From first question to first payment.

Step 01

Check your software

SwitchKeep is built for any software you invoice from in a browser: the kind you sign in to on a website. Type its name on the home page to see whether it works today. If we haven't connected it yet, we build the connection from one test payment in your account and check it before anything changes. Software installed on a desktop isn't supported yet.

You

Tell us your software and your current processor.

We

Connect your software if it's new to us, and show what switching would look like for your setup.

Step 02

Apply for your merchant account

Your merchant account is what actually charges cards and pays you. Through SwitchKeep Direct, you get your own by filling in a single application. The processor reviews it, which can take from a few days to a few weeks.

• One application. Your business details and the bank account for deposits. There are no keys or settings for you to find.
• Want bank payments (ACH)? Tell us when you apply and we'll ask for it on the account.
• Came through your advisor or processor? If an ISO, agent or payments partner introduced you, you keep your processor: they connect your merchant account. Skip to step 4.

You

Fill in the application.

We

Send it to the processor and follow it through approval.

Step 03

We connect it

Once your account is approved, we set up its connection keys ourselves. They're checked and stored encrypted. To prove everything works end to end, we run one small live charge and void it straight away, so it never settles. We'll warn you before we do.

You

Nothing. There's no setup on your side.

We

Set up the keys, test the account and switch it on.

Step 04

Install and make it yours

Everyone who takes payments adds SwitchKeep Pay to Chrome and signs in once. The same login works on the merchant portal.

Available after setupThe install link comes with your account setup.

• Brand your checkout. In the merchant portal, add your business name, logo, accent color and support phone and email. They appear on the pay page, receipts and customer emails.
• Try it on a real invoice. Open one in your software. The Pay button shows the balance due.

Step 05

Point customers to the new way to pay

Your software probably shows its own "pay online" option on invoices. Customers who use it are still paying through the old processor, so you'll want to steer them to yours.

• Hide the old card option. Most software lets you turn off online card payments on new invoices, or per invoice.
• Don't disconnect the old payments account yet. In some software, disconnecting it also switches off invoice texting, autopay or saved cards. Wait until step 6 is done.
• Add your pay link. Put the SwitchKeep link in your invoice email template, or send pay links from the invoice.

We give you the exact settings for your software. Each one names them differently.

Step 06

Move saved cards and autopay

A card saved in your software's built-in payments belongs to that processor and can't simply be copied over. So customers on autopay or with a saved card move one at a time, the next time they pay.

• Ask them to save their card again. When they next pay, they can agree to save it with you. That agreement is recorded.
• Recreate the schedule. Set up their payment plan or recurring charge in SwitchKeep, then cancel the old one in your software.
• Then disconnect. When nobody depends on the old payments account, switch it off.

Step 07

Take your first payment

Open an invoice, click Pay, and choose how the customer pays. Here's what happens next.

1. The card is entered in your processor's secure fields, in a separate window. It never touches your software.
2. Our server re-checks the amount against the invoice, and your processor charges it.
3. The payment is recorded on the invoice as paid, automatically, while SwitchKeep Pay is open in Chrome.
4. Your customer gets a receipt with your brand on it.
5. The money is deposited on your processor's schedule. Bank payments take a few business days to settle, and are recorded on the invoice once they do.

Step 08

Day to day

After the first week, SwitchKeep mostly disappears into your routine. When you need it:

• Refunds and voids from the payment, with a confirm step that names the amount and customer.
• Deposits and fees in the merchant portal: what lands next, and when.
• Needs a look: anything that couldn't be recorded on an invoice is flagged, never lost.
• Payment plans and recurring charges: see the next charge, pause, resume or cancel.