CPACharge

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.

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

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

• Payment processing
• Credit card processing
• Online invoicing
• Accounting billing software
• Merchant services

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. 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

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core 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

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• QuickBooks Online (Intuit)coreTechnology or IntegrationCPACharge 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)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCPACharge 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 LtdcoreOthers8am, 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)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerCPACharge 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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/cpacharge
• Facebookfacebook.com/cpacharge

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CPACharge