I Refused to Accept Credit Cards—and Slowed Down My Cashflow

In this episode of No Se Habla Taxes, I’m coming clean about a hill I used to die on: refusing to accept credit card payments from clients. Yep, I said no to the easiest way to get paid—because I didn’t want to eat the 2.9% fee.

I told myself I was protecting my margins. I was wrong.

Here’s the truth: every time I resisted credit card payments, I made it harder for clients to pay me. And that friction? It cost me in ways I didn’t expect—slower cashflow, delayed invoices, and lost time.

Tune in for:

💳 My full confession and what finally changed my mind
🔄 The cashflow lesson I learned while paying my own vendor
📈 How to build credit card fees into your pricing (without eating the cost)
🧾 Options for passing down fees or setting minimums
📊 Tools that make it easy (like QuickBooks Online and Stripe)

If you’ve been dodging credit card fees like they’re financial quicksand, this one’s for you. Spoiler: the real risk is slowing your money down to avoid a minor fee.

🎧 Don’t forget to subscribe, and send this episode to a fellow founder who still only takes checks (bless their heart).

💌 Want more real talk about DIY bookkeeping? I’ve got a newsletter and a bookkeeping bootcamp launching soon. Stay tuned!

Let's connect!

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armstrongmelissacpa/

Website: https://steadyhandaccounting.com/

Coaching Program Waitlist: https://steadyhandaccounting.myflodesk.com/ofgzp2o7tc

Welcome to No Se Habla Taxes—the podcast where a CPA does her own bookkeeping, spills all the beans… and then counts them. I’m Melissa Armstrong, your fractional controller and financial translator, here to share the real talk behind the receipts.

In this episode, I’m confessing a classic bookkeeping blunder: using my business card for personal expenses. Yep—Target runs, Amazon orders, late-night DoorDash (for "business stamina," of course)… I’ve done it all. And like many early-stage founders, I told myself I’d “fix it later.” Plot twist: I did. But not before my P&L looked like it had a double life.

Listen in as I walk you through:

• Why mixing personal and business expenses is more than just messy—it’s risky
• The legal and tax implications of commingling funds (hi, corporate veil 👋)
• The exact step-by-step process to clean up your books and prevent future slip-ups
• How separating your money Marie Kondo–style can save your sanity and your strategy

💡 If your business card is pulling double duty for client lunches and cat food, this episode is your friendly (and slightly sassy) intervention.

🎧 Like what you hear? Hit subscribe, leave a review, and share this with a fellow founder who’s still Venmoing their way through bookkeeping limbo.

✨ And don’t forget—my DIY bookkeeping mentorship program is launching this fall. Subscribe for more updates, more confessions, and fewer uncategorized transactions.

Let's connect!

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armstrongmelissacpa/

Website: https://steadyhandaccounting.com/

Coaching Program Waitlist: https://steadyhandaccounting.myflodesk.com/ofgzp2o7tc

Welcome to No Se Habla Taxes—the podcast for founders fluent in business, but maybe not so fluent in bookkeeping. I’m Melissa Armstrong, CPA, fractional controller, and your financial translator-in-chief, sharing the behind-the-scenes of doing my own books (and cleaning up my own messes).

In today’s episode, I’m confessing my payables chaos:
✅ Zelle payments with zero paper trail
✅ Venmo emoji transactions that made my accountant (ME!) cry
✅ A brief but horrifying flirtation with handwritten checks

Spoiler: I eventually got my life together and switched to QuickBooks Online Bill Pay—and let me tell you, it’s giving clean books, less chaos, and no more "who the heck is Maria S. and why did I pay her $1,200?" vibes.

You’ll learn:

• Why Zelle and Venmo aren’t sustainable bill pay solutions for real-deal businesses
• What makes QBO Bill Pay actually work for solopreneurs and early-stage founders
• How the new AI feature helps you drag, drop, and auto-fill bills like a boss
• Why centralizing your payments can save your sanity (and your audit trail)

💡 If you’ve been duct-taping your payment process together across five apps, this is your sign to simplify. QBO Bill Pay isn’t just convenient—it’s a full-on grown-up move for your back office.

🎧 Listen in, laugh at my chaos, and walk away with a smarter system. If you love it, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your favorite founder who’s still Venmo-ing their web designer.

Let's connect!

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armstrongmelissacpa/

Website: https://steadyhandaccounting.com/

Coaching Program Waitlist: https://steadyhandaccounting.myflodesk.com/ofgzp2o7tc