades off. Here is a straight answer on whether it is worth it for you.

Why taking cards on site changes your cash flow

The biggest cost of getting paid is not the fee on the payment. It is the time between finishing the work and the money landing. Bank transfers depend on the customer remembering, finding your details, and actually doing it. Cheques are slower still. Cash is fine until you are carrying hundreds of pounds around in a van.

A card payment taken before you pack up removes the chase entirely. The customer taps or enters their details while you are standing there, and the job is closed. For domestic work especially, getting paid on completion is the single most reliable way to avoid late payment.

It also looks professional. A reader or a tidy pay-by-link feels like a proper business, not someone scribbling sort codes on the back of a receipt. That perception matters more than most trades think when you are competing on trust rather than price.

The real cost: fees, devices and what eats your margin

Card payments are not free, and you should go in with your eyes open. As a rough guide, in the UK you will usually see:

• Transaction fees of roughly 1.5% to 2.5% per payment, sometimes more for business or premium cards.
• Device costs for a portable reader, either a one-off purchase (commonly in the £30 to £160 range) or a small monthly rental.
• Settlement time of one to three working days before the money reaches your bank, depending on the provider.

On a £200 job, a 1.75% fee is about £3.50. The question is whether £3.50 is worth getting paid today instead of chasing for three weeks. For most trades, it is. The fee is small next to the cost of a job that drifts into bad debt.

Where it stings is on large jobs. On a £6,000 boiler or rewire, a flat percentage adds up fast, and you may prefer bank transfer or staged payments for the big ones. A sensible approach is cards for smaller completions and call-outs, and other methods for the larger contracts. For structuring the bigger jobs, see deposits and staged payments.

Tip: always quote your price as the price. Surcharging customers for paying by card is restricted under UK consumer rules, so build any fee into your rates rather than adding it at the till. Check the current official guidance before you set your policy.

Card reader vs pay-by-link vs tap-to-pay

You do not always need a separate gadget. There are three common ways to take a card, and the right one depends on how you work.

Physical card reader

A small Bluetooth reader that pairs with your phone. The customer taps, inserts or uses their phone. Good if you do a lot of on-site completions and want the familiar card-machine feel. Downside is one more thing to charge and carry.

Pay-by-link

You send a secure payment link by text or email, and the customer pays from their own phone. No hardware at all. This is ideal if you want the customer to pay while you are still there, or shortly after, and it doubles as a way to collect from customers you are not face to face with.

Tap-to-pay on your phone

Newer providers let the customer tap their card or phone directly on your handset, no separate reader needed. Convenient, though availability and supported devices vary, so check what your phone supports.

For many sole traders, pay-by-link is the easiest place to start. There is nothing to buy, and you can be taking payments the same afternoon.

How a job-management system ties it together

The friction with card payments is usually the admin around them, not the tap itself. You still have to raise the invoice, match the payment to the right job, and update your records. Done by hand, that is where errors and double-entry creep in.

A job-management system like Gaffer joins it up: the invoice, the payment link and the job all live in one place, so when the customer pays, the job is marked paid automatically and your books stay straight. You can send a pay-by-link the moment you mark the work complete, and the system chases anything still outstanding for you. That is the difference between offering card payments and actually getting paid faster with them. If late payment is your real headache, pair it with a polite system for chasing late payments.

When card payments might not be worth it

They are not right for everyone, every time. Think twice if:

• Your average job is large. Percentage fees bite hardest on high-value work, where bank transfer or staged invoicing may suit better.
• You work mostly B2B on terms. Commercial clients often pay against 30-day invoices, and a card reader adds little.
• Your margins are razor thin. If you are already underpricing, a 2% fee matters. Fix the pricing first using a proper pricing formula, then decide on payment methods.

For most domestic-facing trades, though, the maths is simple. A couple of percent is a small premium for being paid on the day instead of three weeks later, with no chasing, no awkward reminders and no jobs slipping into bad debt.

Getting started without overcommitting

You do not need to sign a long contract or buy expensive kit to test this. A sensible first step:

1. Pick one provider with no monthly fee and pay-as-you-go transaction pricing.
2. Start with pay-by-link so there is nothing to buy.
3. Offer it on your next handful of completed jobs and see how customers respond.
4. Only buy a physical reader once you know you will use it regularly.

Most trades who try it never go back, because the value is not really about the cards. It is about closing the job before you leave the drive.

FAQs

Can I charge customers a fee for paying by card?

UK rules restrict surcharging consumers for card payments, so you generally cannot add a separate fee at the point of sale. Build any cost into your prices instead, and check the current official guidance, as the rules can change.

How long does it take to get card payments into my bank?

Most providers settle within one to three working days, though some offer faster or next-day payouts. Check the specific terms before you sign up, as settlement speed varies by provider and plan.

Do I need a card reader, or can I just send a link?

You do not need a reader. Pay-by-link lets the customer pay from their own phone with no hardware, which is the cheapest and quickest way to start. A physical reader only makes sense if you take a lot of in-person payments.

Are card fees tax deductible?

Card processing fees are a normal business cost, so they are generally an allowable expense against your trading profit. Keep clear records of every fee and confirm the detail with your accountant or current HMRC guidance.