Client payments and portals for accounting firms: 4 tools, and what card fees add to a $10 plan
Four tools for the client side of an accounting firm (CPACharge, Clinked, Glasscubes and ClientWindow), each read on the vendor's own site on 2026-10-18, with public prices and fees, and what card processing adds to a monthly plan.
A client and an accountant on either side of a counter with three devices on it. A message goes from the accountant to the client through the phone (ClientWindow, messages on WhatsApp). The client's documents go through the portal box to the accountant (Clinked, Glasscubes, a portal for files). An invoice goes out through the card terminal and the client's payment comes back (CPACharge, invoices and payments). A lamp under each device lights as its trip happens.
CPACharge costs $10 a month. Bill five clients $500 each, have them pay by card, and processing adds $76.25: 7.6 times the plan. The card networks' own fees come on top of that, and CPACharge lists them separately. For a payment tool, the plan is the small number.
These four tools sit between the firm and its clients. They take payments, share files in a branded portal and handle client messages. Several practice management tools in the first group have their own portal and payments, so check what you already pay for. Each entry was read on the vendor's own site on 2026-10-18. This is one group of the accounting firm software directory.
- CPACharge (sold as 8am CPACharge). Billing and payments for accounting firms: branded one-time or recurring invoices, payment links, reminders, and online and in-person payments. The monthly plan is $10 a month with unlimited users and no contract. Card processing is 2.99% + $0.30 on Visa, Mastercard and Discover, and 3.90% + $0.30 on American Express. eCheck is 1%, capped at $10, and its Pay Later option is 5.95%. Card networks' own fees are listed separately on the page. It says it integrates with QuickBooks, Wolters Kluwer and Qount. Checked 2026-10-18.
- Clinked. A white-label client portal for files, conversations, tasks and approvals, with a page for accountants. Start Up is $11 per user a month. Standard is $239 a month, with 100 members included and your own domain. Premium is $599 a month, with 250 members included, white-label email notifications and role-based permissions. It has an Enterprise tier as well. Checked 2026-10-18.
- Glasscubes. A client portal for secure information gathering, file sharing, approvals and online forms. It has a page for accountants and covers UK tax topics such as Making Tax Digital. Priced in pounds as a monthly account fee plus a per-user fee: Essential £96 plus £14.40 per user, Professional £144 plus £17.60, Advantage (a white-labelled portal) £288 plus £30.40. Checked 2026-10-18.
- ClientWindow. WhatsApp messaging for accountants and bookkeepers. Client WhatsApp conversations reach the firm as email or Microsoft Teams messages, and WhatsApp attachments can be sent to Dext, AutoEntry and Hubdoc. Essentials is from £25 a month, from 25 customer accounts with unlimited team members. The next plan is from £75 a month, and there is a bespoke plan above that. Checked 2026-10-18.
None of the four says it integrates with TaxDome, Karbon or Canopy, so if you run one of those, ask.
What the fees add up to
Five card payments of $500 roll down a chute past a blade that cuts CPACharge's rate, 2.99% plus $0.30, from each one into a jar. The jar fills in layers: the $10 monthly plan at the bottom, then five slabs of card rates, $76.25 in all, 7.6 times the plan, and on top an empty dashed box for the card networks' own fees, which are listed separately and not given on this page. The payments roll on into the firm's till.
A payment tool's price has three layers: the monthly plan, the processing rate on each payment, and the card networks' own fees. At CPACharge's card rate, one $500 invoice costs $15.25 to collect. The same invoice by eCheck costs $5. So those five $500 payments cost $25 by eCheck instead of $76.25 by card, and the share of clients who pay by card decides most of the bill.
Take it
Ask a payment vendor for a worked example using your own average invoice and the share of your clients who pay by card. Ask a portal vendor where files are stored and who can read them.
If you are choosing how your accounting firm takes payments or shares files with clients, or you make one of these tools and a line here is wrong, I'd like to compare notes: mackenzie@mackenziebowes.com.