Tap to Pay for Contractors: Take a Card on Your iPhone

What Tap to Pay does on a job

You are done with the work, or you are collecting a deposit before you pull the old fixture. The customer has a card in their hand. Tap to Pay takes that payment on the phone you already use for the estimate. There is no square reader to charge overnight and no extra app to reconcile on Sunday.

The customer holds a contactless card, Apple Pay, or another wallet to the top of the iPhone. The “hold here” screen is Apple’s, so it looks the same as paying at a store that uses Tap to Pay. Cards that only swipe or insert will not work. When a debit card needs a PIN, they enter it on your screen.

Two kinds of sale matter. A standalone sale is just an amount: a service call, a Saturday repair, anything that never had a proposal. A linked sale is tied to a proposal, and it can only be as large as what that proposal still owes. The linked one is how the deposit shows up on the job instead of only in Stripe.

How contractors use it in the house

A plumber finishes a water-heater swap. The homeowner is home. The proposal is already in Handy Bro with a balance. The plumber opens Tap to Pay, links that proposal, and the keypad is already filled with what is left. The customer taps. The proposal moves to paid before the truck door shuts.

A handyman uses the standalone path more often. The call was “the disposal is jammed,” there was never an estimate, and the price was agreed in the kitchen. They type the amount, add the client’s email so the receipt has somewhere to go, and tap. That sale does not create a proposal and it does not attach itself to a Simple Invoice. If you still want a paper trail, send the invoice separately and mark it paid.

What a tap costs

The customer pays the amount on the keypad. The fee comes out of your payout. Handy Bro’s in-person platform fee is 0%. Stripe charges 2.7% + 5¢ for an in-person card, plus 10¢ for each Tap to Pay authorization. Together that is 2.7% + 15¢ per tap, which is the rate the app shows before you charge.

On a $1,000 tap, that estimate is about $27.15. In-person rates are usually lower than the online card rate. Online payments still add Handy Bro’s 0.5% on top of Stripe’s online rate, because those are a different kind of charge. The fee note in the app states both so you can pick the path that fits the moment.

Take a payment on iPhone

This is an iPhone feature. It needs an iPhone XS or later on iOS 16.4 or later, and it is limited to US contractors. Older iPhones open the screen and then stop, because the hardware cannot read a card.

1. 1

   Open Tap to Pay

   In the Handy Bro iPhone app, open Tools and tap Tap to Pay. You can also open it from the Home banner, or from Profile, where the row is labeled Tap to Pay on iPhone. You need an iPhone XS or later running iOS 16.4 or later, and a US company.

2. 2

   Connect Stripe and accept Apple’s terms

   Tap to Pay uses the same Stripe account as online payments. If Stripe is not finished, set it up from the screen. The first charge also asks you to accept Apple’s Tap to Pay terms. That happens once.

3. 3

   Enter the amount

   Type the amount on the keypad. The smallest charge is $1. Add a note and the client’s email if you want them on the receipt. Both are optional.

4. 4

   Let the customer tap

   Tap the button and have the customer hold a contactless card, Apple Pay, or another phone wallet against the top of your iPhone. Apple’s own screen runs the tap. A receipt follows. If you leave the app before the result shows, a push tells you whether it went through.

If Stripe is still verifying the account, the screen says so and offers Refresh. Wait for that to finish before you try to charge. The company you are charging under has to be one you own. Open Tap to Pay and type the amount before you are standing in front of the customer. The first connection of the day can take several seconds, and typing the amount covers that time.

A declined card gets a result screen and a receipt, so you and the customer can see it failed. A tap that times out is labeled as a timeout, which means the card was never the problem — have them hold it to the top of the phone again. If you background the app in the middle, do not immediately charge a second time. The push notification is there so you learn the real outcome first.

Link the sale to a proposal

On the keypad, tap Link to a proposal. You pick the project first, then a proposal on that project. The amount changes to what is still owed, the note fills in with the project name, and the client email fills in when you have one. You can edit the note and the email. Clearing the link puts the amount back in your hands.

You cannot charge more than the outstanding balance. A proposal that is already paid shows as paid and cannot be selected. Linking does not require Online Payments to be switched on. That switch is only the customer-facing pay link. A tap still counts toward the proposal, and Paid or Partially paid still shows afterward.

Leave the link off when the money is not for a proposal. A standalone sale is a normal card charge with a receipt. It will not reduce a proposal balance, and it will not mark a Simple Invoice paid. Those are separate records on purpose, so a kitchen tap does not silently rewrite a different job.

The Android app

Tap to Pay uses the iPhone as the card reader. The Android app does not include this screen, and an Android phone cannot take the tap.

If the customer is not in front of you, send a proposal with online payments turned on and let them pay from the link. That switch is also in the iPhone app. The pay page itself opens in any browser.

Tips before you hand over the phone

• Open Tap to Pay while you are still packing up. Entering the amount gives the phone time to connect before anyone is waiting.
• Link a proposal whenever the charge belongs to one. That is the difference between “Stripe got $400” and “the Johnson job is paid.”
• Put the client’s email on the keypad when you want them to have the receipt without you forwarding it later.
• Tell them to hold the card at the top of the phone, flat, for a moment. Waving it at the screen is the usual reason a tap times out.
• Use online payments when they will pay tonight from the couch. Use Tap to Pay when the card is already out.

Frequently asked questions

How do contractors take a card payment on an iPhone?

Open Tap to Pay in the Handy Bro iPhone app, enter the amount, and have the customer hold a contactless card or phone wallet to the top of the iPhone. Apple’s screen handles the tap. You need an iPhone XS or later, iOS 16.4 or later, and a US Stripe account connected in Handy Bro.

Does Tap to Pay work with a chip or a swipe?

No. The iPhone reads contactless cards and phone wallets. Cards that have to be swiped or inserted are not supported. If a debit card asks for a PIN, the customer enters it on your iPhone screen.

What is the fee for Tap to Pay?

Handy Bro adds no platform fee on in-person taps. Stripe’s in-person card rate still applies: 2.7% + 5¢, plus 10¢ per Tap to Pay authorization. The app shows that together as 2.7% + 15¢ per tap. The customer pays the amount you entered. The fee comes out of your payout.

Can I apply a tap to a proposal?

Yes. Tap Link to a proposal, pick the project, then pick the proposal. The keypad fills in what is still owed, and the charge cannot go over that balance. A fully paid proposal cannot be selected. After the tap succeeds, that proposal’s paid amount updates the same way an online payment does.

What is a standalone sale?

A tap with no proposal linked. It still charges the card and emails a receipt if you entered an address. It does not change any proposal balance, and it does not attach to a Simple Invoice.

Is Tap to Pay in the Android app?

No. Tap to Pay uses the iPhone as the card reader, so the Android app does not include it. Online payments, which the customer completes in the browser, are also turned on from the iPhone app.

Do I need a separate card reader?

No. There is no dongle and no Bluetooth reader to pair. The top of the iPhone is the reader. The first connection can take a few seconds, so open the screen and enter the amount before the customer is holding their card.

The bottom line

Tap to Pay is how you get paid in the driveway: open it from Tools, type the amount, and let the customer tap the top of the iPhone. Link the sale when it belongs to a proposal. Leave it standalone when the job never had one.

It is an iPhone feature for US contractors, on an iPhone XS or later. Handy Bro does not add a fee on top of Stripe’s in-person rate. If they are paying later, send the online pay link instead.