CashApp versus PayPal

I have to admit that I’m terrible when it comes to paying for things. My payments are always late, billing is a nightmare, I’m forever forced to “pay people back” because I never carry physical cash. Recently I was introduced to the CashApp. It’s a perhaps the most simple form of payments I’ve ever dealt with. In a world of online transactions and digital money the CashApp is just what I needed. You might be wondering “why not just use PayPal” and the answer is simple: it’s expensive. I am the tiniest business owner  you could imagine. Even a small fee cuts in to my ability to make a profit.

There are no fees, ever, with the CashApp. This was enough to sell me, but it gets better!

There are a lot of online and digital programs that are meant to handle business finances. Most of them are detailed for bookkeeping and tax records. PayPal does have a feature for invoicing, which they allow you to use as long as you are okay with paying an even larger fee than you normally pay. They say, this fee is what protects you against fraud, unreliable purchases, etc. In this business I’m mostly concerned with making money. If I’m working with a client on a consistent basis and they’re paying me on a consistent basis I’m not going to be willing to pay a fee every single time I need to invoice them.

The fees associated with these online money management services are ridiculous! I have to choose between losing clients because I have to up my prices to cover the fees or losing “security” and no invoicing them through a “backed” transaction.

One day the light went on. BOOP!

There’s no point in worrying about a backed transaction. I know, I know, what a terribly millennial point of view. But it’s TRUE for me, and for many other millennials. If I write you an amazing article and I deliver it to your inbox and you accept and then I send you an invoice YOU CAN STILL REFUSE TO PAY ME. And of course in that scenario I’m screwed. Guess what, a backed transaction is not going to save me. Instead: I’m going to send you a CashApp request and you are going to pay me and neither of us is going to get screwed.

Basically my switch was all about the fees. I love that CashApp offers me the same services I was enjoying before, minus the fees. I have a virtual Visa card option, the ability to send and request money from anyone. The best part, when I transfer money to my linked bank account it’s there within 2 days MAX. I typically see those deposits the same day. Not 3-5 days, not 1 week, not ‘as long as there are no issues’. It’s there, it’s mine, it’s easy.

I’m not knocking the empire that PayPal has built. I know that they were a necessary evil for MANY people and still are in some cases. Online shopping is sketchy, but for the small business owner I can’t see anything better than CashApp. I can invoice my clients, pay no fees, and transfer that money for free into my bank account. I keep a log of hours and projects either way so that doubles as a linked invoice for my clients. Come time for taxes I have all the info I need in my spreadsheets and I can quickly and easily tally totals. It’s as close as I’ve been able to come to a separation between personal and business finances for a business that is intertwined with my personal and professional life.

If you haven’t tried the CashApp yet I’d suggest you hop on over there and do so! If you are also an itsy bitsy business owner you might also need this planner, these pens, some mascara for added fierceness, and this giant mug for coffee and kickassness.