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podcast | Jul 23, 2025 |
Should I let clients pay my fees with a credit card?

On the Ask Us Anything podcast, editor in chief Kaitlin Petersen taps former Trade Tales guests to answer real, confidential designer questions, offering a safe space to discuss business frustrations, conundrums and fears. (Have a question of your own to ask? Send an email to start the conversation.)

This week, Bria Hammel joins the show to answer a question from a designer with two decades of industry experience. On her own for 10 years, the inquirer follows payment practices that are rooted in what she learned from the high-end firms she worked for previously—notably, allowing clients to pay by check or ACH, but never via credit card. (“The feeling was, back then, that we didn’t take credit cards because our clients didn’t need that: If they couldn’t afford it, they couldn’t afford us,” she explains.) As she embarked on a broader overhaul of her payment processes, including a recent shift to charging flat fees, she was struck by the notion that other firms might be allowing cards, and wondered if she was falling behind.

Hammel, whose design firm is based across Minnesota (with a forthcoming outpost in South Carolina), shares advice on aligning payments with various phases of the design process, and explains why offering clients flexibility in how they pay is essential to her full-service philosophy.

Crucial insight: “When you think of a full-service, high-end design firm, I think that being that ‘yes’ person is something that’s really important,” says Hammel. “We do collect credit cards from [clients], but we also charge a fee for it—we pass along the credit card processing fee to them, and that way we’re not out anything for it. But it’s a convenient opportunity for them. I can’t tell you how many clients use that. Even with the fees. To them, time is money, and they want to be able to move quickly.”

Key quote: “Confidence is half the battle in our world—just really believing in what you’re doing, and then having that explanation for [clients]. One of my clients recently told me they’re like, ‘It’s so amazing, because you just have this quiet confidence; it’s not pushy.’ It’s just that we’ve done a lot of research. I’m a very research-driven person—I love to poke holes in things and ask clients about their experience and tell me what we can do better.”

On July 30, designer Sara Malek Barney equips designers with the critical skills to streamline their sourcing process as a means to enhancing profitability without sacrificing integrity—it even includes a discussion on the oft-overlooked topic of markups. Click h ere to learn more and remember, workshops are free for BOH Insiders.


    

This episode was sponsored by Four Hands and Crypton. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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