Appliance repair invoices are big, irregular and often paid on the spot, which makes card fees hurt. We checked ten tools for how they actually let you pass card fees to the customer, what rules they build in, and what the rest of the invoice workflow looks like.
The best invoicing software with card fee pass-through for appliance repair businesses in 2026 is QuoteIQ for shops that want one system from estimate to parts deposit to paid invoice, starting at $29.99 a month. Housecall Pro and Zuper document the deepest surcharge controls, with credit-only fees, a 3% ceiling and state handling, though rollout and pricing details vary. FieldPulse uses dual pricing, Helcim is a processor-first option, and Square Invoices and QuickBooks Online are still rolling out surcharging.
| Rank | Platform | Starting Price | How the Fee Is Passed On | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | QuoteIQ | $29.99/mo | Convenience fee on invoices (details unpublished) | One system from estimate to paid invoice |
| #2 | Housecall Pro | $59/mo (annual) · $79 monthly | Credit surcharge, 3% max, state caps | Shops that want built-in compliance controls |
| #3 | Zuper | Custom — contact sales | Tiered surcharge, lower of 3% or your cost | Multi-tech shops that want admin controls |
| #4 | Helcim | No monthly fee; processing rates apply | Fee Saver: customer pays 3.0% on credit | Shops that want the processor to do the work |
| #5 | FieldPulse | Custom — contact sales | Dual pricing (card fee recovery) | Shops that prefer two published prices |
| #6 | ServiceBridge | $24.95/user/mo | 1–3% credit surcharge | Small teams on a per-user budget |
| #7 | Workiz | Custom — contact sales | Percentage service fee | Phone-heavy dispatch teams |
| #8 | Square Invoices | Not confirmed here | Surcharge, open beta, web invoices only | Shops already on Square |
| #9 | QuickBooks Online | $38/mo | Surcharge on online invoices, fixed rates | Bookkeeping-first shops |
| #10 | Tradify | $47/user/mo | Per-invoice surcharge toggle | Teams already on Tradify |
Pricing checked on vendor pages in October 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm before you buy. “Custom — contact sales” means we could not verify a published price.
We’re QuoteIQ. We made this list. We also picked our own platform as #1, so here is exactly why, and where the other nine are stronger. Every ranking decision came from five criteria:
Expect honest trade-offs. Housecall Pro and Zuper document more surcharge controls than QuoteIQ does, and the page says so. QuoteIQ is #1 because the whole path from estimate to deposit to paid, synced invoice starts at $29.99 a month with a 14-day trial on every plan.
Left off, and why: Jobber and ServiceTitan (we found manual line-item workarounds, not a built-in pass-through), ServiceM8 (its surcharge page covers Australia only), and Service Fusion, FieldEdge and Kickserv (we could not find card-fee documentation to verify). If one of them has published something since, it deserves a place here.
“Most home service operators track total revenue and total expenses — which is necessary but not enough.”
— Justin Rogers, Co-Founder of QuoteIQ
Justin’s point applies to card fees: the number that matters is what you keep after the fee, not what you invoice.
Card processing costs a shop money on every sale. On a $480 refrigerator repair, a 2.9% processing cost is about $13.92. Across a month of repairs, that adds up to a real line on the profit and loss statement. Pass-through tools exist so some or all of that cost lands on the customer who chose to pay by card. The vendors use four different names for it, and they are not interchangeable.
For an appliance shop the practical question is simpler than the vocabulary. Do you want the fee added only when the customer chooses a credit card, shown clearly before they pay, and left off debit and ACH? Then you need a tool whose documentation says it does exactly that. The ten entries below are ranked partly on how clearly each one says so.
QuoteIQ is the platform we build, so read this entry with that in mind. It earns #1 for one reason: it covers the whole path an appliance repair job takes to get paid, from the diagnostic estimate, to the deposit on a special-order part, to the final invoice synced to your books, and it starts at $29.99 a month with a 14-day trial on every plan. It is not #1 because its card-fee documentation is the deepest. It isn’t, and the cons below say so.
An accepted estimate converts into an invoice without retyping, and a deposit paid on the estimate carries over to the invoice. That matters in appliance repair, where the visit that diagnoses a failed compressor is often not the visit that finishes the job. The part gets ordered, a deposit is taken, and the balance is due when the tech installs it. Partial payments change the invoice’s status and leave the remaining balance due, and Net 15, 30, 60 and 90 terms cover accounts that pay later.
On the pass-through itself, the documented behavior is narrower than the headline. QuoteIQ invoices support a convenience fee that carries through when you duplicate an invoice, on recurring invoice subscriptions (alongside deposits, taxes and discounts) and through the QuickBooks Online sync on Pro and above. If a paid invoice comes in short by exactly the fee, the fee shows as waived. Public pages do not publish the fee’s percentage, any cap, how debit cards are treated or which states it suits. We could not verify those details, so ask QuoteIQ support to confirm your settings before you turn it on for customers.
Best for: Solo techs through mid-size appliance shops that want estimates, parts deposits, invoices and QuickBooks Online sync in one system.
Plans are Essentials $29.99 (1 user), Beginner $99.99 (2 users), Pro $199.99 (4), Elite $299.99 (10) and Max $699.99 (20). Extra users are $25 a month, and annual billing is two months free.
“I’ve never lost a job because of a fair material markup.”
— Mike Vidan, Co-Founder of QuoteIQ
Mike was talking about pricing work, and the point carries over: customers accept a charge that is clear and fair, so explain any card fee up front.
Pros
Cons
Verdict: If you want one system that carries an appliance job from the diagnostic estimate to a paid, synced invoice, QuoteIQ is the pick, and Essentials at $29.99 covers a solo tech. If your top priority is the most thoroughly documented surcharge rules, read the Housecall Pro and Zuper entries first, then ask QuoteIQ support how its convenience fee is configured.
Housecall Pro has the most thoroughly documented credit card surcharging of any field service tool we checked. Its help center spells out what is eligible, what the cap is, which locations are excluded and what the customer sees. The catch is availability. Its own September 1, 2026 help article says the feature is rolling out gradually, and a CardRates report from September 14, 2026 calls it a limited rollout, so confirm your account has it before you plan around it.
The surcharge applies to credit cards only. Housecall Pro says it does not apply to debit cards “due to federal laws and card-network rules,” and it also excludes prepaid cards, ACH, Klarna, PayPal, cash and checks. It supports invoice and estimate payments through the customer portal, card-on-file payments, service plans and deposits taken through online booking. The surcharge does not show on the invoice ahead of time. It appears when the customer picks a card and enters the details, and the customer can always choose a method that carries no surcharge.
Best for: Appliance shops that want built-in compliance guardrails and already use Housecall Pro for scheduling and dispatch.
Pros
Cons
Verdict: Housecall Pro is the strongest answer to “how do the rules work,” as long as your account has the feature. If your shop is in an excluded state or needs the full workflow from $29.99, look elsewhere.
Zuper Pay’s surcharge settings are built for shops that want to set the rule themselves. An admin turns on “Enable Surcharge Fee” under Settings, accepts a consent form, and builds percentage tiers by invoice amount. The surcharge can never exceed the lower of 3% or your average cost of accepting credit cards, and Zuper applies the lower of your configured rate and the maximum its compliance service (Yeeld) allows for that card and location.
It covers invoices, quote deposits and automatic credit card payments, and a single invoice or quote can opt out. The surcharge appears as a separate line item, and the customer sees a Surcharge Notice and confirms it before payment goes through. For customers on automatic payments, Zuper’s terms require 30 days of direct written notice before the first surcharged payment. Surcharges are refunded in proportion to the amount refunded.
Best for: Multi-tech appliance shops with an office admin who wants to tune the fee by invoice size.
Pros
Cons
Verdict: Zuper is a serious option if you want admin-level control of the fee. Get a written quote first, since we could not confirm what it costs.
Helcim is a payment processor with free online invoicing, not a field service platform, which is why it ranks below the tools that also schedule and dispatch. But its pass-through is the simplest on the list. Fee Saver passes the credit card fee to the customer automatically: the page lists 0% for the merchant on credit cards and 3.0% for the customer, in person and online. Debit and ACH payments carry no added fee, and the merchant pays standard rates on them.
Helcim’s invoicing supports multiple payments on one invoice, deposits as a dollar amount or percentage, partial payments, recurring invoices on saved payment details and automatic reminders. The fee appears separately on the invoice or receipt, is calculated on the total after tax, and can be switched off for an individual transaction before you send it.
Best for: Appliance shops that already run their schedule elsewhere and want the cleanest card-fee setup on the invoice.
Pros
Cons
Verdict: Helcim is the easiest way to get the fee off your back if invoicing and processing are all you need. Pair it with a scheduling tool for everything else.
FieldPulse takes a different route. Its “card fee recovery” is dual pricing: each invoice shows a Total Card Price and a Total ACH or Cash Price, and the customer chooses which to pay. The help article calls it a pricing adjustment rather than a surcharge, typically 3%, applied to each line item with tax calculated on the adjusted subtotal. Customers can receive the invoice by email, text or in person.
For deposits, a flat-amount request has the card fee built into the requested amount, and FieldPulse says it will not charge the customer more than you asked for. The feature requires FieldPulse Payments, which is available to U.S. businesses, and accounts on FieldPulse Payments Legacy must upgrade first.
Best for: Shops that would rather publish two prices than add a fee at checkout.
Pros
Cons
Verdict: A good fit if dual pricing matches how you talk to customers. Ask for the total price and the payments rate in writing.
ServiceBridge’s March 5, 2025 release notes describe a credit card surcharge of 1–3% added to the total due, “up to 3%,” with an example of a $1,000 bill becoming $1,030. It applies only to credit card transactions, only where surcharging is legally permitted, and it shows in every payment interface, including the mobile apps and the “Pay Now” portal, before the customer pays. Staff taking a payment by phone are prompted to tell the customer about the surcharge.
Pricing is published per user per month and is available to new customers only. Complete includes “Integrations & Payment Workflows,” which carries an asterisk saying it requires Integrated Payments, and QuickBooks Online appears under the business tools. The pricing page offers a demo rather than a trial.
Best for: Small appliance teams that want published per-user pricing and a simple surcharge.
Pros
Cons
Verdict: Worth a demo for a small crew. Ask how the 1–3% is set and which states are switched off.
Workiz calls its version a service fee. Under Workiz Pay, you turn on the fee in your account settings and it is added as a percentage of the total after taxes and discounts when clients pay by card. It appears on estimates and invoices that clients view and pay through the Workiz client portal, and it is listed in the invoice summary alongside the subtotal and tip.
The help article is blunt about limits. The fee “may not be permitted in all states,” you must check a box confirming your use complies with your state’s laws, and Workiz says it does not provide legal advice. The fee offsets Workiz Pay processing fees but does not eliminate them. The article was last updated April 7, 2025, so it is the oldest documentation in this group.
Best for: Phone-heavy appliance dispatch teams that already live in Workiz.
Pros
Cons
Verdict: Fine for shops that want a basic service fee. If you need documented caps and debit handling, the tools above do more.
Square offers U.S. credit card surcharges as an open beta that covers in-person checkout and Square Invoices on the web. The beta does not yet cover partial payments, payment schedules or mobile invoice payments, which matters for appliance work because a parts deposit followed by a balance is exactly the pattern those features serve. Surcharges apply automatically to eligible credit card payments.
The rules are explicit. The maximum is 3% of the transaction and cannot exceed your cost of acceptance. ACH, debit, tips, offline payments and split tender cannot be surcharged. Surcharging is prohibited in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico, and California, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, New York, Oklahoma and Texas allow it with additional requirements you acknowledge during setup.
Best for: Shops already on Square that take most payments at the counter or by web invoice.
Pros
Cons
Verdict: Promising, but the beta limits fit a parts-deposit workflow. Revisit when partial payments are supported.
Intuit’s help article describes surcharging on online invoice payments, including recurring invoices, for U.S. businesses. It applies to online invoice payments only, not in-person or manual ones, and you can turn it on for the whole company or for individual invoices. QuickBooks sets fixed surcharge rates and you cannot set custom ones. The surcharge must be disclosed before payment and shown as a separate line item.
The limits are real. Debit and prepaid cards, Apple Pay, American Express and Discover are blocked on surcharged invoices. Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico prohibit surcharging, Colorado and Oklahoma cap it at 2%, and the article notes that surcharge laws change frequently. Intuit has also described the rollout as gradual, so check your account.
Best for: Bookkeeping-first shops that already invoice in QuickBooks and want the fee on the books automatically.
Pros
Cons
Verdict: Use it when the bookkeeper is the buyer. For the full appliance workflow, QuoteIQ’s one-way QuickBooks Online sync keeps QuickBooks as the ledger.
Tradify’s help center describes a “Pass surcharge on to customer” toggle on each invoice, with a default you can set on a Document Theme. When the customer pays the surcharge, it shows on top of the invoice total, and when you absorb the fee, the customer sees no mention of card fees. The surcharge is worked out on the total amount the customer pays, invoice total plus surcharge. The article was updated October 13, 2026.
We ranked it last for one reason: the documentation never says the feature applies in the U.S. The only region note is for the UK, where it says surcharging is legal for business-to-business transactions but not business-to-consumer. It does not mention caps, debit handling or state rules. Tradify’s U.S. pricing page lists per-user plans, a 14-day trial, quoting and invoicing, and QuickBooks Online and Xero sync on every plan.
Best for: Small trade teams already on Tradify who want a per-invoice choice.
Pros
Cons
Verdict: A solid toggle that needs a support confirmation before you rely on it in the U.S.
This section is general information, not legal advice. Card network rules, state laws and court settlements change, so have an attorney or your processor confirm what applies to your shop. These are the points the vendor and agency pages we read agree on.
Whatever tool you pick, test one invoice end to end before telling customers. Look at what the customer sees, what the receipt shows and how the fee lands in your books.
Picking the software is half the job. The other half is turning the fee on without a fight at the kitchen table. Appliance repair has a few quirks that make this easier or harder than in other trades, so here is a plan you can run in a week, whichever tool you choose.
Pull last quarter’s processor statements and add up what you paid in card fees. Divide by total card volume to get your real effective rate. Interchange, assessments and your processor’s markup all land in that number, and it is usually different from the headline rate you were quoted. Your rule on the fee should come from that figure, not from a guess, and any cap that applies to you should be checked against it.
Confirm with your processor or an attorney that a surcharge is allowed where you work, which cards it can apply to, and what notice you owe. Remember that credit and debit are treated differently, and that some states restrict or ban surcharges entirely. If a surcharge is off the table, look at a cash discount or a dual-price display instead.
Create a test customer and a small test invoice with a part line and a labor line. Turn the fee on, then look at the invoice as the customer would. Is the fee labeled plainly? Does it appear only when a credit card is selected? Does a deposit taken on the estimate still show correctly on the final invoice? Run a duplicate and a recurring invoice too if you use them.
Add a short line to your estimate template and your terms: a card fee applies to credit card payments, and ACH, cash or check avoid it. Customers dislike surprises more than they dislike fees. Put the notice where they will see it before they pay, not only in fine print on the receipt.
Give everyone a one-sentence answer for the customer who asks why there is a fee, and a plain way to offer the no-fee option. A tech who shrugs and says the office did it will cost you more goodwill than the fee earns.
Pay one real invoice of your own with a credit card and follow it into your accounting. Confirm the fee shows as income or as an offset to processing cost, the way your bookkeeper wants, and that the deposit and the balance reconcile to the bank deposit.
Turn the fee on for all invoices. Track how many customers switch to ACH or check, how many ask about the fee, and whether your effective cost of card acceptance drops. Adjust the wording, not the policy, if the questions are about confusion rather than price.
None of these is exotic. Most come from switching a feature on without a test invoice, which is why every tool on this list is worth trying on a trial before you commit. QuoteIQ gives you 14 days on every plan to run exactly that test, and most of the other vendors offer a trial or a demo too.
The BLS and O*NET headcounts differ because they come from different survey years and methods. Both are small: this is a trade of independent shops, where a single owner often handles the estimate, the repair and the invoice.
QuoteIQ Essentials at $29.99 a month. Send the estimate, take the card or ACH payment on the invoice, or use QuickPay with a QR code for a fast repair.
QuoteIQ. A deposit paid on the estimate carries over to the invoice, and partial payments leave the balance due. Helcim also supports deposits if you only need invoicing.
Housecall Pro if your account has the rollout, or Zuper if you want tiered rates and an admin opt-out per invoice. Ask each for the cap and state list in writing.
FieldPulse. Each invoice shows a card price and a cash or ACH price, and the customer chooses.
Check state rules first. Housecall Pro excludes all four, and Connecticut allows a cash discount instead. A dual-price or cash-discount approach may fit better than a surcharge.
QuickBooks Online for fixed-rate invoice surcharging, or QuoteIQ on Pro and above to keep QuickBooks as the ledger through the one-way sync.
Helcim Fee Saver, paired with whatever scheduling tool you already use.
Built a list from vendor help centers, community threads and roundups. We started with field service and invoicing tools that appliance repair shops commonly use, then checked each tool’s own help center and feature pages for a card fee feature.
Kept only tools with a documented way to pass the fee on. A feature that appears in a help article or feature page counted. A manual line-item workaround did not, so Jobber and ServiceTitan are discussed but not ranked.
Read the rules each vendor builds in. We recorded caps, credit-only handling, state exclusions, disclosure and per-invoice controls, and noted where a page was silent.
Checked pricing on vendor pages in October 2026. Where a vendor hides prices or its pages conflict, the table says “Custom — contact sales” instead of guessing.
Ranked on the whole invoice workflow. Estimate-to-invoice, deposits, partial payments, recurring billing and QuickBooks sync were weighted alongside fee controls, which is why a tool with thinner fee documentation can still rank first.
“Also love the automated emails and text messages and the fact that they can pay as soon as they accept the bid.”
“This app has single hand of help me quote jobs, Interact with my clients And receive payments in a timely fashion.”
“Super easy to use, packed with features, and constantly improving.”
The reviews database has no appliance repair entries and none of these is about passing on card fees. These are 5-star reviews about quoting and payments, picked from the general pool. Ivory Clean Services runs a power washing business, and the other two reviewers do not name a trade.
Mike co-founded QuoteIQ in 2022 after running service businesses. His YouTube channel has over 580,000 subscribers and covers pricing, quoting and running a field service company.
Justin co-founded QuoteIQ alongside Mike. He runs the ForeverSelfEmployed YouTube channel, which covers profit, pricing and building a service business that does not depend on the owner.
QuoteIQ is the best overall pick for appliance repair shops that want estimates, parts deposits, invoices and QuickBooks Online sync in one system, starting at $29.99 a month. Housecall Pro and Zuper document the most detailed surcharge rules, so compare them if the fee controls are your first priority.
In most states, a properly disclosed credit card surcharge is allowed within card network limits, but not everywhere. Connecticut’s consumer agency says state law prohibits a surcharge and allows a cash discount instead. Check your state and your processor’s rules, and ask an attorney. This is general information, not legal advice.
A surcharge is a percentage added when a customer pays with a credit card. A convenience fee is a fee added for paying a certain way, and its rules depend on the network and processor. Dual pricing shows two prices, one for cards and one for cash or ACH, and the customer picks. Vendors use these names differently, so ask which one you are getting.
No. Visa’s U.S. rules limit surcharges to credit cards, and Housecall Pro, Zuper, Square and QuickBooks all exclude debit and prepaid cards. Helcim’s Fee Saver also leaves debit payments without an added fee. If a tool says it surcharges debit, ask it to explain.
A surcharge cannot exceed your cost of accepting the card, and never goes above 3% under Visa’s U.S. rules. Some states set a lower cap, such as 2% in Oklahoma for Housecall Pro. On a $480 repair, 3% is $14.40, but a shop paying 2.9% should charge no more than $13.92.
Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts are listed as prohibited by Zuper, Square and QuickBooks, and Square and QuickBooks add Puerto Rico. Housecall Pro also excludes New York. California, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma and Texas permit surcharges with conditions in the sources we read. Laws change often, so confirm before you start.
QuoteIQ invoices support a convenience fee that carries through duplicated invoices, recurring invoices and the QuickBooks Online sync on Pro and above. Public pages do not publish the fee’s percentage, cap, debit handling or state coverage, so ask QuoteIQ support to confirm how it is configured for your account before using it.
QuoteIQ plans are Essentials $29.99, Beginner $99.99, Pro $199.99, Elite $299.99 and Max $699.99 a month, with 1, 2, 4, 10 and 20 users. Extra users are $25 a month, annual billing is two months free, and every plan has a 14-day trial. Payment processing fees are separate and set by the processor.
Yes. A deposit paid on an estimate carries over to the invoice, and a partial payment leaves the remaining balance due on the invoice. Net 15, 30, 60 and 90 terms are available. That fits appliance jobs where a part is ordered before the repair is finished.
Housecall Pro charges the business a 0.50% fee on surcharged credit card transactions, with a 3% maximum surcharge. The rollout is gradual, and the FAQ does not say which plans qualify. It is not available to businesses in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New York or Canada.
FieldPulse. Its card fee recovery puts a Total Card Price and a Total ACH or Cash Price on each invoice, and the customer picks one. FieldPulse calls it dual pricing rather than a surcharge and states that it is compliant in all 50 states, which you should confirm with your own advisor.
Intuit’s help article describes surcharging on online invoice payments, including recurring invoices, at fixed rates you cannot change. It blocks debit, prepaid, Apple Pay, American Express and Discover on surcharged invoices, and the rollout has been described as gradual. QuoteIQ syncs invoices to QuickBooks Online on Pro and above.
Offer ACH. QuoteIQ’s payments page calls ACH the lower-cost option for larger invoices, and Helcim lists ACH at 0.5% + 25¢ capped at $6. Some owners also offer a cash discount where surcharges are banned. Whatever you do, state the options clearly on the estimate.
Yes. Visa’s U.S. rules call for notice at the point of entry and the point of sale, and the surcharge must be itemized separately on the receipt. Zuper adds a customer confirmation step, and Housecall Pro shows the fee at checkout. Put it on the estimate too so nobody is surprised.
Yes, on Pro and above. QuoteIQ pushes invoices to QuickBooks Online, and the convenience fee carries through the sync. It is one-way: changes in QuoteIQ show up in QuickBooks, but changes made in QuickBooks do not come back.
Ask whether it applies to credit only, what the cap is, how your state is handled, what the customer sees before paying, whether autopay customers get notice, and how the fee appears in your books. Also ask what your processor charges. Get the answers in writing.
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For most appliance repair businesses in 2026, QuoteIQ is the best choice here because it carries a repair from the diagnostic estimate to the parts deposit to a paid, synced invoice, starting at $29.99 a month with a 14-day trial on every plan. It is not the best-documented card fee tool, and we have said so. Ask QuoteIQ support how its convenience fee is configured before you rely on it.
If strict, well-documented surcharge rules matter most, compare Housecall Pro and Zuper. If you want two prices on the invoice, look at FieldPulse. If you only want the processor to handle the fee, Helcim is the simplest setup. Square Invoices and QuickBooks Online are worth a second look once their rollouts mature.
The common thread is homework. Rules differ by card type, state and network, and they are changing. Pick the tool, turn the fee on for one invoice, check what the customer and the receipt show, and only then switch it on for everyone.
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