Integrated payments are the backbone of SalesThumb. Setting it up takes about 5 minutes of clicking and 1-2 business days to verify your shop. Here's the full flow.
Why we connect payments this way
SalesThumb routes customer payments directly to your bank account — not into ours and then to you. Funds settle to your account in 1-2 business days (US standard), and SalesThumb never holds your money. You're the merchant of record.
This matters for taxes, accounting, and the fact that your business owns the customer relationship end-to-end.
Step 1 — Have these documents ready
You don't have to upload everything during the wizard, but the onboarding will eventually need:
- EIN or SSN (for sole proprietors)
- Legal business name + DBA
- Business address (must match your business license)
- Bank account routing + account number
- Owner's date of birth + last 4 of SSN (for identity verification)
- Government ID (driver's license or passport) if flagged for manual review
Have a photo of your driver's license on your phone before you start — you'll need it within 48 hours.
Step 2 — Start the connect flow
In SalesThumb: Settings → Payments. You'll see an "Accept payments" card near the top of the page. Click Connect payments — it reads Resume onboarding instead if you already started an application that's still in review.
The onboarding form opens right there, embedded inline on the same page. There's no redirect to a separate hosted checkout site and no "sign in to an existing account" step — you fill it out without ever leaving Settings → Payments. Your KYC details go straight to Rainforest and never touch SalesThumb's servers.
Step 3 — Walk through onboarding
The inline form asks for:
1. Business type — sole proprietor, LLC, corporation, etc. Pick what matches your actual entity. 2. Industry — choose "Automotive — Repair / Maintenance" or "Automotive — Detailing." 3. Statement descriptor — what customers see on their credit card statement. Keep it short ("SHOPNAME 555-1212"). This affects chargeback rates — customers who can't identify the charge often dispute. 4. Bank account — routing + account. A small test deposit verifies it. 5. Identity verification — DOB, last 4, sometimes ID photo upload.
The whole flow takes 4-8 minutes if you have your documents ready.
Step 4 — Wait for activation
Most accounts are reviewed in 1-2 business days. During review you can use SalesThumb normally — you just can't accept payments yet. The Payments settings page shows "Application in review" until it clears; you can reopen the same inline form from there to resume or update your details if needed. You'll get an email when you're fully activated.
Step 5 — Test a real charge
Once active, run a test:
- Create a body: quote to yourself
- Pay it with your own card
- Verify the funds appear in your payments dashboard within 30 minutes
- Verify they settle to your bank within 2 business days
Then refund the test charge.
Common questions
What are the fees? You get one all-in rate, shown in full at Settings → Payments before you connect — interchange, network assessments, processor markup, and SalesThumb's own cut are bundled into that single number. There's no separate platform fee stacked on top and no follow-up invoice; the rate is netted out of each deposit. See Payments — payouts, fees, and disputes for the tier breakdown.
Can I use a different payment processor? Not currently. There's one integrated processor. You can manually record cash, check, or external payments inside SalesThumb (no fee), but anything that goes through SalesThumb's quote-pay flow runs through it.
What if my account gets restricted? Accounts are occasionally restricted during review (high chargeback rates, suspected fraud, missing docs). If yours is restricted, your dashboard tells you exactly what's needed. Resolution usually takes 1-3 business days.
Related
Frequently asked questions
Q: How long does setting up payments take?
A: About 5 minutes of clicking, plus 1-2 business days for your shop's application to be verified.
Q: What documents do I need before I start?
A: An EIN or SSN, your legal business name + DBA, a business address matching your license, bank routing and account numbers, the owner's date of birth and last 4 of SSN, and a government ID if you're flagged for manual review.
Q: Where do I go to connect payments, and does it redirect me anywhere?
A: In SalesThumb, go to Settings → Payments and click Connect payments (or Resume onboarding if you already started an application). The form opens inline on that same page — there's no redirect to a separate site and no signing in to an existing account.
Q: How long until my account is active?
A: Most accounts are reviewed in 1-2 business days. You can keep using SalesThumb normally during review; you just can't accept payments yet, and you'll get an email once you're fully activated.
Q: What are the processing fees?
A: Standard card processing rates apply, shown in full before you connect. SalesThumb does not take an additional cut on top of the processing fee.
Q: Can I use a different payment processor?
A: Not currently — there's one integrated processor. You can still manually record cash, check, or external payments inside SalesThumb at no fee, but anything run through SalesThumb's quote-pay flow goes through the integrated processor.