Stripe is the only payment processor we recommend for aftermarket shops in 2026. The integration is deep, the disputes flow is the best on the market, and the fees are competitive. Here's everything you need to know about money movement.
How payouts work
By default, Stripe Connect deposits to your bank account on a 2-day rolling schedule:
- Day 0: customer pays an invoice via SalesThumb.
- Day 1: Stripe holds the funds for risk review.
- Day 2: the payout lands in your bank account.
The "rolling" part means each day's batch lands 2 business days later. You see daily deposits, not a weekly lump sum, once steady-state.
If you'd rather get one weekly deposit, change the cadence at Settings → Payments → Payout schedule → Weekly (Friday). Some shops prefer this for bookkeeping cleanliness.
The fees
Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per card transaction. SalesThumb does NOT take a platform fee on top — every dollar above Stripe's cut is yours. (Some competitor platforms charge a 0.5-1% platform fee.)
For ACH bank transfers, Stripe charges 0.8% capped at $5. That's the cheapest way to take a $5,000+ deposit. We expose ACH as a checkout option on quotes over $1,500 by default; you can flip the threshold at Settings → Payments → ACH threshold.
Stripe fees in QBO
If you have the QuickBooks Online sync wired up, Stripe fees automatically post to a Stripe Fees expense account. You'll see them as separate line items inside each payout batch.
Disputes (chargebacks)
A chargeback happens when a customer's bank reverses a charge — usually because the customer claims they didn't receive what they paid for. Stripe notifies SalesThumb within minutes; we surface the dispute at Settings → Payments → Disputes.
You have 7 days from notification to respond. Stripe pulls the disputed amount from your next payout, plus a $15 dispute fee. If you win, the amount returns; the $15 fee does not.
Step 1 — Gather evidence
For each dispute, SalesThumb auto-bundles:
- The original quote (showing what was agreed)
- Signed estimate or accepted-quote timestamp
- Pre-install signature (if collected)
- All install photos (timestamped, geotagged if available)
- Post-install signature (if collected)
- Warranty PDF
- Any SMS exchanges between you and the customer
- The invoice and payment receipt
That's already 80% of the evidence you need. Click "Generate Stripe submission" and we package it into a single PDF + form fields.
Step 2 — Add your written narrative
A 200-300 word rebuttal in plain English. Hit:
- What service was rendered, on what date, at what price
- Customer's acceptance (signed estimate, deposit paid, signed pre-install)
- Photo evidence the work was done correctly
- Any direct communication about the customer being satisfied (e.g. tip, review, follow-up SMS)
- Note any conversation that contradicts the dispute reason
Step 3 — Submit
Click "Submit to Stripe". Stripe reviews and decides. Most decisions land within 30-75 days. Win rate for SalesThumb shops that use the auto-bundled evidence is around 67% — way higher than the 25-30% industry average.
Dispute prevention
The best dispute is the one that never happens. Best practices:
- Always collect deposit at booking (locks in commitment)
- Always require signed pre-install inspection (proves vehicle state at drop-off)
- Always capture install photos at the standard sequence
- Send a post-install care SMS within 1 hour
- Generate the warranty PDF and email it to the customer
Shops following all five see chargeback rate below 0.1% — essentially zero.