Square Invoices, PayPal Invoicing and Stripe Invoicing: collection costs versus contractor balances

Choose the collection workflow

Square Invoices

Square Invoices is particularly relevant when a service business already uses Square to manage customer transactions. Its current product describes sending invoices by email, text or link, taking payments through multiple methods, tracking invoice status and using estimates, deposits, reminders and payment schedules. Plan availability must still be checked for the specific features. A business should evaluate the customer journey from agreed scope to collection rather than treat invoicing as an isolated document generator. Square Invoices overview.

The current US pricing structure on the invoice page uses Square Free, Plus and Premium. Free has no monthly subscription; Plus is USD 49 per month per location and Premium USD 149 per month per location. Processing and certain additional fees remain separate. These are current Square plan figures, not the older standalone Invoices Plus price a buyer may remember from previous comparisons. Square Invoices pricing.

The location unit matters for a business with several branches, while a single-location operator should avoid assuming that every broader plan feature is necessary. List the invoice-specific requirements first: deposits, the number of milestones, reminders, customer signatures and any in-person collection. Then check the current comparison for the minimum plan that actually satisfies them.

For a proposed evaluation, create an estimate with two payment milestones and then revise the second milestone after a scope change. Ask what the customer sees and how the accounting team distinguishes the invoice amount, payments, processing costs and any refund. This is an exercise to conduct, not a report of completed testing.

Square may already provide the appropriate customer-facing process. Friday Falcon cannot replace its payment acceptance. It may complement Square if the business still needs to review what a contractor earned on the job. Keep that obligation separate from the customer's installments and avoid inferring an automatic Square-to-Friday-Falcon connection.

PayPal Invoicing

PayPal Invoicing is a useful candidate when the business wants to send a payment request through a familiar customer-facing payment service. Its US product supports customized invoices delivered through email, text or a QR code, along with recurring invoices and reminders. Customers can pay without having a PayPal account. The documented payment choices make it worth evaluating even when the seller does not need a full accounting application. PayPal Invoicing overview.

The payment method changes the fee. The US invoice page lists 3.49% plus USD 0.49 for PayPal and Venmo, 2.99% plus USD 0.49 for credit or debit cards and Apple Pay, and 1% capped at USD 10 for ACH. Those are not universal worldwide rates or a promise that every account can offer every method. The US business fee schedule, updated October 1, 2026, supplies the governing transaction context and additional charges, including international considerations. PayPal business fees.

A buyer should model the payment methods customers actually use rather than budget only the lowest advertised percentage. For a few large invoices, a cap may matter; for many small invoices, a fixed per-transaction amount becomes more noticeable. Currency and cross-border arrangements can also change the comparison. Confirm the applicable current fee terms before using any example as a forecast.

An evaluation should include an invoice paid in full, a refund and a customer who wants to pay outside PayPal. Ask how the business will recognize each event in its books and preserve the reason for a change. A payment confirmation establishes a transaction; it does not independently establish that all contracted work was accepted.

PayPal customer collection is therefore distinct from Friday Falcon's contractor review. Retain the payment provider when it meets the collection need. Use Friday Falcon only if accepted contractor amounts and their remaining balances need a separate shared record; it does not promise PayPal synchronization, payment protection or the ability to transfer money.

Stripe Invoicing

Stripe Invoicing is a strong candidate when a business wants hosted invoice collection with a path from a Dashboard workflow to programmatic automation. The product describes creating invoices in the Dashboard, emailing a PDF or hosted invoice link, supporting multiple payment methods and managing receivables through APIs. It also supports managing invoice status and recording invoices paid outside Stripe. This makes it relevant to both manual billing operations and software-led businesses. Stripe Invoicing overview.

The published Starter fee is 0.4% per paid invoice; Plus is 0.5% and includes additional capabilities such as quotes. Stripe Payments pricing applies separately. There are no fixed or setup fees for these standard invoicing plans, but that does not make collection free or eliminate charges from other Stripe services. A USD 2,000 paid invoice produces a USD 8 Starter invoicing fee before payment-processing charges or other applicable costs. Stripe Invoicing pricing.

That model rewards a different evaluation from a flat software subscription. A business should estimate paid invoice value, required billing features and the payment mix, then compare the complete cost. It should also decide who owns the workflow. Having an API available is not the same as having an implemented, monitored connection to the company's other systems.

For a proposed evaluation, follow an invoice through creation, a partial commercial dispute and a final settlement, including what the accounting team receives. If automation is planned, have its owner explain how a correction reaches each destination and how exceptions are noticed. This guide does not claim to have implemented or tested those flows.

Stripe Invoicing manages customer receivables. A contractor's compensation can have a different basis and timing from the customer invoice, even on the same engagement. Friday Falcon may complement Stripe with contractor source review and external-payment records, but it neither replaces Stripe collection nor provides an automatic Stripe integration. Select it only if that distinct review work remains unresolved.

Worked example: gross receipts are not contractor payments

Fictional Larch Studio sends a USD 2,000 client invoice. At the cited Stripe Starter rate, its invoicing fee alone is USD 8; payment-processing charges would be additional. The gross client invoice, collection fees and net bank receipt must remain distinguishable. Subtracting fees from the bank receipt does not change the agreed invoice description.

A contractor on that project has an accepted USD 900 fee. Larch separately sends the contractor USD 350 through its bank, leaving USD 550 owed. The client's payment does not clear that balance, and the processor's fees do not automatically reduce the contractor's agreed compensation. Any actual change needs its own basis and review.

Keep the Company review separate from collection

Watch the Company amount-review walkthrough to follow time and an approved expense through Finance preparation and Owner confirmation. See the written instructions for prerequisites and missing records. Pay through your usual bank or service, then record the payment or a correction to keep the balance up to date.

Friday Falcon Company costs USD 59 monthly or USD 590 annually per Company, with no seat or contractor fees and no free Company trial. It does not handle accounting, payroll, tax filing or money transfer. Processor charges are not part of that subscription because processing is not its job.

For a personal manual invoice and external-payment record, use free personal tools; they do not automatically invoice time or provide online collection. The comparison hub can help distinguish a billing purchase from a contractor-review purchase.