01
Low-cost ACH
Give clients a convenient bank-payment option that can reduce the cost of accepting electronic payments.
Best for: invoices, payment plans, recurring balancesDUAL PRICING & SURCHARGING
A smarter conversation about the cost of accepting cards.
For eligible payments and jurisdictions, firms may have options for reducing or recovering card-processing costs. The right choice starts with understanding the rules and the client experience.
NOT ONE SIZE FITS ALL
Different approaches work differently for law firms.
CounselPay helps your firm evaluate the right payment-cost strategy before you turn anything on.
02
Transparent card pricing
The firm pays card-processing costs in exchange for client convenience and a straightforward payment experience.
Best for: firms that want maximum simplicity03
Dual pricing or surcharge
Dual pricing displays an ACH/check price and a card price on the payment page. When properly structured, it can recover 100% of card-processing costs—leaving the firm to pay only the ACH cost. A surcharge adds a fee only to eligible credit-card payments, so the firm still pays for debit-card processing and ACH.
Best for: firms that want to match fee recovery to their payment mixTHE IMPORTANT DISTINCTION
Trust deposits and earned-fee payments are not interchangeable.
Law firms often need separate payment paths because advance client funds may be held in trust while earned fees are paid to operating. Fee-recovery tools are not a blanket answer for every payment type.
For this reason, a responsible review considers the client's payment type, the destination account, card type, state requirements, and the firm's fee agreement.
Before implementation, we review:
- Where the payment is intended to settle
- Whether the payment is earned or an advance deposit
- State and card-network requirements
- Credit, debit, prepaid, and ACH treatment
- Client-facing disclosures and payment-page display
- How processing, chargeback, and reversal fees are handled
CLEARER CLIENT COMMUNICATION
The compliance conversation should be understandable, not salesy.
A good client payment experience makes the total cost clear before payment is completed and provides an alternative way to pay when appropriate. It should never rely on buried fine print or a confusing checkout.
CounselPay can help firms develop plain-language payment-page and invoice wording. Your firm should confirm legal and ethical requirements with its own counsel and applicable bar resources.
Talk through your fee-recovery options →FEE RECOVERY FAQ
Get the decision right before you launch.
Dual pricing presents two disclosed prices: an ACH/check price and a card price. Surcharging adds a separate fee to eligible credit-card transactions to help recoup processing costs. The appropriate structure depends on the payment flow, state requirements, card-network rules, and processor capabilities.
START WITH THE FACTS