Key takeaways
- Card processing costs ~2.9% + 30¢ — roughly $290 on a $10,000 job. Eating it silently is the most expensive option.
- Surcharging is legal in most states if you disclose it, cap it at cost, and never surcharge debit.
- Baking fees into prices is invisible but makes cash customers subsidize card users.
- The strongest play: disclosed card surcharge + fee-free alternatives (ACH capped at $5, check, Zelle) offered side by side.
Short version: you have three options — eat the fee, bake it into your prices, or pass it to the client as a disclosed surcharge. Surcharging is legal in most states but must follow card-network rules (disclose it, cap it at your actual cost, never surcharge debit). The often-better play: steer clients to cheaper rails — ACH bank transfer, or fee-free options like check and Zelle — so nobody pays 3%.
What the fee actually costs you
Card processing typically runs 2.9% + 30¢. On small jobs it's noise; on real jobs it isn't:
- $2,500 deck repair → ~$73
- $10,000 remodel deposit + balance → ~$290
- $250,000 in annual card volume → ~$7,300 a year — a used truck, gone to processing
Option 1: eat it (the default, and the worst)
Most contractors just absorb the fee because raising the subject feels awkward. That's a choice to donate ~3% of card revenue. Acceptable when card volume is low; expensive as you grow.
Option 2: bake it into your prices
Raise all prices ~1.5–3% and treat processing as overhead. Clean and invisible — nobody feels nickeled — but cash and check customers now subsidize card customers, and your quotes read slightly higher against competitors who surcharge instead.
Option 3: pass it through (surcharge)
A disclosed line — "3% card processing fee" — added only when the client chooses to pay by card. The rules that keep you safe:
- Disclose before payment. The surcharge must be visible at checkout, not discovered on the receipt.
- Cap it at your actual cost. You can recover the fee, not profit from it.
- Credit cards only. Card-network rules prohibit surcharging debit cards.
- Check your state. Most states allow surcharging with disclosure; a couple still restrict it — verify yours before switching it on.
Done right, most clients simply pick a cheaper way to pay — which is the real win.
The better move: give them a cheaper rail
A surcharge works best not as revenue but as a signpost. Offer the fee-free paths right next to it:
- ACH bank transfer — pennies instead of percent. (On JobPricer paid plans, ACH is 0.8% capped at $5 — a $10,000 invoice costs $5, and the platform fee is 0%.)
- Check, cash, Zelle, Venmo, Cash App — genuinely fee-free for both sides when recorded properly against the invoice.
In JobPricer, fee passthrough is a setting: enable it and the card surcharge is calculated and disclosed at checkout automatically, while ACH and offline options show alongside — so the client chooses, and you stop eating the fee either way.
This is exactly what JobPricer does for you: enter your overhead once and every quote shows labor, materials, overhead, and your real profit before you hit send.
Try it free →Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to charge customers a credit card fee?
In most U.S. states, yes — as a disclosed surcharge on credit (not debit) cards, capped at your actual processing cost. A few states still restrict surcharging, so check your state's current rules.
Will clients get angry about a card fee?
Rarely, if it's disclosed up front and cheaper options sit next to it. Most clients happily switch to bank transfer when they see the card fee — which saves you the money either way.
What's the cheapest way for a contractor to accept payment?
Recorded offline payments (check, cash, Zelle) are free. For online payments, ACH bank transfer is dramatically cheaper than cards — on JobPricer paid plans it's 0.8% capped at $5 per transaction, with a 0% platform fee.
CWritten by Craig, founder of JobPricer
I ran a contracting business and finished 500+ jobs before I built JobPricer. Everything here is what I wish someone had told me when I started quoting.