Contractor Merchant Services
Contractor merchant services for HVAC payment processing, plumbing payment processing, electrician payment processing, roofing, landscaping, welding payment processing, handyman payment processing, home repair payment processing, and general contractors. Contractor credit card processing through Brookside means transparent pricing, mobile payment support, and invoice payment capabilities to help trades businesses control processing costs on high-ticket jobs. Credit card processing for contractors is different from retail — average tickets are higher, payments often happen remotely, and the wrong pricing model costs significantly more than it should. According to Federal Reserve interchange fee data, most contractors overpay on processing by defaulting to flat-rate or tiered pricing — the savings at high ticket sizes are significant. Learn more about payment processing consumer protections from the CFPB.
Why Contractors Choose Brookside for Contractor Merchant Services
- Transparent interchange-plus and dual pricing options
- Mobile card readers for job-site chip and tap acceptance
- Online invoice payment links for remote collections
- Virtual terminal for phone payments
- Fast funding — often 1–2 business days
- Dedicated support with direct contact
Contractor Merchant Services — The Two Best Pricing Models
Most contractors are choosing between two pricing structures — and the right one depends on how they want to handle the cost of card acceptance.
Interchange-Plus: Full Transparency, Lowest Net Cost
Interchange-plus separates the actual card network cost from the processor’s markup, making every transaction visible and verifiable. For a contractor processing $60,000/month at a blended 2.8% flat rate, that’s $1,680/month in processing fees. The same volume under interchange-plus at a 2.1% effective rate costs $1,260/month — saving $420/month or $5,040/year. Use the Effective Rate Calculator to run the numbers at your volume. Interchange-plus is the right structure for contractors who want to absorb processing costs and keep the customer experience simple. A dedicated trades merchant account on interchange-plus outperforms flat-rate platforms at virtually every volume level above $15,000/month.
Dual Pricing: Offset Processing Cost Entirely
Dual pricing presents a cash price and a card price side by side — that’s dual pricing at the point of sale — the customer who pays by card covers the processing cost, the customer who pays cash or check pays the lower price. On a $5,000 roofing job, that’s roughly $125–$150 the contractor doesn’t absorb. Dual pricing is permitted in all 50 states and is increasingly common in construction payment processing precisely because the ticket sizes make the math obvious. It’s the right structure for contractors who want to stop absorbing processing costs on large jobs without the disclosure complexity of a surcharge program. For a full comparison of all pricing structures, see compare pricing models and our pricing guide.
Why Flat-Rate and Tiered Pricing Cost More
For a full breakdown of how tiered pricing works and why it costs more at high ticket sizes, see how tiered pricing works. For specific problems contractors encounter with Square and Stripe — including account freeze risk — read what happens when Square freezes your account and why individually underwritten accounts are structurally different. If you’re currently on a flat-rate provider, our guide on how to switch payment processors without losing a day of collections walks through the transition. The bank merchant services call post explains why your existing banking relationship is rarely the best option for contractor accounts specifically.
Mobile Payments — A Core Part of Contractor Merchant Services
Contractor merchant services need to handle both job-site and remote payments reliably. Whether you are running HVAC payment processing, managing plumbing payment processing on large commercial jobs, or collecting deposits for home repair payment processing — the right setup handles both field and remote collections without friction.
Job-Site Card Acceptance Saves 0.3–0.5% Per Transaction
Mobile card readers enable chip-and-tap acceptance in the field at the lower card-present interchange rate — rather than the keyed-entry rates that apply when card numbers are called in after job completion. The difference between card-present and keyed rates is typically 0.3–0.5% per transaction. On a $10,000 job that’s $30–$50 in avoidable cost per transaction. Most mobile contractor payment processing solutions run on your smartphone’s cellular data — no WiFi required on the job site.
Invoice and Remote Payment
Many contractors collect deposits before a job and balances after completion — often remotely. Our payment solutions for contractors support:
- Invoice payment links — send a payment link via email or text, customer pays online
- Virtual terminal — key in card details over the phone for remote collections
- Card-on-file — store customer cards for recurring or scheduled billing on multi-phase projects
For large jobs paid via bank transfer, ACH payment processing carries flat fees of $0.20–$1.50 per transaction regardless of amount — often the lowest-cost option for invoices above $5,000. See CFPB guidance on payment consumer protections for dispute context on contractor card transactions. Understanding what a merchant account is and how it differs from payment facilitator platforms like Square is worth reading before switching contractor merchant services providers. If you’re unsure whether a dedicated merchant account makes sense at your current volume, read do I need a merchant account for a straightforward breakdown.
Frequently Asked Questions
The right contractor merchant services setup starts with the right pricing model. Interchange-plus and dual pricing are the two best options for most trade businesses. Interchange-plus gives you full cost transparency and the lowest net rate when absorbing processing costs. Dual pricing offsets processing cost entirely by presenting a cash and card price at point of sale — increasingly common in contracting given the high average ticket sizes. If you are currently on Square or Stripe, see how to switch payment processors without disrupting collections.
Yes. Contractor merchant accounts are underwritten with your average ticket and transaction range in mind. Large transactions that match your stated business profile process without issue. Disclose your expected high-ticket range during underwriting to avoid any holds or review flags after account opening.
Most mobile payment solutions for contractors use your smartphone’s cellular data connection — not WiFi. As long as you have a cell signal, you can process chip and tap payments in the field. Some terminals also store offline transactions for processing when connectivity is restored.
Card-present chip transactions provide the strongest chargeback defense — the cardholder was physically present and authenticated the transaction. For remote and invoice payments, signed contracts, work orders, and delivery confirmation photos are your best chargeback defense documentation.
Most accounts fund within one to two business days after batch settlement. Large individual transactions may occasionally trigger a brief review on new accounts — Brookside addresses this during underwriting so funding is predictable from day one.
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See What Contractor Payment Processing Should Actually Cost
Send us your last processing statement — one page is enough — and we’ll show you what interchange-plus pricing would cost at your volume and job-site card mix. Most contractors we review are paying 40–80 basis points more than they need to, especially on cards run remotely or via mobile readers where interchange-plus exposes the savings flat-rate processors hide. If the numbers don’t work in your favor, we’ll tell you that too.
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