Accept in-person card payments with a terminal reader

Table of Contents

Step 1: Order and pay for a reader
Step 2: Register the reader in Stripe
Step 3: Charge a client on the reader
Reader care and customization

A terminal reader lets you charge a client’s card in person, right from TaxDome, instead of recording an offline payment or sending a payment link. This article covers buying a reader, registering it, and using it to take a payment.

Note

This feature is available to US firms on TaxDome Payments , rolling out gradually. If you don’t see the Accept in-person card payments box on Settings > Integrations > Payments, it’s not available for your firm yet—see TaxDome feature lifecycle .

If you already have a Stripe Terminal reader, skip Step 1 and go straight to Step 2 to register it.

Step 1: Order and pay for a reader

Tip

See terminal reader pricing and terms for processing rates, fees, and hardware ownership terms before you order.

To buy a reader without leaving TaxDome:

Go to Settings > Integrations > Payments from the left menu bar.
On the TaxDome Payments card, in the Accept in-person card payments box, click Terminal shop.

In the Shop tab, click a reader—Stripe Reader S700, S710, or BBPOS WisePOS™ E—then click Add to cart.
Click View cart, then complete checkout: enter your shipping information and pay for the reader with a card.
Track your order in the Orders tab. Each row shows the date, status, total, and shipping address; click an order to see its full shipping and payment details, or to cancel it.

Readers typically arrive within 3–7 business days, shipped directly to your office.

Note

Only firm owners and admins can order a reader.

Step 2: Register the reader in Stripe

Registration always happens in your Stripe dashboard, not in TaxDome, and only once the reader arrives—checkout doesn’t offer the option to pre-assign it to a location, so this applies whether you bought it through TaxDome or elsewhere.

Note

A location—the physical place in Stripe where you accept in-person payments—is required first: readers must be assigned to a location before they can be registered. If you don’t have a location yet, see Stripe’s guide on creating a location before registering a reader.

If your firm has more than one office, you can register a reader to each one—each location is set up and managed separately in Stripe.

To register, in your Stripe dashboard, go to Payments > Terminal, then:

Reader ordered through TaxDome: On the Hardware orders tab, find your order once its status is Shipped or Delivered, click the three dots (⋯) next to it, then click Register. Select the reader, click + Register, then give it a name and choose a location.
Reader bought elsewhere: On the Readers tab, click Register reader, then register it by pairing code, serial number, or order number.

Note

If you’re already using one of these readers with a different Stripe account or payment provider, reset the device and disconnect it from that account first, then register it to your TaxDome Payments account as described above.

Wi-Fi is required both to set up and to use the reader. On first launch, after choosing a language and connecting to Wi-Fi, the reader may need a firmware update—this can take up to 20 minutes.

Step 3: Charge a client on the reader

Once a reader is registered, it’s available as a payment method.

To charge a client:

Open the invoice and click Pay invoice—for example, from the three-dots menu next to the invoice in Billing > Invoices. You can also select and pay off multiple invoices within the same client account.

Note

If an invoice already has a payment in progress—for example, an ACH payment that takes a few business days to clear—it shows as In progress and can’t be charged again until that payment finishes. Wait for it to clear, or refresh the invoice to check its current status.

Under In-person payment methods, select the reader you want to use. Readers are listed by name and Stripe location.

Click Charge $[amount]. The amount to charge is editable, so you’re not limited to charging the full balance due—use this to split a payment between cash and card, for example. The payment technology fee doesn’t apply to terminal payments, and no other charge can be added on top—the client pays exactly this amount.
Ask the client to tap, insert, or swipe their card on the reader while TaxDome shows Waiting for card. You can still click Cancel at this point if needed.

Once the payment succeeds, TaxDome confirms the invoice was paid and updates its status automatically—no manual step is needed to record it. The reader never prompts for a tip. Terminal payments reconcile the same way as online payments, so your existing QuickBooks integration keeps working without changes.

Note

The terminal has no printer. If the client has an email address on file, they receive an emailed payment confirmation; if not, the payment still succeeds but no confirmation is sent.

Reader care and customization

You can customize a reader to match your firm by renaming it and adding your own splash screen—both are set from Location in Stripe; see Stripe’s guide on setting a custom splash screen for the steps. The new splash screen appears the next time the reader restarts or reconnects, and needs to be set separately for each reader model.
Keep the reader charged and connected to power when it’s not in use so it can receive software updates. The reader also restarts automatically once a day to stay up to date. A brief daily disconnect during this restart is normal.
Keep the reader away from liquids and dust, as it isn’t liquid- or dust-proof. If you prefer to keep it on the counter, use a compatible dock and stand.

Tip

For any setup or technical issue, reach out to [email protected] .