LawnBook™ supports every way you actually get paid — cards via Stripe Connect, cash, check, Venmo, Zelle, CashApp, PayPal, bank transfer, and ACH. Stripe transactions carry their standard processing fee plus a 1% LawnBook platform fee; every other payment method is fee-free. Pair it with auto-invoice and batch operations for a hands-free billing workflow.
Stripe Connect Setup
Stripe Connect is the payment infrastructure that powers card acceptance in LawnBook. Setup takes about five minutes and only needs to be done once.
Go to Settings → Payments and tap Connect with Stripe.
You'll be taken to Stripe's onboarding flow. Enter your legal name, SSN (last 4 digits), date of birth, and bank account details for payouts.
Confirm your identity with a government-issued ID if prompted. Stripe handles all identity verification — LawnBook does not store this information.
Once approved, return to LawnBook. Your account status will show Active in Settings → Payments.
Note: Stripe Connect is available to US-based businesses. Availability in other countries depends on Stripe's supported regions. Check stripe.com/global for the current list.
Accepting Card Payments
Once Stripe is connected, you can send a secure Stripe-hosted payment link from any invoice. Clients pay with a card or directly from their bank (ACH).
Payment link
Open any invoice and tap Send Payment Link. LawnBook generates a Stripe-hosted checkout page and sends it to your client via email or SMS. The client enters their card on Stripe's page — funds land directly in your connected Stripe account. The invoice flips to paid automatically when the payment clears (usually within seconds).
ACH / bank debit
Toggle Allow ACH on a payment link to let clients pay directly from their bank account instead of a card. ACH costs significantly less than cards (0.8% capped at $5) and is the right choice for larger invoices — e.g. seasonal contracts and commercial accounts. ACH takes 3-5 business days to clear.
Other Payment Methods
Most lawn-care customers still pay by cash, check, or peer-to-peer apps. LawnBook records every payment type so your invoice history stays accurate even when no card is involved.
Cash & check
Open the invoice, tap Mark Paid, choose Cash or Check, and add an optional reference (check number, deposit slip). The invoice flips to paid and feeds into Revenue + tax reports immediately. No fees, no processor.
Venmo, Zelle, CashApp, PayPal
After a client sends payment via any of these apps, mark the invoice paid and pick the matching method. Each is logged separately so you can see at year-end how much came through each rail. PayPal also has a deeper integration: connect your PayPal account in Settings → Payments to send a PayPal payment link directly from an invoice (similar to the Stripe flow).
Bank transfer / wire
Use Bank Transfer for direct transfers your client initiates from their bank. ACH inside LawnBook (above) is for transfers you initiate via Stripe; bank transfer is for ones the client sets up on their side.
Convenience Fee (optional)
Card processing isn't free, and many lawn-care owners pass that cost through to the client rather than absorbing it. LawnBook supports this with an optional convenience fee on online card payments.
How it works
- Set a fee percent in Settings → Payments → Convenience Fee (e.g. 4%).
- When you send a payment link, LawnBook adds that percent on top of the invoice total.
- The client sees the breakdown on the Stripe checkout page (“includes 4% convenience fee”).
- You receive the marked-up amount — designed to roughly offset the combined Stripe processing fee + 1% LawnBook fee.
A typical online card transaction costs about 3.9% + 30¢ (2.9% Stripe + 1% LawnBook), so a 4% convenience fee usually nets you near the original invoice total. Set the fee to 0% (the default) to absorb processing yourself. There is no convenience fee on non-card payment methods — it applies only to Stripe payment links.
Note: Convenience fees are regulated in some US states (and prohibited in a few). Check your state's rules before turning it on. The fee is your business decision — LawnBook does not require, take, or audit it.
Tips
When you send a payment link, clients see an optional tip screen before confirming payment. Three preset tip amounts are shown (10%, 15%, 20%) along with a custom amount field. Tips are added to the invoice total and paid out to you along with the base amount.
To enable or disable the tip screen, go to Settings → Payments → Tips. You can also set the default tip percentages displayed to clients.
Auto-Invoice
Auto-Invoice automatically creates and sends an invoice when a job is marked complete. No manual invoice creation needed. Configure it once per client or as a global default.
Setting up Auto-Invoice
Go to Settings → Billing → Auto-Invoice to enable it globally for all clients.
Or open a specific client profile, tap Billing Preferences, and enable Auto-Invoice for that client only.
Choose when to send: Immediately on job completion, end of day, or end of week (for clients with multiple jobs per week).
What Auto-Invoice sends
- A PDF invoice with job details, date, and services rendered
- Your business name and logo
- A payment link if Stripe Connect is active
- Any notes you added to the job
Auto-Email
Auto-Email works alongside Auto-Invoice to send a personalized message with the invoice. The email is drafted by the AI using the client's name, property address, and what was done — making it feel personal rather than automated.
You can set a global email template in Settings → Billing → Invoice Email Template, or let the AI generate a unique message per client.
Tip: The AI-generated emails tend to get higher payment rates than generic "Your invoice is attached" messages. Give clients context about what was done — it reinforces the value of the work.
Batch Operations
Batch operations let you act on multiple invoices at once instead of one at a time. This is especially useful at the end of a week or month when you have many completed jobs to bill.
How to use batch operations
Go to Invoices and tap the Select button in the top right.
Tap each invoice you want to include, or tap Select All to grab everything in the current filter view.
Tap the action bar at the bottom and choose: Send, Mark Paid, Archive, or Export PDF.
Available batch actions
Tip: Use filter by date before selecting all to batch-send invoices for a specific week. Filter to "Completed, not invoiced" to catch every job you've done but haven't billed yet.
Fees & Payouts
Two fees apply to a Stripe transaction: Stripe's standard processing rate, and a flat 1% LawnBook platform fee. Every other payment method — cash, check, Venmo, Zelle, CashApp, bank transfer — is completely fee-free.
Stripe transactions: what you pay
For each Stripe payment, the total deducted from the transaction is Stripe's processing fee + 1% LawnBook fee:
- Card via payment link: 2.9% + 30¢ (Stripe) + 1% (LawnBook) = ~3.9% + 30¢
- ACH / bank debit: 0.8% capped at $5 (Stripe) + 1% (LawnBook)
Worked example
On a $200 invoice paid via online payment link:
- Stripe fee: 2.9% × $200 + $0.30 = $6.10
- LawnBook fee: 1% × $200 = $2.00
- You receive: $191.90
The 1% LawnBook fee is collected automatically by Stripe at settlement — no separate invoice from us, no monthly bill, no minimum. If your client paid by check or Venmo instead, you would receive the full $200.
PayPal processing fees
If you connect a PayPal account, PayPal's standard rates apply (typically 3.49% + $0.49 for online payments). LawnBook does not take a platform fee on PayPal transactions — only on Stripe.
Cash, check, Venmo, Zelle, CashApp, bank transfer
No fees from anyone. The money goes straight to you; LawnBook just records the payment against the invoice.
Why the 1% fee on Stripe
The platform fee covers Stripe Connect infrastructure, fraud monitoring, dispute handling, and ongoing development of the integration (ACH support, payment-link UX, automatic invoice reconciliation). It applies only when you use Stripe and only on amounts that successfully clear — refunds and chargebacks are not double-charged.
If you prefer no platform fee, every alternative method (cash, check, Venmo, Zelle, CashApp, bank transfer, PayPal) is supported and recorded the same way in your books.
Stripe rates & international
Stripe rates above are the US standard as of May 2026. International rates and currency conversion fees may differ — see stripe.com/pricing. The 1% LawnBook platform fee is the same worldwide.
Payouts
Stripe sends payouts to your bank on its standard schedule — typically 2 business days after a card transaction, longer for ACH. PayPal payouts follow your PayPal account settings. View payout history and per-transaction details in Settings → Payments → Payout History.