Why Avoiding Those $5 Payment Processing Fees Is Costing You Way More

Let me tell you about a moment that literally stopped someone in their tracks.

I was on a discovery call with a business owner who had every intention of keeping things lean. She told me she wasn’t going to use an integrated payment processor (like Stripe or Square) because she didn’t want to pay the 2.9% + $0.30 fee. Her accounting system had no fees, so it felt like a no-brainer.

Except—it wasn’t. 😬

She was planning to have her virtual assistant:

1. Manually create an invoice in the accounting software
2. Recreate that invoice inside her client management system for tracking
3. Log the payment back into the CRM after the client paid, just so the workflow would continue

And she was planning to do this for every single client. I said, “You’re going to pay your VA more than $5 to do all of that.”

She went silent.

Manual vs. Automated: What’s the Real Price Tag?

Whether you’re doing it yourself or paying a virtual assistant, manual invoicing has a hidden price tag.

Let’s break it down:

🧾 Building and sending the invoice in your accounting software
🔁 Recreating that invoice in your CRM to keep client records and workflows aligned
✅ Manually marking the payment as received later, just to trigger the next step

Even if that only takes 10–15 minutes, the numbers add up quickly.

• If you are doing it, and your time is worth $60/hour, that’s a $15 task per client
• If a VA is doing it at $25/hour, that’s still $6.25 per task

All that… to avoid a $2.50 ACH fee or a $5 max credit card fee?

And that’s just the visible cost. There’s also:

🧠 The mental load of remembering to log payments or update systems manually
🐢 Delays in client communication when a payment doesn’t immediately trigger the next workflow step
💸 Lost revenue if automations stall and you miss opportunities to upsell, onboard, or follow up

That “free” workaround starts to look pretty expensive when you zoom out.

Why This Matters (Spoiler: It’s Not Just About the Processing Fees)

This is about more than numbers. It’s about running a business that doesn’t rely on duct tape and double-entry. When you avoid using integrated systems because of small fees, here’s what you’re actually saying yes to:

✍️ Extra Admin Time (aka Hidden Costs)

Every manual step you add increases the chances of human error, slows down your process, and costs real money. You’re trading a known, fixed expense for inconsistent, compounding time drains.

🛑 Workflow Interruptions

Most CRMs and project management systems only “know” a payment happened if it happens inside the system. If you’re logging things manually, your automations stall out. That means no onboarding emails, no welcome packets, no client portal access. Not great for first impressions.

😕 A Clunky Client Experience

Imagine a client pays you—and hears nothing. No confirmation. No next step. Why? Because someone has to manually update something before the workflow continues. That delay? It feels unprofessional and frustrating.

It’s Not About Being “Wrong”—It’s About Being Strategic

This isn’t about shame or finger-wagging. It’s just one of those blind spots that’s easy to miss when we’re trying to be resourceful and scrappy.

In the early days of my business, I did it too. I tracked everything manually, copy-pasted invoice details across tools, and thought I was being efficient by avoiding fees. But when I looked at how long it all took—and how often I had to double back to fix or follow up—I realized I was working way harder than I needed to.

Now, I build systems that take those steps off your plate—so you can trust that things are happening behind the scenes while you focus on your actual work.

The Bigger Picture: Time, Money, and Sanity

Let’s be honest: most of us aren’t running multi-million-dollar companies where a 2.9% fee is make-or-break. What is make-or-break?

• Your time
• Your VA’s time
• The reliability of your systems
• The client experience that keeps people coming back (or referring you)

Avoiding small payment processing fees often ends up being a false economy. You’re not saving money—you’re just spending it somewhere less obvious.

What’s Your Hour Worth?

Let’s say it takes 15 minutes to manually process a payment—that includes creating invoices in two platforms, logging the payment after it’s received, and updating your workflow so the next step actually fires.

• If you’re paying a VA $25/hour, that’s $6.25 per transaction
• If you do it, and your time is worth $60/hour, that’s $15 of your time

All of that to avoid a $5 max ACH fee?

Even at the low end, manual work is often more expensive than the processing fee itself. And when you multiply that by every client you serve in a month or year? Those minutes add up fast—to hours of repetitive admin, extra cost, and potential delays in your client journey.

My Advice? Spend the $5. Build the System.

Here’s what I tell my clients: Payment fees are the cost of efficiency. They’re not wasted money—they’re the thing that keeps your systems running without a hitch.

And if you really want to talk savings? Focus on systems that:

• Automate your invoices and payments
• Trigger workflows based on payment status
• Create a seamless, professional client journey from first payment to final deliverable

That’s where the ROI is. Not in avoiding a $5 fee.

TL;DR for Every Business Owner Avoiding Processing Fees

• Card processing fees are real—but so is your time. Avoiding payment processing fees sounds smart—until you calculate what it’s costing you in time and admin.
• Manual invoicing and double data entry = more money spent, not less.
• Integrated payment systems trigger workflows, reduce errors, and give your clients a polished experience.
• Paying the small fee often means getting paid faster, working less, and looking more polished.

💡Lesson: Don’t measure cost by the processing fees—measure it by the time you don’t get back.