QuickBooks Alternatives: Stop Overpaying for Payments

If you run a business, using QuickBooks for invoicing and accounting is absolutely the right move. It’s one of the best tools out there — clean, simple, and powerful.

But as your business grows, your payment options should grow too.

QuickBooks Payments and Stripe are convenient… but they’re also some of the most expensive ways to accept payments.

At ClearPay, we offer three practical alternatives depending on how your business works.

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1. Payarc Gateway — Simple, $0/month, and perfect for invoicing

Best for: service businesses, contractors, cleaning companies, gyms, freelancers.

How it works:

• 3.25% true surcharge for credit cards
• 1% ACH
• $0/month
• $0 per transaction
• Creates a payment link you can text or email
• Works with Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH
• You can paste the link into your QuickBooks invoices

Cons:

• No itemized invoices
• You must manually mark invoices as paid in QuickBooks
• Not ideal for high invoice volume

Cost:

$0/month

2. Payarc + Valor + QuickBooks Online — Full 2‑way sync

Best for: contractors, field service, inventory‑based businesses, anyone doing 10+ invoices/month.

“Valor and QuickBooks unite seamlessly, empowering your business with precision and efficiency — a winning equation for success.”

What you get:

• True surcharge
• Full 2‑way sync
• Customer sync
• Inventory sync
• In‑person payments
• Automatic posting into QuickBooks
• No manual reconciliation
• Real‑time updates

Cons:

• ACH is expensive
  • $30/month
  • +1%
  • +$0.10 per transaction
• Not ideal if you rely heavily on ACH

Cost:

$10/month + $5 dual pricing fee (covered if you surcharge)

3. Hybrid Setup — The best of both worlds

This is the setup you recommended to Phillip at Red Rock Cabinets.

Best for: businesses that want accounting automation and cheap ACH.

How it works:

• Use Valor + Payarc for card payments
  • Full QuickBooks sync
  • Itemization
  • Inventory
  • Customer sync
• Use Payarc Gateway for ACH
  • 1% cost
  • $0/month
  • No sync needed (you manually mark ACH invoices as paid)

Why this works:

• You get automation for cards
• You get cheap ACH
• You avoid the $30/month ACH fee from Valor
• You keep your workflow clean

Cost:

Still $0/month (both accounts are free)

Which option is right for you?

Low invoice volume (<10/month): Payarc Gateway

High invoice volume / inventory: Payarc + Valor + QB

Mixed business (cards + ACH): Hybrid

Field service: Valor

Online invoicing: Payarc Gateway

QuickBooks automation: Valor

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