How To Accept Payments For An Investment

An investment business has the strictest sorting rule of any firm in this series: client assets move on custodial rails under regulatory supervision, and the firm's own revenue is a separate, ordinary receivables problem. Confusing the two is not a bookkeeping error, it is a regulatory event. Here is the distinction and the setup.

Reviewed July 28, 2026. Every figure below links to its source.

The sorting rule, before anything else

Client money and client assets sit with a qualified custodian under applicable regulation, and how they are held, moved, and reported is governed rather than chosen. No part of that touches a card processor. What this article covers is the firm's own revenue: advisory fees, planning fees, and any service income the firm bills, which is an ordinary business receivable and can use ordinary business tools. Getting that boundary wrong is among the most serious mistakes an advisory firm can make.

By the numbers (July 28, 2026)

On Square's 2026 US card, this lane is 3.3% + 30¢ online or on a card-paid invoice. A $1,500 quarterly planning fee carries $49.80 in fees, against $10.00 on ACH, where the 1% rate caps at $10, saving $39.80. This is firm revenue rather than client assets, which is precisely why ordinary payment tools are appropriate here and nowhere near the custodial side.

How advisory firm revenue actually arrives

Four flows. Asset-based advisory fees, most commonly deducted from client accounts by the custodian under written authorisation and remitted to the firm, which is the dominant model. Flat or retainer planning fees billed directly to clients. Hourly or project-based financial planning engagements. And any non-advisory service income the firm offers, which behaves like ordinary consulting revenue.

Fee deduction versus direct billing

Fees deducted from client accounts are convenient and near-certain to be collected, and they carry specific requirements around client authorisation, disclosure, invoicing, and in many cases notification to the client and the custodian. Direct billing avoids some of that and introduces collection risk instead. Firms increasingly offer both, and the flat-fee planning model billed directly to a card or bank method has grown precisely because it serves clients whose assets are not where the fee could be deducted from.

Flat-fee planning and subscription models

Planning-only and subscription advisory models bill monthly or quarterly to a stored payment method, which makes advice accessible to clients without large portfolios and gives the firm predictable revenue independent of market levels. That last point matters more than it sounds, since an asset-based firm's revenue falls exactly when clients most need reassurance. Document the engagement scope, the fee, the billing schedule, and cancellation terms, and confirm how the model fits your regulatory obligations before launching it.

Disclosure, records, and the rails

Fee disclosure requirements are specific and enforced: clients must understand what they pay, how it is calculated, and what it covers, in the form the applicable rules require. Keep records that reconcile fee calculations to agreements and to amounts actually received, since this is examined rather than assumed. On rails, card acceptance genuinely helps flat-fee and subscription models where clients expect modern payment, while larger direct-billed fees suit bank transfer, and custodial deductions follow the custodian's process entirely.

Sources

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

What people ask me

What is the sorting rule for an investment business?

Client assets sit with a qualified custodian under regulation and never touch a card processor. Only the firm's own advisory and planning revenue uses ordinary business tools.

How are advisory fees usually collected?

Most commonly deducted from client accounts by the custodian under written authorisation, with specific requirements on authorisation, disclosure, and invoicing.

Why are flat-fee models growing?

They serve clients without large portfolios and give the firm predictable revenue independent of market levels, which matters since asset-based revenue falls when clients most need reassurance.

What disclosure applies to fees?

Clients must understand what they pay, how it is calculated, and what it covers, in the form the applicable rules require, with records that reconcile to amounts received.

Where does card acceptance help?

In flat-fee and subscription planning models where clients expect modern payment, while larger direct-billed fees suit bank transfer.

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