Integration
ServiceM8 Pay or your own Stripe account: fees, payouts and Xero
ServiceM8 Pay runs on Stripe: setup adds a ServiceM8 Pay profile inside a new or existing Stripe account, and the older Stripe Payments add-on is closed to new customers. In Australia, standard domestic cards cost 1.19% + 30c on Premium Plus up to 1.89% + 30c on Free, with next business day payouts.
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
What syncs, and when
| What | Direction | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card payment | ServiceM8 Pay to the job, then to Xero | Customer pays on site (Tap to Pay, Scan & Pay, card entry) or from the online invoice | With ServiceM8 Pay Transactions on, the payment is posted to a ServiceM8 Pay Clearing Account when the invoice payment syncs, usually after the invoice is approved. |
| Processing fee | ServiceM8 to Xero | After the payment has synced | Created as a bill from supplier ServiceM8 Payments Pty Ltd, paid from the clearing account. |
| Payout | Stripe to your bank; ServiceM8 records it in Xero | Next business day, one payout per day's payments | ServiceM8 creates one transfer from the clearing account to your bank for the net amount. Match the bank deposit to that transfer, not to the invoices. |
| Deposit on quote acceptance | ServiceM8 to Xero | When the customer pays the deposit | Arrives in Xero as a prepayment within 30 minutes, if the default account for payments is a bank account. Applied to the invoice once the job is completed, fully paid and approved. |
| Legacy Stripe Payments add-on | Stripe to your bank | Stripe payout schedule (listed as 2 business days in Australia) | Closed to new customers. First payout typically 7 to 14 days after the first payment. |
What does not sync
- Card surcharges on Australian payments from 1 October 2026. ServiceM8 stops adding them automatically; the processing fee still applies and your business pays it.
- A plain Stripe account connected without ServiceM8 Pay, for new customers. The Stripe Payments add-on can no longer be activated.
- Fee and payout entries in MYOB. The ServiceM8 Pay Transactions feature supports Xero and QuickBooks Online only.
- Other payment gateways such as PayPal or GoCardless. ServiceM8 lists card payments through ServiceM8 Pay or Stripe, plus PayTo in Australia.
Set it up
- Check your subscription. ServiceM8 Pay is only available on monthly plans, not pay per job.
- Update the ServiceM8 iOS app on every device that will take payments.
- In ServiceM8 Add-ons, turn on ServiceM8 Pay. If you already have a Stripe account, sign in with it so the ServiceM8 Pay profile is created inside it; the old Stripe Payments add-on switches off automatically.
- Talk to your bookkeeper, then turn on Settings, Preferences, Invoicing, ServiceM8 Pay Transactions and choose the clearing account, bank account and fee account.
- For deposits to reach Xero as prepayments, set the Xero default account for payments to a bank account (and the clearing account too, if ServiceM8 Pay Transactions is on).
- Set up Tap to Pay on iPhone again on each phone if you used it with the old Stripe add-on.
- If you are in Australia and had surcharging on, work through the Card payment surcharges end on 1 October 2026 notice on the Home tab: consider PayTo, a card limit for online invoices, or a price review.
Is ServiceM8 Pay just Stripe?
Underneath, yes. ServiceM8 describes ServiceM8 Pay as a partnership with Stripe, and Stripe is the one that initiates your payouts. If you already have a Stripe account, setup does not create a separate one: it adds a ServiceM8 Pay profile as a sub account inside your existing Stripe account, and every card payment from ServiceM8 goes through that profile.
What you cannot do any more is bring an ordinary Stripe account on Stripe's own pricing. The old Stripe Payments add-on is no longer available to new customers. It charged Stripe's rate plus a 0.20% ServiceM8 fee (30 cents + 1.90% in Australia on the figures ServiceM8 last updated in May 2024), paid out in about two business days, and made you wait 7 to 14 days for the first payout. Stripe's own Australian pricing page lists 1.7% + A$0.30 for domestic cards, but that rate is for businesses using Stripe directly, not through ServiceM8.
What the fees look like on a real invoice
ServiceM8 Pay's Australian rate for standard domestic cards falls as your ServiceM8 plan goes up: 1.89% + 30c on Free, 1.69% on Starter, 1.49% on Growing, 1.39% on Premium and 1.19% on Premium Plus, each plus 30c. International cards and American Express cost 3.70% + 30c on every plan, and accepting them is off by default.
As an illustration (our arithmetic, not a ServiceM8 figure), a $1,000 invoice paid by a domestic card costs $12.20 on Premium Plus and $19.20 on the Free plan. Across a year of card payments that gap can be worth more than the plan difference, so check it against your own volume. From 1 October 2026 Australian businesses can no longer pass these fees on as a surcharge through ServiceM8, so the fee is now a cost you price in.
Reconciling card payments in Xero
The awkward part of card payments is that the customer pays $1,000 but your bank receives $980. ServiceM8 Pay Transactions solves this with a clearing account. The full payment lands in the clearing account, the fee comes out of it as a bill, and the payout leaves it as a transfer to your bank. You reconcile the bank line against the transfer, and the clearing account should sit at zero once everything for the period has synced.
Two habits keep it clean. Do not match the bank deposit to individual invoices, and remember that a single payout covers a whole day's card payments, so one bank line matches one combined transfer. In Xero those transfers can carry a generic description, so match on amount and date.
Sources
- ServiceM8 Pay is a partnership with Stripe; with an existing Stripe account, setup creates a new ServiceM8 Pay profile (sub account) in that account and the previous Stripe Payments add-on is deactivated. ServiceM8 Pay is only available on monthly subscription plans. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8 Pay fees in Australia for standard domestic cards: Premium Plus 1.19% + 30c, Premium 1.39% + 30c, Growing 1.49% + 30c, Starter 1.69% + 30c, Free 1.89% + 30c; international and American Express 3.70% + 30c on all plans. Payouts are grouped daily and deposited the next business day. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- The Stripe Payments add-on is no longer available to activate for new customers. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Legacy Stripe add-on fees in Australia (last updated May 2024): Stripe 30 cents + 1.70% plus ServiceM8 0.20%, total 30 cents + 1.90%, payout in 2 business days; first payout usually 7 to 14 days after the first successful payment. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Stripe's standard Australian pricing for domestic cards is 1.7% + A$0.30. Stripe, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- From 1 October 2026, ServiceM8 stops adding card surcharges to payments through ServiceM8 Pay or the legacy Stripe Payments add-on in Australia; card processing fees still apply. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8 Pay Transactions posts payments to a clearing account, records the fee as a bill paid from it, and creates a transfer to the bank when the payout is processed; it supports Xero and QuickBooks Online only. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8 Pay deposits sync to Xero as a prepayment, within 30 minutes, only when the default account for payments is a bank account. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8 supports card payments through ServiceM8 Pay or Stripe, including Tap to Pay on iPhone, Scan & Pay, PayTo in Australia and PayByBank in the UK. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.