CPACharge
CPACharge is a vertical payment processing platform serving more than 23,000 U.S. and Canadian accounting professionals, enabling CPA firms to accept credit, debit, and eCheck payments with QuickBooks Online reconciliation under PCI DSS Level 1 security, operated by 8am, LLC (formerly AffiniPay).
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What CPACharge does
CPACharge is a cloud-based payment processing platform purpose-built for accounting professionals in the United States and Canada. The platform enables CPA firms and accounting practices to accept credit, debit, and eCheck (ACH) payments online and in-person, with PCI DSS Level 1 compliant infrastructure featuring tokenization, encryption, and a client-entered payment model that removes card data from the firm's environment. Supporting modules cover billing and invoicing, recurring/scheduled payments, card vault storage, custom branded payment pages, QR code payments, client signatures, refunds, mobile card acceptance, and a Pay Later (Affirm-style) financing option where firms receive full invoice amounts upfront. The platform syncs natively with QuickBooks Online, Wolters Kluwer, BQE CORE, IRS Solutions, Bill4Time, Clientric, and Elite 3E, embedding payment acceptance directly into the accounting software workflows its customers already operate.
CPACharge operates as a product brand of 8am, LLC (formerly AffiniPay), a privately held Austin-based company that also operates LawPay for the legal profession. Under the 8am umbrella, the platform benefits from $27 billion-plus in annual payment processing volume and ISO relationships with Fiserv Canada Ltd, Pinnacle Bank (dba Synovus Bank), Fifth Third Bank, and Wells Fargo. 8am serves more than 260,000 professionals across North America, with CPACharge trusted by more than 23,000 accounting professionals. The company generates revenue primarily through transaction-based processing fees on each credit, debit, and ACH payment, with no publicly disclosed rate cards or subscription tiers; a customer testimonial indicates fees approximately half those of prior providers. Distribution combines direct online self-serve sign-up, inside sales with demo requests, and a formal Partner Network spanning professional associations and embedded software integrations, positioning CPACharge as the dominant vertical payment specialist for the CPA industry.
CPACharge firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CPACharge
- Legal name
- 8am, LLC
- Website
- https://cpacharge.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- CPACharge is a vertical payment processing platform serving more than 23,000 U.S. and Canadian accounting professionals, enabling CPA firms to accept credit, debit, and eCheck payments with QuickBooks Online reconciliation under PCI DSS Level 1 security, operated by 8am, LLC (formerly AffiniPay).
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CPACharge industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Payment Processing for Accounting
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Other Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (522390)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Biller Direct EBPP Platforms (FSAMAJAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Direct Debit / ACH Collections & Recurring Billing (FSAMAGAE)
Keywords
Where CPACharge is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
CPACharge business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Payment Processing Fees: CPACharge earns revenue through transaction fees charged on each payment processed (credit, debit, and eCheck). Fees are deducted from merchant settlements. The company offers next-day funding at no added cost and processes payments for accounting firms across North America. This is the primary revenue stream.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Transaction-based pricing (rates not publicly disclosed) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
CPACharge product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CPACharge is a cloud-based payment processing platform designed exclusively for accounting professionals, enabling CPA firms and accounting practices to accept credit, debit, and eCheck (ACH) payments online and in person. The platform combines core payment acceptance with integrated billing and invoicing, automated recurring billing, QuickBooks Online reconciliation, reporting dashboards, and a mobile app for on-the-go collection, all built on PCI DSS Level 1 compliant infrastructure.
Product overview
CPACharge is a unified payment processing platform built specifically for accounting professionals, offered as part of the 8am (formerly AffiniPay) ecosystem. The platform combines core payment acceptance capabilities with integrated billing/invoicing, reporting, and security modules. Key product components include the main CPACharge payment platform, supporting modules for Billing and Invoicing, Payments (online/in-person), Reporting and Reconciliation, Security features, Next-Day Funding, Pay Later financing, Mobile App, Card Vault, Scheduled Payments, eCheck Payments, Custom Payment Pages, QR Code Payments, Quick Bill, Client Signatures, Refunds, and the Professional Payments Network. The platform integrates natively with QuickBooks Online, Wolters Kluwer, BQE CORE, IRS Solutions, Bill4Time, Clientric, and Elite 3E for accounting software interoperability.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CPACharge Online payment processing platform designed specifically for accounting professionals. Accepts credit, debit, and eCheck payments online or in-person with next-day funding, integrated billing and invoicing, and reconciliation reporting for CPA firms and accounting practices in the U.S. and Canada.
Quantifiable outcome
- In-person payments collected 39% faster using tap-to-pay, chip insert, and swipe options
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use CPACharge
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
CPACharge technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration7 records
Feature8 records
CPACharge partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- QuickBooks Online (Intuit)coreCPACharge integrates directly with QuickBooks Online, enabling automatic transaction uploads so that payments, invoices, and expenses sync seamlessly into the accounting firm's books. This is the primary integration highlighted on CPACharge's website and is critical to its value proposition of eliminating manual reconciliation.
- Professional Associations (general)coreCPACharge builds strategic alliances with professional associations serving as referral and consultant partners. These associations refer their member CPA firms to CPACharge, providing a trusted endorsement channel. The company also runs a formal Partner Network program for integrators and consultants.
- Fiserv Canada Ltdcore8am, LLC operates as an Independent Sales Organization (ISO) of Fiserv Canada Ltd, among other banks. Fiserv provides the underlying payment processing infrastructure and banking relationships that enable CPACharge to process Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and ACH transactions.
- 8am (Parent Company)coreCPACharge is a product of 8am (formerly AffiniPay), a professional business platform serving legal and accounting professionals. 8am provides the technology infrastructure, banking relationships, and operational scale ($27B+ annual payment volume) behind CPACharge. 8am also operates LawPay, a sister product for the legal profession.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CPACharge competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- LawPay: Sister product under the same 8am parent company, targeting legal professionals with an essentially identical payment processing feature set. Most directly comparable in product architecture, vertical-specialization strategy, ISO structure, and QuickBooks-style integrations.
- PaySimple: Vertical SaaS-style recurring billing and payment platform purpose-built for SMB service businesses, including accounting firms. Closely comparable on recurring ACH/card billing, payment pages, and QuickBooks-style reconciliation workflows.
Broad incumbents
- Stripe: Dominant horizontal online payment processor offering card and ACH acceptance to businesses of all sizes. While not purpose-built for accounting, Stripe's developer-friendly APIs and aggressive pricing make it a credible alternative for tech-forward CPA firms and a benchmark for take-rate competitiveness.
- Block (Square): Square provides omni-channel card acceptance widely used by SMBs including small accounting practices. Competes on in-person tap-to-pay/chip/swipe and online invoices, and has been pushing into vertical professional services.
- Intuit QuickBooks Payments: Intuit's own embedded payment processing for QuickBooks users. This is both CPACharge's most important integration partner and a structural competitive threat — Intuit could tighten, reprice, or unbundle the QuickBooks Payments offering at any time.
- Bill.com: Bill.com offers AP/AR automation with embedded payments (ACH, card, international) targeting SMBs and their accountants. Overlaps with CPACharge's invoicing + payment workflow but sits in a broader financial-operations category.
Emerging players
- Melio: ACH-first B2B payments platform targeting small businesses and their accountants/bookkeepers. Competes on bill payment workflow and QuickBooks Online integration, overlapping with CPACharge on the ACH/eCheck and SMB accountant use cases.
- FreshBooks Payments: FreshBooks bundles invoicing and online payments for service-based SMBs and the accountants who serve them. While smaller and more bookkeeping-focused, it competes for the same client-billing-and-payment workflow CPACharge targets at solo and small firms.
Others
- Affirm (Business / Pay Later): Affirm is the underlying BNPL provider that powers CPACharge's 'Pay Later' / Client Fee Funding offering. It is a partner and capability enabler rather than a direct competitor, but adjacent in client financing for professional services invoices.
- Fiserv (Clover / Bypass): Fiserv is CPACharge's ISO sponsor bank/infrastructure partner powering card and ACH processing. Fiserv also competes indirectly via Clover and merchant services offerings to SMBs, including professional services firms.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CPACharge social profiles
Digital presenceCPACharge compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
CPACharge financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CPACharge leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
CPACharge funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CPACharge M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CPACharge
What does CPACharge do?
CPACharge is a cloud-based payment processing platform designed exclusively for accounting professionals, enabling CPA firms and accounting practices to accept credit, debit, and eCheck (ACH) payments online and in person. The platform combines core payment acceptance with integrated billing and invoicing, automated recurring billing, QuickBooks Online reconciliation, reporting dashboards, and a mobile app for on-the-go collection, all built on PCI DSS Level 1 compliant infrastructure.
Is CPACharge a public or private company?
CPACharge is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was CPACharge founded?
CPACharge was founded in 2015. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is CPACharge based?
CPACharge is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does CPACharge make money?
One revenue line is on record: payment Processing Fees.
Who are CPACharge's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are LawPay and PaySimple. Broad incumbents are Stripe, Block (Square), Intuit QuickBooks Payments and Bill.com. Emerging players are Melio and FreshBooks Payments. Others are Affirm (Business / Pay Later) and Fiserv (Clover / Bypass).
Does CPACharge have an API?
No public API is recorded for CPACharge.
What industry is CPACharge in?
CPACharge's product category is Payment Processing for Accounting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMAJAA, Biller Direct EBPP Platforms, with a secondary code of FSAMAGAE, Direct Debit / ACH Collections & Recurring Billing. Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 6199.