How To Accept Payments For A Florist

A florist sells perishable stock on deadlines nobody controls: a wedding on a fixed date, a funeral arranged in two days, and two holidays that produce a meaningful share of the year's revenue in a week. The payment setup exists to fund flowers that are bought before they are paid for. Here is the setup.

Verified July 28, 2026 against the sources listed at the foot of this page.

How florist money actually arrives

Four flows. Walk-in and counter sales, paid at purchase. Phone and online orders for delivery, paid at ordering, which is most of the daily business. Event work: weddings and functions booked months ahead with deposits and balances. And accounts: hotels, offices, restaurants, and funeral directors buying regularly on terms.

By the numbers (July 28, 2026)

The governing 2026 rate here is 3.3% + 30¢ online or on a card-paid invoice. Take a $85.00 delivery order and the fee is $3.10. Taken at ordering rather than on delivery, since the flowers are bought and arranged before anyone at the receiving end knows they are coming.

Order-ahead payment, always

Delivery orders should be paid at ordering rather than on delivery, since the flowers are bought, arranged, and transported before anyone at the receiving end knows they exist. Take payment when the order is placed, whether by phone with a payment link or through the website, and confirm the delivery details in writing including the date, address, recipient, and card message. Most florist disputes are about delivery details rather than payment, and a confirmation the customer approved is what settles them.

Wedding and event deposits

Event work commits you to a date months ahead and to flowers ordered days before, so structure it accordingly: a deposit at booking that secures the date, a staged payment as the date approaches, and the balance due before the event rather than after. State the cancellation and postponement terms plainly, including what is retained once stock has been ordered, because at that point the money is genuinely spent. Final numbers and design changes need a deadline, since your own ordering follows it.

Holiday trade and the perishability problem

Valentine's Day and Mother's Day concentrate revenue and risk together: stock bought at a premium, extra staff, and a hard deadline after which unsold flowers are worthless. Take prepayment on holiday orders without exception, set a cut-off for orders, and price to reflect the risk rather than at standard rates. An uncollected or cancelled holiday order is not recoverable stock, it is a bin, which is exactly why the prepayment rule exists on those two weeks even where it does not on others.

Accounts, funerals, and the rails

Hotels, offices, and restaurants buying weekly are the steadiest revenue a florist has, invoiced monthly on written terms and enforced from the first late payment. Funeral director accounts operate similarly and often at short notice, which makes a standing arrangement more practical than order-by-order payment. On rails, card suits counter and phone orders where speed matters, while monthly account invoices and large wedding balances are worth offering bank transfer on, since the fee difference across a season of weddings is real.

Sources

• Swipesum — Square Fees Explained 2026 (verified against Square's published pricing)
• NerdWallet — Square Fees: Calculator and Pricing for 2026

What people ask me

When should delivery orders be paid?

At ordering, since flowers are bought, arranged, and transported before the recipient knows they exist. Confirm date, address, recipient, and message in writing.

What causes most florist disputes?

Delivery details rather than payment, which is why a written confirmation the customer approved is what settles them.

How should wedding work be structured?

A deposit at booking securing the date, a staged payment as it approaches, and the balance before the event, with cancellation terms covering ordered stock.

Why prepay holiday orders?

Because an uncollected Valentine's or Mother's Day order is not recoverable stock, it is a bin, and holiday flowers are bought at a premium.

What are the steadiest accounts?

Hotels, offices, restaurants, and funeral directors buying regularly on written monthly terms, which is more practical than order-by-order payment.

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