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Getting paid

Every way to get paid — from a $60 tune-up to a job the customer finances

Cash in the driveway, Venmo by text, a card tapped on the spot, or a $2,800 repair the customer pays off monthly while you get the full amount up front. Here's the whole menu, what each one costs, and how to turn each on from your phone.

The four ways money reaches you

Cash or check

No fee

Somebody hands you money in the driveway — that still counts. Log it on the job and the invoice, the paper trail, and your real profit in the Money tab all stay straight.

Setup: none. Tap the job, record the payment.

Venmo · Cash App · Zelle · Apple Pay

No fee

Send a payment request and the customer pays you directly — a professional card with the invoice attached and tap-to-pay buttons for your handles. No processor in the middle, nothing anyone can hold.

Setup: two minutes. In the app, open the Shop tab, add your handles under “Get paid outside the app,” done.

Card & Apple Pay online

Stripe's standard fee

Deposits when an estimate's approved, balances when the work's done, tips on top — paid by card from the customer's phone, settled into a Stripe account that belongs to you. Need it tonight? Instant payout pushes your balance to your debit card in about 30 minutes.

Setup: about ten minutes, from your phone. Connect payouts in the Shop tab — Stripe walks you through it. The processing fee goes to Stripe; SideWRK takes zero.

Customer financing — Affirm & Klarna

Higher fee, you're paid in full

On payments from $50 up to $30,000, checkout can offer Affirm and Klarna next to card. The customer splits it into monthly payments. You get the whole amount up front — the financing company waits, not you.

Setup: nothing extra. It rides on the same Stripe account as cards. Affirm reviews new accounts after you connect; once yours is approved, financing shows up on eligible payments automatically.

Why financing matters in a driveway

Think about where big jobs actually die. You quote the timing job honest — $2,400 parts and labor — and the customer isn't arguing the price. They just don't have $2,400 this week. So it's “let me call you back,” and the truck keeps rattling, and the job walks to whoever they talk to next.

The shop down the road doesn't lose that job, because the shop has a financing sign on the counter. That sign is the whole difference. With financing on your checkout, your quote reads like theirs: “or around $200 a month.” Same work, same price, out of your truck instead of their bay.

The trade: financing costs you a bigger processing fee than a plain card — that's Affirm's cut for taking the repayment risk off everyone. On a job that was about to walk over the up-front number, that fee is the cheapest job you'll save all month. On a $150 job, skip it — checkout only offers financing above $50 anyway, and the customer can always just pick card.

Which one for which job

$60 mower tune-up, neighbor three doors downCash or Venmo
$450 brake job, customer found you onlineCard, Zelle, or Cash App
$1,500 fence — you need materials money firstDeposit at approval (card)
$2,800 suspension + brakes, customer hesitatingFinancing — “around $233/mo”
Done and driving away happyBalance link with a tip option

Every one of them lands on the same job record, counts toward the same real profit, and prints on the same branded invoice. The customer picks how to pay; you don't chase anything — automatic reminders go out at 3, 7, and 14 days if a balance sits.

What it all costs

SideWRK's cut of your payments is zero. Not a percentage, not a per-payment fee, not an “application fee” buried in the fine print. Payment requests are free end to end. Cards carry Stripe's standard processing fee, paid to Stripe. Financing carries the financing company's fee. We make money exactly one way — the flat subscription — which is why we don't care how you get paid, only that you do. More on that (and why your money can never be frozen) on Your money is never held.

Common questions

Does SideWRK take a cut of my payments?

No. Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and Apple Pay requests carry no processing fee at all. Cards carry only Stripe's standard fee, which goes to Stripe. Financing carries the financing company's fee. SideWRK takes zero on all of it.

Do I need a merchant account?

No. You can invoice and get paid by cash or payment request the day you sign up. Cards and financing are optional, and they run on a free Stripe account you connect from your phone.

How does financing work on my invoice?

Once your Stripe account is connected and Affirm approves it, payments between $50 and $30,000 offer Affirm and Klarna next to card automatically. The customer picks their plan; you're paid the full amount up front. If financing isn't live on your account yet, checkout just shows card — nothing breaks, no job blocked.

What does the customer pay for financing?

Affirm or Klarna shows them the plan terms before they commit — some plans are interest-free, some aren't. That's between them and the financing company; your invoice amount doesn't change.

When does Affirm actually show up?

Affirm reviews each new account after you connect payouts. Once approved, it appears on eligible payments automatically — there's no switch to flip in SideWRK. Until then, customers see card and Apple Pay.

Estimate → approve → get paid, whichever way the job calls for

Set up the free ways in two minutes, add cards when you're ready, and let financing carry the big quotes. 14-day free trial, from $24/mo.

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