Intuit Merchant Services Review: Is This System Right for Your Business?
Intuit merchant services offers payment and transaction management to small businesses that use Intuit products.
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» Update:
As of February 2023, QuickBooks is working on a new POS solution. To learn more about GoPayment, read our QuickBooks GoPayment review.
From affordable processing fees to accessible merchant center, Intuit merchant services offer top-tier payment and transaction management operations to small businesses, and there are multiple versions to choose from.
Intuit merchant services caveats
Intuit merchant services has one crucial caveat: For your business to access any version of QuickBooks Payments or POS, it will need an account with the corresponding version of QuickBooks accounting software. You’ll need a QuickBooks Online account to access QuickBooks Online Payments, and you’ll need a QuickBooks Desktop account to access either of the two QuickBooks Desktop Payments or the POS interface.
If you’re using other accounting software, you’ll have to look beyond Intuit for your payment processing solution.
Intuit merchant services overview
No matter which QuickBooks service you choose, you'll have access to the Merchant Service Center Intuit created for their small-business customers.
Plus, every transaction you run through Intuit merchant services will automatically store and sync in your accounting software. Because this feature can save business owners so much tedious bookkeeping, the automatic sync is a big draw.
Intuit merchant services payment summary
Payment processing fees:
QuickBooks POS
Pay as you go: 2.7% for in-person transactions; 3.5% per keyed transaction.
Pay monthly: $20 per month; 2.3% plus 25 cents for in-person transaction; 3.2% plus 25 cents per keyed transaction.
1% for ACH transactions.
QuickBooks GoPayments
For QuickBooks Online users
2.5% for in-person payments.
2.99% for online and invoiced payments.
3.5% for manually keyed payments.
1% for ACH transactions.
For QuickBooks Desktop users
Pay as you go plan (no monthly fee):
2.4% plus 30 cents per in-person transaction.
3.5% plus 30 cents per keyed-in or invoiced transaction.
1% per ACH transfer.
Pay monthly plan ($20 monthly fee):
1.6% plus 30 cents per in-person transaction.
3.3% plus 30 cents per keyed-in or invoiced transaction.
1% per ACH transfer.
Monthly fee (Quickbooks POS):
$1,200 one-time fee for POS Basic.
$1,700 one-time for POS Pro.
$1,900 one-time for POS Multi-Store.
Hardware costs:
$39 for QuickBooks charging stand.
$49 for QuickBooks card reader.
$79 for QuickBooks card reader with charging stand.
Note that none of these payment plans comes with a long-term contract or early termination fee. Simply pay as you go and cancel at any time.
Intuit merchant services additional payment options
There are a few unique Quickbooks payments products that some small business owners may find useful.
1. GoPayment
GoPayment is a mobile app that connects with a card reader via Bluetooth to process payments. This is an ideal option for merchants who want to sell on the go. Furthermore, when you sign up for GoPayment you will receive a free mobile card reader from Intuit that can accept magstripe and chip credit cards. GoPayment also syncs with your QuickBooks Online or Desktop account, for easy bookkeeping.
2. QuickBooks Ecommerce
QuickBooks Ecommerce is a payment gateway that connects with a handful of major e-commerce platforms, including Shopify and BigCommerce, to allow you to process online payments. QuickBooks Ecommerce comes with SSL encryption and fraud prevention services and also records all transactions in your QuickBooks accounting software. The price of QuickBooks Ecommerce is the same as the price for QuickBooks Desktop Payments.
Intuit merchant services POS software
QuickBooks Desktop POS software can accompany your QuickBooks merchant services. And just like QuickBooks Payments, with QuickBooks POS software, you’ll have options to choose from.
However, QuickBooks POS software options do not come with any hardware. So, in order for your business’s POS to function fully, you’ll have to make some separate hardware purchases.
QuickBooks POS software also only syncs with QuickBooks Desktop financial software, so QuickBooks Online Payments and accounting software users will be out of luck.
1. QuickBooks Basic POS
The most affordable version of QuickBooks POS software is the Basic plan.
QuickBooks Basic POS will cost your business a one-off sum that starts at $1,200. With the Basic QuickBooks POS software, you’ll be able to:
Ring sales.
Take payments.
Keep track of customer data.
Perform basic reporting.
2. QuickBooks Pro POS
Your mid-level option for QuickBooks POS software is the Pro plan. This plan comes with all of the capabilities of the Basic plan, plus:
Manage inventory.
Employee management.
Payroll.
Layaway capabilities.
Gift cards capabilities.
Rewards and loyalty programs.
Advanced reporting.
3. QuickBooks Multi-Store POS
The most powerful version of QuickBooks POS software you could choose from Intuit merchant services is the Multi-Store plan. Unsurprisingly, the Multi-Store plan is also the most expensive version of this POS software — its one-off price starts at $1,900.
That said, for that higher price, the Multi-Store plan will augment your Intuit merchant services with the following capabilities beyond those of the Pro plan:
Manage multiple stores.
Track inventory.
Transfer inventory.
Advanced sales reporting between stores.
Advanced inventory reporting between stores.
Intuit merchant services hardware
Intuit sells a variety of POS hardware.
$39 for QuickBooks charging stand.
$49 for QuickBooks card reader.
$79 for QuickBooks card reader with charging stand.
Intuit merchant services alternatives
If you need more payment processing and accounting software syncing, Intuit merchant services simply might not be the best choice for your business. Plus, attaching QuickBooks POS software to your Intuit merchant services might be either too costly for smaller businesses, or impossible for QuickBooks Online users.
If you’re thinking twice about Intuit merchant services, then take a look at these alternatives:
Square POS
Payment processing fees:
2.6% plus 15 cents for in-person transactions with all free plans.
2.6% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions with paid restaurant plans.
2.5% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions with paid retail and appointments plans.
2.9% plus 30 cents for online transactions.
3.5% plus 15 cents for manually keyed transactions.
3.3% plus 30 cents for invoices.
Why we like it: Unlike Intuit merchant services, Square POS systems are customizable and fully integrated. They’ll allow your business to either convert a smart device into a powerful point of sale, or invest in an all-in-one point of sale, complete with payment processing capabilities, point-of-sale software and point-of-sale hardware. Plus, Square offers some of the most affordable POS options on the market — with free hardware and a free software option, the only unavoidable cost with Square will be a payment processing fee.
Clover POS
Payment processing fees:
2.3% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions on Full-Service and Quick-Service Restaurant plans.
2.5% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions on Retail Standard and Advanced plans, Professional and Personal Services Standard and Advanced plans, and the Home and Field Services Advanced plan.
2.6% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions on the Retail and Personal Services Starter plans and the Home and Field Services Standard plan.
3.5% plus 10 cents for online or keyed-in transactions.
Why we like it: Like Square, Clover POS systems offer fully integrated POS systems that also provide payment processing, point of sale hardware and point of sale software, all in one bundle. Unlike Square though, most of Clover’s POS systems won’t require you to have or invest in a smart device. In fact, only one piece of Clover POS hardware — Clover Go — will connect to a smart device. The four other POS systems that Clover offers come complete not only with fully functioning hardware and software but also with barcode scanning and receipt printing capabilities.
This article originally appeared on Fundera, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.
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