Your business can’t make money if it can’t process it. Taking money from customers should be the easiest and most efficient thing your small business does.
Where do you find the best tools for billing your customers?
Whether you’re sending a one-time invoice, offering a subscription service, or processing payment at the point of sale, we’ve got you covered.
Here are the best billing, POS, and payment processing tools for businesses of any size:
1. Stripe
Who is it for?
Stripe offers a fully integrated suite of payment products for online retailers and businesses. It’s designed with developers in mind and has pre-built integrations for systems like WooCommerce and Shopify.
Why is it awesome?
What makes Stripe great is that the company behind the platform releases numerous features and improvements each year to help you stay ahead.
How much does it cost?
Stripe offers 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction.
2. PayPal Business
Who is it for?
PayPal Business is recommended for merchants who operate under a group or company. It offers additional features such as letting up to 200 employees gain limited access to the account and customer service email alias for concerns.
Why is it awesome?
Your customers don’t need to sign up for a PayPal account to pay.
How much does it cost?
PayPal pricing starts at 2.59% + $.49 per transaction.
3. Braintree
Who is it for?
Braintree is for businesses looking to reach more buyers and drive better conversions through a payment platform that integrates with many payment gateways.
Why is it awesome?
Braintree provides flat-rate and interchangeable pricing, including payment methods like PayPal, wallets, and cards. This makes it easy to sell almost anywhere through a single integrated platform.
How much does it cost?
Braintree’s pricing starts at 2.59% + $.49 per transaction.
4. Square
Who is it for?
Square is for businesses that want to accept every way their customers want to pay, whether it’s through credit cards, NFC, chip cards, or other payment gateways.
Why is it awesome?
Through Square’s credit card processing, your business can accept all major cards and even get deposits as fast as the next day.
How much does it cost?
Square’s pricing starts at $0.00.
5. Dwolla
Who is it for?
Dwolla is a modern payment platform for people who want to configure their payments using reliable and scalable technology.
Why is it awesome?
The platform works with all banks and credit unions in the United States, so you don’t need to change your main banking relationship to use it.
How much does it cost?
Prices for Dwolla plans range from $250 to $2,000 per month.
6. Authorize.net
Who is it for?
Small businesses looking for payment processing software that accepts electronic and credit card payments online, in person, or over the phone will find what they need with Authorize.net.
Why is it awesome?
Authorize.net uses a built-in fraud prevention tool with 13 configurable fraud filters to help set country limitations, proper minimum transaction thresholds, payment velocity settings, and more.
How much does it cost?
Check out the Authorize.net pricing starting at 2.9% + 30¢.
6. Helcim
Who is it for?
Helcim is one of the most affordable payment processing tools today and is great for businesses looking for a payment solution that scales as they grow.
Why is it awesome?
Helcim offers a card reader that lets your business accept credit and debit cards wherever you are.
How much does it cost?
The Helcim plan costs 1.93% + 25¢ per transaction.
7. Revel
Who is it for?
Revel Systems is for restaurants and stores of all sizes that want a cloud-based business system that integrates customer channels and operations with point-of-sale functionality.
Why is it awesome?
You can expand your customer ordering options and business reach with Revel System’s online ordering feature and integrate this directly into your iPad POS system.
How much does it cost?
You’ll have to contact their sales team.
8. Vend
Who is it for?
Retailers of all sizes will love this cloud-based point-of-sale system that can help manage their customer experience, inventory, data, and more.
Why is it awesome?
Vend is made to work on various devices, including desktop computers, iPads, and Macs.
How much does it cost?
Vend plans range from $99 to $129 per month.
9. TouchBistro
Who is it for?
TouchBistro is a POS system for restaurant owners who want to generate more profits, provide a great customer experience, and eliminate the guesswork from making business decisions.
Why is it awesome?
With TouchBistro, you can take your iPad tableside to turn tables faster. You can automatically prompt staff with recommended upsells at the right time and even allow guests to upgrade their meals using a smart self-ordering kiosk.
How much does it cost?
TouchBistro’s POS license starts at $69 per month.
10. Plootoo
Who is it for?
Plootoo is a payment platform for businesses that want to simplify and expedite their accounts payable and receivable processes to gain better financial control and success.
Why is it awesome?
Plootoo provides access to a growing network of more than 120,000 reputable suppliers, payees, and vendors for a better payment process.
How much does it cost?
The plan for Plootoo starts at $25 per month.
11. Stampli
Who is it for?
If you’re looking for a powerful AP automation platform right now, you might find what you need with Stampli.
Why is it awesome?
Stampli provides a personal intelligent AP bot equipped with advanced ML, AI, and OCR technologies. It can collect real-time invoice data and learn your accounting process for better coding and approval routing.
How much does it cost?
Contact the Stampli sales team to learn more about pricing.
12. Melio
Who is it for?
Melio is a money transfer service intended for small businesses in the United States, offering the flexibility of signing up for a free account with no fees.
Why is it awesome?
With Melio, you can pay through bank transfer for free, even if the vendors only allow checks.
How much does it cost?
Melio has a credit card processing fee of 2.9%.
13. Chargebee
Who is it for?
Chargebee is a platform for businesses that want to capture, retain, and maximize profit opportunities through automated subscription management, recurring billing, and revenue analytics.
Why is it awesome?
Chargebee integrates seamlessly with your tech stack so you can optimize efficiencies across your sales and finance operations.
How much does it cost?
Chargebee starts at $0.00 per month.
14. Recurly
Who is it for?
If you need a secure subscription management platform that supports constantly changing billing models, you might find Recurly interesting.
Why is it awesome?
Recurly’s Revenue Optimization Engines uses machine learning based on millions of successful transactions to help improve billing continuity.
How much does it cost?
Recurly plans start at $0.00 per month.
15. Podium
Who is it for?
Podium is for businesses that want to message leads and customers, obtain feedback and reviews, and collect payment all in one platform.
Why is it awesome?
Podium lets you request payment through an existing text conversation to get better response rates than traditional methods.
How much does it cost?
Podium starts at $249 per month.
16. Zoho
Who is it for?
Companies looking for a simple solution to automate subscription management and recurring billing tasks can find what they need from Zoho Billing.
Why is it awesome?
With Zoho Billing, you can make your signup process more flexible by providing clients with multiple add-ons, plans, and coupons.
How much does it cost?
Zoho Billing starts at $20 per month.
17. Fivestars
Who is it for?
If you’re looking for a better way to process payments and develop a customer database, Fivestars may be the one for you.
Why is it awesome?
Fivestars provides a free Customer Touchscreen that integrates with your signups and provides a credit card reader for a smoother process.
How much does it cost?
Contact the Fivestars sales team to get a demo.
18. Gumroad
Who is it for?
Businesses looking to start selling their products immediately may find Gumroad to be an ideal platform to operate on. It offers many features and charges businesses a percentage of each transaction, making it great for low-volume sales.
Why is it awesome?
Gumroad lets you quickly import your existing email list and export customers anytime.
How much does it cost?
The Gumroad is a 10% flat fee.
19. Patreon
Who is it for?
Patreon is for companies that want to offer their active participants a monthly membership to gain access to their exclusive content, insights, and communities.
Why is it awesome?
Patreon lets you obtain recurring income from your patrons through monthly payments for being subscribed members.
How much does it cost?
Patreon takes an 8% cut.
20. HoneyBook
Who is it for?
Businesses that want to manage their projects, book clients, send out invoices, and receive payments all in one platform may find HoneyBook interesting.
Why is it awesome?
You can get started with HoneyBook easily by using one of their pre-made contract templates or by importing your own.
How much does it cost?
The plans for HoneyBook range from $1 per month.
21. Podia
Who is it for?
Podia is a platform for people who sell online courses, downloads, webinars, and memberships.
Why is it awesome?
Podia lets you set up your website by providing information, connecting your favorite apps, and selecting a custom URL. You can even migrate your existing content for free here.
How much does it cost?
Podia plans start at $0.00 per month.
22. Invoicely
Who is it for?
Invoicely is a free invoice software tool for small businesses that lets owners create and send invoices and estimates, accept online payments, and track expenses.
Why is it awesome?
Invoicely lets you create beautiful invoices, estimates, and bills with its intuitive invoice builder.
How much does it cost?
Invoicely starts at $0.00 per month.
Editor’s Note: This article is part of the blog series Run Your Business brought to you by the marketing team at Unitel, the virtual phone system priced and designed for startups and small business owners.
