taking payments 101

New doulas and birth professionals often ask,
​ "What is the best way to take payments for services?"

There is no absolute "best" payment system.  Selecting how you would like to get paid is based on personal decision and clients you wish to attract.

Let's briefly discuss the major payment options available to doulas, so you can make an informed decision on what payment methods will work best for you and your clients.

Keep in mind, you can change your mind at any time on your payment options as you grow your business.

Questions to consider before making payment decisions:

• Is accepting credit cards important for your clients?
• Do your clients generally pay all at once or in installments?
• Are you keeping track of income/expenses through an online program or your own system?
• How important is it to you and your clients to have records of payments?
• How often are you accepting payments and what is the average dollar amount of payments?
• Is this a hobby or business for you?
• Does asking for payment or saying your fee out loud make you uncomfortable?

Cash

• Must be presented or left in person and can be awkward for some especially if asking for payment.
• Any record keeping must be recorded manually after service. 
• Unless clients have cash on hand, it may require an extra step for clients.
• Very little chance of fraud or problems once cash is received.
• Easier to accept cash with smaller dollar amount services.
• Payment plans can be set, but must be followed up on because cash payments can't be automatic.
• There is no official proof of payment or lack of payment.

Checks

• Checks usually require some form of manual record keeping
• There is potential danger of insufficient funds.
• Can be sent through mail.
• Fewer people have access to checks now than in the past.
• Additional step of cashing checks for doula.
• There is proof though banking records that payment was cashed or not.
• Payment plans can be set, but must be manually set.

PayPal Business Account

• You can take credit card payments directly and easily.
• There are a variety of payment options for clients.
• There is a small fee attached to the service. (It's how PayPal runs as a business)
• Clients do not need to have a PayPal account to use this payment form, but most people aren't aware of that.
• Some clients may not trust PayPal.
• Easily tracks and generates statements for your business and tax purposes.
• As with any online feature,  there is a danger of hacking.
• You can easily add PayPal payment buttons to websites, so clients can just click and pay.

I don't recommend PayPal friends and family. It does go against Paypal's terms of service and can get your account frozen. It also can make your business look less professional and lacks protection on the part of the client and yourself.

Invoicing Systems

There are new systems popping up all the time.  Some current options are Dubsado, Basecamp, and HoneyBook, which are more all in one systems.

Square is an easy payment processor without all the extra bells and whistles of the all in one systems and without a monthly fee.

• There is a fee attached to both the service and credit card payments.
• You can accept credit cards and other forms of payments
• There is a learning curve to best set up the system.
• They integrate with several other platforms to make payments and client tracking easier.
• End of year tracking is done automatically.
• Invoices and receipts are sent automatically.
• Payment plans can be set up automatically.

Apps like Venmo and Cashapp

• There is no fee for these apps right now
• It is against the guidelines of the apps to use them for business purposes
• Regular or larger dollar payments can trigger account freeze.

Even more confused with all the options?

Don't let this process turn into overwhelm. I recommend starting with free or low cost options first, and then upgrade to bigger and better systems once you are more established.

Starting out as a new doula, I operated with cash, PayPal, and Square for years. I've just recently upgraded to HoneyBook for more features.  

This process doesn't need to be hard! Still feeling stuck? Let's chat!