Card vs Bank Transfer: What a $3,000 Job Actually Costs You in Fees (2026)

The fee on four job sizes

Fieldsmith takes one fee per payment: 3.2% plus 30¢ on a card, or 1% capped at $20 on a bank transfer. It comes out of the payment, so what reaches you is the invoice total minus the fee. Here is what that works out to.

Why the difference grows on a $3,000 job

A card fee is a percentage with no ceiling. Every extra $1,000 on the invoice adds another $32 to the fee. The bank fee is 1% until the invoice reaches $2,000, and then it stops at $20. Past that point the customer can owe you $3,000 or $30,000 and the bank fee is the same $20.

On a $300 mow and trim, the choice is worth $6.90. Take whatever is easiest for the customer. On a $3,000 job it is worth $76.30, which is about 2.5% of the whole invoice. On a $6,500 job it is $188.30. That is real money for one sentence in a text.

The same $3,000 job on Jobber, Housecall Pro and Stripe

These rates come from each company's own pricing and help pages, checked on October 12, 2026. Stripe is a payment processor, not a field service app, and it is what Fieldsmith's payments run on. Its list price is here as the baseline.

Where each one is cheaper

On cards, Jobber beats Fieldsmith. Its 2.9% + 30¢ is $9.00 less than Fieldsmith on a $3,000 job and $19.50 less on a $6,500 job ($188.80 against $208.30). Jobber also lists tap to pay on a phone at 2.7% + 30¢, which is $81.30 on $3,000. If nearly all your customers pay by card, Jobber's rate costs you less.

Housecall Pro's card rate depends on how the card is taken. Its help page lists 2.99% for a card the customer enters on an online invoice, which is $89.70 on $3,000. Swiped or tapped is 2.59% ($77.70). Keyed in by you, or any American Express or business card, is 3.49% ($104.70), which is more than Fieldsmith. We did not find a flat per-payment fee on that page. Its pricing page says card rates are "as low as 2.59%".

On bank transfers, Fieldsmith is cheaper than both once the invoice passes $2,000. Up to $2,000 all three charge the same 1%. At $3,000 Fieldsmith is $20 and the other two are $30 at their listed 1%. At $6,500 it is $20 against $65. Housecall Pro's help page adds that its bank fee may vary by plan.

Stripe's own list price is the lowest bank fee of the four: 0.8% capped at $5. If you are set up to bill straight through Stripe, a $3,000 bank payment costs $5. Stripe lists its invoicing tool separately, at 0.4% per paid invoice on its Starter plan, and it does not run your jobs, schedule or customers.

What a bank transfer costs you in time

A card payment clears almost at once. A bank transfer takes a few days. The customer has done their part, the money is on its way, and the Fieldsmith invoice marks itself paid when it lands. You do not have to chase it or tick a box.

So the trade is $76.30 against a few days. If you need to see the invoice marked paid before you order materials for the next job, take the card and treat the fee as the cost of speed. If you can wait until the end of the week, the bank is cheaper every time on a big invoice.

One more timing fact for a new account: your first payout is held for seven days as a fraud control. That applies to card and bank payments alike, so it does not change which one is cheaper.

How to ask without making it awkward

Every Fieldsmith invoice offers card and bank side by side, and the customer picks. Most people reach for a card out of habit. Many never notice the bank option is there. One plain sentence when you send the invoice puts it in front of them.

• In the text or email: "Invoice is on its way. You can pay by card or straight from your bank account on the same page. Bank works great for us if it's all the same to you."
• In the driveway: "There's a pay from your bank option on the invoice. It saves us the card fee if you don't mind using it."
• On jobs under a few hundred dollars, say nothing. A few dollars is not worth one more thing for the customer to think about.
• If the customer would rather use Venmo, Cash App, PayPal or Zelle, Fieldsmith prints your handles on the invoice with a code to scan. Those carry no Fieldsmith fee, and you mark the invoice paid yourself.

Which to ask for

The payment fee is the whole per-payment cost on Fieldsmith. The subscription is one price with every feature included and no paid add-ons, so the card and bank options above are on every plan.

• Under about $300: take whatever the customer prefers. The difference is $6.90 or less.
• $1,000 and up: ask for bank. You keep $22.30 on $1,000, $76.30 on $3,000 and $188.30 on $6,500.
• Need it marked paid today: take the card and price the fee into the job.
• Pick Jobber if nearly all your customers pay by card and you want the lower card rate or tap to pay.
• Pick Fieldsmith if you bill jobs over $2,000 and your customers are willing to pay from their bank, where the $20 cap does the work.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Jobber pricing and payment rates
• Housecall Pro pricing
• Housecall Pro help: payment processing options
• Housecall Pro help: ACH payments FAQ
• Stripe pricing
• Fieldsmith payment fees
• Fieldsmith: card or bank, what each one costs
• Fieldsmith: connecting Stripe and the first payout
• Fieldsmith: Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, and Zelle on invoices