FAQ
Short answers to common questions about pricing, fees, payments, recurring billing, imports and AI in Tillage.
Quick answers to the questions people ask most, with links to the full detail.
Pricing
Is Tillage really free?
Yes. There’s no monthly fee and no paid tier, and quotes, invoices, contracts and clients are unlimited. Tillage charges a 1% platform fee only when a client pays you online, capped at $50 per invoice. See Pricing and fees.
Does the 1% replace Stripe’s fees?
No. Stripe’s processing fee is separate: 2.9% + $0.30 for cards and 0.8% capped at $5 for US ACH, at Stripe’s standard US rates. See Processing fees.
Can I keep 100% of every invoice?
Yes. In Team Settings → Payments, set both the Platform fee (1%) and the Processing fee to Client pays. Tillage adds them to your client’s total so you receive the full invoice amount. Businesses in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico can’t pass on the processing fee, because card surcharges are prohibited there.
Is there a fee when clients pay by check or wire?
No. Record it with Mark as Paid and no Tillage fee applies. See Record payments and refunds.
Are fees refunded when I refund a payment?
No. Stripe keeps its processing fee and Tillage keeps the platform fee. Your client gets back the amount you refund.
Payments
Do I need a Stripe account?
You need one to take payments and to send invoices. If you don’t have Stripe, Tillage creates an Express account for you in a few minutes. See Set up payments.
Should I use Express or connect my existing Stripe account?
Both cost the same. Connect your existing account if you already use Stripe or want to import subscriptions. Choose Express if you’re new to Stripe. See Stripe.
How do clients pay?
They open the invoice link, click Pay Invoice and pay by card or bank transfer. No account is needed. See Send an invoice and get paid.
When do I get paid out?
Stripe pays out to your bank on your Stripe account’s payout schedule. New Express accounts start with a review and a 7-day hold until they’ve built some history. See Payouts.
Can I accept partial payments?
Not on a single invoice. Online payments and Mark as Paid both record the full amount. To collect in parts, use a payment schedule or separate invoices.
What currencies does Tillage support?
Invoices use your team’s Currency, which starts from your business country and can be changed in Business and branding. Clients pay in that currency. Bank transfers are offered only when the currency matches your country’s bank debit method.
Recurring billing
Can I bill retainers automatically?
Yes. Create a recurring invoice in Invoices → Billing Schedules, choose the client’s Stripe customer, and Tillage creates and charges each invoice on schedule. See Billing schedules and Auto-pay and saved cards.
What happens if an automatic payment fails?
For recurring invoices, Tillage retries about 1 day later and again about 2 days after that. If it still fails, the invoice waits for you. See When an automatic payment fails.
Can I pause a retainer?
Yes. Choose Pause from the schedule’s menu. When you resume, Tillage skips the periods you paused instead of billing them.
I’m moving from Stripe Billing. Will clients be charged twice?
Not if you finish the import. After importing subscriptions, click Cancel Subscriptions in Stripe to stop Stripe billing at the end of each current period. See Import from Stripe.
Quotes and AI
What are variance and profit margin?
Variance is a per-line buffer for estimate risk. Profit margin is added on top of every line. Both are built into the line total, and your client never sees them separately. See Formulas.
Does AI quote drafting cost extra?
Not from Tillage. It uses your own OpenAI or Claude API key, so that provider bills you for usage. See AI providers.
Can I use Tillage from Claude or ChatGPT?
Yes. Connect Tillage’s MCP server and an assistant can find clients, draft quotes and contracts, and check invoices. It can’t send email, delete anything or take payments. See Claude, ChatGPT and other AI assistants.
Data
Can I import my existing clients and invoices?
Yes, from Harvest, Stripe, a QuickBooks IIF file, or any CSV or JSON file. See Import your data.
Does Tillage sync with my accounting software?
Not directly today. QuickBooks Online import is listed as coming soon. You can send paid invoices to other tools with webhooks or the API.
Where are card details stored?
With Stripe. Tillage never stores full card or bank numbers; it sees only the brand, last four digits and expiry.
Can my client see my rates and margins?
Your client sees each line’s total. Variance and margin are never shown. Whether the hourly rate column appears is a quote setting. See Line items and pricing.