Check Cherry supports several ways for clients to pay — credit card, ACH bank transfer, and manual methods like cash or check. You can enable as many as you like and configure each one separately, including whether to pass processing fees along to your clients.
Getting to Payment Settings
Credit Cards
Check Cherry Payments is the built-in credit card processor, available to businesses in the U.S. There are no setup fees, monthly fees, or hidden fees — just a flat rate of 2.9% + 30¢ per successful charge. You have the option to pass this fee along to your clients on a per-payment-method basis.
Enabling credit card payments also activates Google Pay and Apple Pay automatically — clients who have those set up on their device will see them as payment options at checkout.
Your first payout takes approximately 5-7 business days to process. After that, payouts typically arrive within 2-3 business days. Once you have a few transactions under your belt, you'll also unlock Instant Payout — available from your Check Cherry Payments dashboard. An additional fee applies for instant payouts.
ACH Direct Debit
ACH lets clients pay directly from their checking account — a good option for larger balances where credit card fees would add up. The processing fee is 1.5% per transaction. Keep in mind that ACH payments take longer to clear than credit cards, sometimes up to 7 business days, so plan accordingly if timing matters.
To enable ACH, click Add Payment Option in your payment settings and select ACH Direct Debit.
Other Payment Methods (Cash, Check, Cash App, etc.)
You can also add manual payment methods — like cash, check, or Cash App — for clients who prefer to pay outside the platform. These don't process money through Check Cherry; they just give the client instructions on how to pay you directly and let you track it in the system.
Tips, Due Dates, and Other Settings
At the bottom of the Payment Settings page, you can configure a few additional options that affect how clients experience the payment flow:
- When is final payment due? — Set the default due date for the remaining balance.
- What is the initial payment called? — Choose how the deposit or retainer is labeled for clients.
- Default proposal expiration. — Set how many days before a proposal expires by default.
- Tips. — Give clients the option to leave a tip when they make a payment.
What Clients See
When a client clicks to make a payment — whether through a proposal, an online booking, or a payment reminder — they'll see all the payment options you have enabled. They choose their preferred method and complete the payment from there.
