Square

Square gives tradies the ability to accept card payments on-site using just their phone — no terminal required, no monthly fees, no complicated setup. It also generates professional invoices with a "Pay Now" link that customers can settle via card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, which dramatically reduces late payment.

The economics: Square charges a flat percentage per transaction (typically 1.6–2.2% for card-present transactions in Australia), with no monthly fee on the base plan. For a tradie doing $20,000/month in revenue, that's roughly $320–440/month in transaction fees — compare that to a traditional EFTPOS terminal with monthly rental, monthly fees, and varying rates.

Where it fits in the stack: Most tradies use Square alongside their job management tool (Tradify, ServiceM8) for on-site payment, since most job management tools don't natively handle tap-to-pay. Some job management platforms have direct Square integrations — invoices sync automatically.

Square's business suite (POS, appointments, payroll) is more relevant to retail and food than to trades — most tradies only need the payments and invoicing components.