Payments for businesses that invoice
Your own merchant account. Inside your software. Free to use.
Built-in payments typically charge 2.9–3.5% per card and 1% per bank payment. Your own merchant account typically runs about 2.1–2.4% on cards. SwitchKeep is a free Chrome extension that connects the two: it reads the invoice, takes the payment and posts it back.
- $0 to use
- Your software stays as it is
- Card numbers never enter it
Published rates and typical merchant-account costs, October 2026. See the sources · See what you'd save
- readinvoice #1042 · $480.00 due
- chargecard ···· 4242 · $480.00
- okapproved · your merchant account
- postpayment recorded on #1042
The math
Built-in payments usually cost more than your own merchant account.
Your effective rate is two numbers on your statement: last month's processing fees divided by last month's card sales. Put them in and compare.
Built-in payments, per card. Plus 1% per bank payment: $50 to collect a $5,000 job.
Your own merchant account, typical all-in. Usually a few dollars per bank payment.
What SwitchKeep costs you. We're paid through a share of processing instead.
Why it's a no-brainer
Nothing to buy. Nothing to undo.
kept a year, on the figures above. Put in yours
Free
The extension and the merchant portal cost nothing. You never get a bill from us.
Keep your software
Same software, same invoices, same routine. Nothing is installed in it: SwitchKeep Pay runs beside it in Chrome.
Nobody to ask
Nothing for your software company to approve, and no developer to hire.
Easy to undo
Uninstall it and you're exactly where you were. Your software's own payments are still there to switch back on.
Your own rate
Payments run on a merchant account in your business's name, typically about 2.1–2.4% on cards.
Ways to get paid
Every way your customers pay an invoice, from the invoice.
A payment terminal in Chrome: no card reader, no developer and nothing for your software company to approve. Charge any amount, with or without an invoice.
Cards
Key in a card
Take a card over the phone or at the counter, for the full balance or part of it.
Bank payments
ACH for the big invoices
Usually a few dollars a payment instead of a percentage. Recorded on the invoice once it settles.
Pay links
Email a link, get paid online
Customers pay from your branded pay page. Unpaid links get a reminder after 3, 7 and 14 days.
On file
Saved cards, plans and recurring charges
Installments and service agreements, each with the customer's consent on record.
Merchant portal
Books that match
Payments, deposits and the fees behind each one, a nightly check against your processor and an export for your bookkeeper.
Security
Card numbers never enter your software
Cards go into your processor's secure fields. Our server re-checks every amount, and retries never charge twice.
How it works
One way, on purpose: it reads the invoice and posts the payment.
SwitchKeep Pay sits beside your software in Chrome. Nothing else in your software changes, and if you stop using it, your software is exactly as you left it.
Open the invoice
It reads the customer, the invoice number and the balance due.
Take the payment
Card details go into your processor's secure fields and straight to your merchant account.
It's marked paid
The payment is recorded on that invoice. If it can't be, the portal flags it for you.
What it reads
The customer, the invoice number and the balance due.
What it writes back
One payment, on that invoice.
What it leaves alone
Your customers, prices, items and every other invoice. Refunds and voids are flagged for you to adjust.
Try it
Take a pretend payment, right here.
FieldDesk is a made-up invoicing app. The Pay button and the payment window on it are SwitchKeep's own code in demo mode: nothing is charged, and nothing leaves your browser. Open the demo on its own page
The demo loads here. It needs JavaScript.
Does it work with mine?
Built for any software you invoice from in a browser.
If you sign in to it on a website and send invoices from it, SwitchKeep is built for it. Here's where yours stands.
Works today
Connected and in use
Install the extension once your account is set up, open an invoice, and the Pay button is there.
Not connected yet
We connect it before you switch
Usually before your account is approved. We build the connection from one test payment in your account and check it before anything changes.
Desktop software
Not supported yet
Software installed on a computer rather than used in a browser isn't supported yet. Tell us what you use anyway.
Built for your trade: how it works for HVAC, plumbing, roofing, cleaning and more
Talk to a person
Questions go to the people who set you up.
The same team that sets up your merchant account and connects your software answers your email. Ask about your rate, your software or switching.
StartSend the get-started form
Email[email protected]
Tell us your software and your processor, and attach a statement if you have one. We'll reply with whether SwitchKeep fits and what your switch would look like.
Switching
You apply. We handle the switch.
Processing a lot each month? Send a statement and we'll price the same month, line by line, before you decide anything.
We set up the account
One short application. We follow it through approval and set up the keys ourselves.
We connect your software
Checked, and tested with one small live charge that's voided straight away.
Nothing turned off early
Your software's own payments stay on until nobody depends on them.
Saved cards at your pace
Customers on autopay move the next time they pay, with their agreement recorded.
Getting started
From your statement to your first payment.
Know your number
Use the estimate above, or send a statement and we'll price the same month.
Set up your merchant account
One short application with SwitchKeep Direct, or through your advisor or processor. The two ways
We connect it
Your software is checked, and your account is tested with one small live charge, which is then voided.
Install and take your first payment
Add SwitchKeep Pay to Chrome, open an invoice and click Pay. Move saved cards at your pace.
Available after setupThe install link comes with your account setup.
Two ways to set up
Your merchant account comes one of two ways.
Which one depends on how you come to us. Either way, SwitchKeep Pay is free and your software stays exactly as it is.
Through SwitchKeep Direct
We set up your own merchant account
One short application. We follow it through approval, connect it and test it. The account is in your business's name, and so is the rate.
For businesses that come to us directly. This is a new processor for you.
Through your advisor or processor
Keep your processor
If an ISO, agent or payments partner already looks after your merchant account, they connect it to SwitchKeep. Your rate and your statements stay with them.
For businesses that came through a partner. Not sure yours works with us? Ask, and we'll check.
Pricing
Free for merchants.
Transparent pass-through pricing, set with your account. The card networks' own costs at cost, plus one processing margin you see on every statement.
The extension. SwitchKeep Pay, for everyone who takes payments.
The merchant portal. Payments, deposits, refunds and exports.
Bills from us. We're paid through a share of card processing, which usually costs less than built-in payments.
The SwitchKeep extension and the merchant portal are free. Your processing rate is agreed when your account is set up: no tiers or plans to pick. How pricing works
FAQ
Straight answers.
What is SwitchKeep?
SwitchKeep is a payment terminal for any business that sends invoices, and it runs in Chrome. It reads the invoice open in the web-based software you invoice from, charges it by card or bank through your merchant account, and posts the payment back to that invoice. It comes with a merchant portal. It isn't a processor.
How much does SwitchKeep cost?
Nothing to use: the SwitchKeep extension and the merchant portal are free, and you never get a bill from us. We're paid through a share of card processing, which usually costs you less than your software's built-in payments. If you came to us through a payments partner, your rate comes from them.
Will I actually save money?
Usually, if you're on your software's built-in payments. They typically charge 2.9–3.5% per card and 1% per bank payment; your own merchant account typically runs about 2.1–2.4% on cards and a few dollars per bank payment. It's not always cheaper: below about $43,000 a year in cards, account fees can eat the difference, and a mix heavy in Amex or business cards costs more anywhere. Divide last month's fees by last month's card sales for your effective rate, or send us a statement and we'll do the comparison. Published rates, with sources.
How is my rate set?
With your account, and you see every part of it. The card networks' own costs (interchange) are passed through at cost, plus one processing margin that's agreed when your merchant account is set up: by us through SwitchKeep Direct, or by your advisor or processor. There are no tiers or plans to pick. How pricing works.
What does switching take?
One application, then we do the setup: we connect your software, test your account with one small charge that's voided, and you install the extension. Your software's own payments stay on until your saved cards and autopay customers have moved. Switching, step by step.
What syncs between SwitchKeep and my software?
Very little, on purpose. SwitchKeep reads the customer, invoice number and balance from the invoice you have open, and posts the payment back to that invoice. It doesn't change your customers, prices, items or other invoices. Refunds and voids are flagged in the portal for you to adjust in your software.
Does it work with my software?
If you invoice from it in a web browser, it's built for it. Type its name to check: if we haven't connected it yet, we build the connection from one test payment in your account and check it before you switch. Software installed on a desktop isn't supported yet.
Do I have to change my software?
No. You keep your software, your invoices and your workflow. SwitchKeep only handles the payment and records it back.
Do I have to change processors?
Not always. Through SwitchKeep Direct, we set up your own merchant account, which is a new processor for you. Through your advisor or processor, you keep the one you have. The two ways, side by side.
Will my software know the invoice is paid?
Yes. The payment is recorded on the invoice automatically while SwitchKeep Pay is open in Chrome. If one can't be recorded, the payment is still taken and saved, and it's flagged for you to check.
When do I get my money?
On your processor's deposit schedule. SwitchKeep never holds your funds. Bank payments take longer to settle than cards.
What about customers who already have a card saved or autopay?
Leave your software's payments connected until they've moved. Each customer agrees to save their card again, then you switch the old option off.
Does it work on a phone or tablet?
Taking a payment needs SwitchKeep Pay in Chrome on a computer. The merchant portal, for payments, refunds and deposits, works in any browser.
Is it made by my software company?
No. SwitchKeep is independent and isn't endorsed by the software it works with.
Start here
Tell us what you invoice from.
Your software and your processor. We'll tell you whether SwitchKeep fits and what switching would look like. Asking costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
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