The homeowner left the side gate open and went to work. The tech finished the repair at 11:40 and drove to the next call. In the old routine, that invoice goes in an email that sits unread, or in the mail, or in a stack for the office to chase next week. With text-to-pay, it's on the customer's phone before the truck reaches the next job, with a button that says Pay.
Text-to-pay in plain English
Text-to-pay sends the invoice as a text message containing a unique link. The customer taps it, sees the invoice with its line items and balance due, and pays by card, phone wallet or bank account on a secure payment page. No account to create, no password, no check to write. When the payment confirms, the invoice updates in your system and the customer gets a receipt.
It works because nearly everyone has the device in their pocket. Pew Research Center reports that 91% of U.S. adults own a smartphone, from a survey fielded February to June 2025.1
You'll see vendor claims about text message open rates in the high 90s. We couldn't trace them to a primary study, so we don't repeat them here. The safer argument is simple: a text is short, arrives on the device the customer pays with, and puts the Pay button one tap away.
How does text-to-pay work?
- 1
The invoice is finalized
The technician or office completes the invoice with line items, tax and balance due.
- 2
A unique link is created
The payment processor or your software creates a long, random URL tied to that invoice only.
- 3
The text goes out
The customer receives a short message from your business name with the amount due and the link.
- 4
The customer pays on a hosted page
They review the invoice and pay by card, wallet or bank account. Card details go to the processor, not to you.
- 5
The payment confirms and posts
The processor confirms the payment, the invoice is marked paid, and a receipt is sent.
Stripe's documentation describes its hosted invoice page as a secure, private URL where customers can view the invoice's details, amounts and status, pay with any enabled payment method, and download PDF copies of the invoice and receipt.2 Stripe also notes that hosted invoice URLs expire 30 days after the due date, and never more than 120 days, so a reminder should carry a fresh link.2
Text-to-pay vs other ways to collect
| Text-to-pay | Emailed invoice | |
|---|---|---|
| Arrives on | The phone the customer pays with | An inbox that may be checked later |
| Steps to pay | Tap link, pay | Open email, find link or PDF, pay or write a check |
| Customer home? | Not needed | Not needed |
| Good for reminders | Yes, a new text with the link | Yes, but easier to ignore |
| Consent and opt-out rules | Texting rules apply | Email rules apply |
| Method | When the customer pays | Becomes a receivable? | Typical processing cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collect on site (tap, card, cash, check) | Before the tech leaves | No | Card: in-person rate; cash and check: none |
| Text-to-pay | Minutes to days later | Yes, briefly | Online card rate or ACH rate |
| Emailed invoice | Days to weeks later | Yes | Online card rate or ACH rate |
| Mailed invoice and check | Weeks later | Yes | Postage and deposit time |
What does it cost?
The processing fee is the main cost. Stripe's published standard US pricing, checked October 2026, is 2.9% + 30¢ for online domestic card payments and 0.8% capped at $5.00 for ACH Direct Debit.3 Stripe Payment Links are included at no additional charge on standard payments pricing.3
The bank option matters on big invoices. A $4,800 repair paid by card online costs about $139.50 to process at the published rate; by bank debit, $5. Those are worked from Stripe's published rates, not a quote. The trade-off is time: Stripe's ACH documentation says bank debits can take up to 4 business days to confirm success or failure.4 Treat a pending bank payment as processing, not paid.
Making text-to-pay work
Text-to-pay setup checklist
- Collect a mobile number with notice that you'll text about service and billing
- Send from a number customers recognize as your business
- Keep invoice texts free of marketing
- Honor STOP and quiet hours
- Send the link the same day the work is finished
- Resend a link with each overdue reminder
- Show bank payments as processing until they clear
- Offer bank payment for large invoices
The legal side of texting customers, including consent and opt-outs, is covered in texting customers legally. The short version: invoice and appointment texts about work the customer booked are a different category from promotions, but you still need clear consent practices and a working opt-out.
How text-to-pay works in TradesWork
Payments in TradesWork run through Stripe, in a Stripe account your company owns. Every sent invoice has a pay page reached from the invoice text and from the job's One Link, with no login. It shows line items, member discount lines, tax, total, anything already paid, any bank payment still processing, and the balance due. The customer pays by card or bank account on Stripe's hosted checkout, and payments are recorded only from Stripe's confirmation.
If bank payments are on, they show as processing until they clear, usually about 4 business days. Collections sends overdue reminders by text on days 3, 7, 14 and 30 by default, each with a pay link, and checks the balance first so a paid invoice is never chased. Invoicing and text-to-pay are included in all plans.
Limits worth knowing: the pay page charges the full remaining balance, there are no surcharges or convenience fees, payments are US only, and if Stripe isn't connected the pay page shows "Call to pay" with your number instead of pretending.
Footnotes
-
Pew Research Center, "Mobile Fact Sheet," survey fielded February 5 to June 18, 2025. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/ ↩
-
Stripe documentation, "Hosted invoice page," including invoice URL expiration. https://docs.stripe.com/invoicing/hosted-invoice-page ↩ ↩2
-
Stripe, "Pricing," standard US rates and Payment Links, checked October 2026. https://stripe.com/pricing ↩ ↩2
-
Stripe documentation, "ACH Direct Debit," timing. https://docs.stripe.com/payments/ach-direct-debit ↩
