If your small business clients are still waiting days or weeks to collect on outstanding invoices and using disparate tools, a new feature built directly into QuickBooks may be one of the most practical tools you can put in front of them this year.
QuickBooks has partnered with Affirm to bring flexible pay-over-time options through Affirm directly into the QuickBooks invoicing workflow.1 Business owners get paid the full invoice value upfront, while eligible customers can gain the flexibility to pay over time with Affirm. Integrating Affirm directly within QuickBooks enables business owners to easily manage and centralize operations through a single platform.
So what’s in it for you? Affirm creates an opportunity for a new advisory conversation with clients across a range of business needs, from managing cash flow and improving the payment experience to supporting growth and giving customers more flexibility at checkout.
Here’s what you need to know.
Why Buy Now, Pay Later Matters to Your Clients
BNPL is not new, but it is new to many small businesses and is now available as a feature within QuickBooks invoices. While pay-over-time options first gained prominence in e-commerce, consumer expectations around flexible payment options have continued to grow. According to PYMNTS, 40% of consumers say they would abandon a purchase if BNPL was not available, while a 2025 Talker Research study conducted on behalf of Affirm found that 45% of consumers who use both BNPL and credit cards actually prefer BNPL. For small businesses that send invoices through QuickBooks, that shift matters: customers may now expect the same flexibility and transparency when paying for services, projects, or larger-ticket purchases.
For your service-based business clients such as contractors, IT firms, consultants, or home services providers, these numbers translate into revenue risk. When a customer hesitates because a $5,000 invoice is due in full upfront, that’s not just a cash flow problem for the client; it’s a lost job and a missed opportunity to grow their business. BNPL can help reduce that friction.
How the QuickBooks and Affirm Integration Works
The integration between QuickBooks Payments and Affirm is designed to be seamless, a key selling point for clients who are wary of adding new tools or workflows to their operations.
With the Affirm integration, eligible businesses using QuickBooks Payments can automatically offer approved customers the ability to make payments over time. There is no separate application or new software. Affirm simply appears as a payment option on eligible payment-enabled invoices alongside credit card and ACH.
Here’s the basic workflow:
Step 1: Create the invoice as usual. The merchant confirms that the Buy Now, Pay Later toggle is enabled on the invoice. It can be managed at the settings level or invoice by invoice.
Step 2: The customer receives the invoice. Customers will see Affirm listed as a payment option along with other methods. If they choose Affirm, they go through a real-time eligibility check—one that does not affect their credit —and selects a payment plan.
Step 3: The business gets paid upfront minus the transaction fee. Affirm then collects repayment from the customer on their own schedule and the business is completely out of that loop.
From an accounting perspective, the transaction reconciles in QuickBooks exactly like any other payment with no new accounts, new categories, or special handling. It flows through the existing workflow.
The Core Benefit: Get Paid Upfront While Affirm Manages Customer Repayment
This is the point that you should emphasize when you’re having the conversation with your clients: The business bears no repayment risk.
When a customer chooses Affirm, Affirm pays the business in full, minus the processing fee, and assumes complete responsibility for collecting from the customer. If the customer misses a payment, falls behind, or defaults on the payment, Affirm will handle it, not your client because the business has already been paid.
This is a meaningful distinction from other deferred payment arrangements such as net-30 or net-60 terms, where the business effectively acts as its own lender and absorbs any collection risk. With Affirm through QuickBooks, the business gets the upside of offering flexibility to its customers and potentially winning more business as a result without taking on any of the risk of nonpayment.
Payment speed is also comparable to existing QuickBooks Payments methods. According to QuickBooks, 98% of transactions through QuickBooks Payments are funded the next business day, and Affirm payments arrive on the same timeline as credit card and ACH transactions.
What Your Clients’ Customers Experience
Understanding the customer-facing side of this feature will help you explain it to clients who want to be sure they are offering something their customers will want to use.
When a customer selects Affirm at checkout on a QuickBooks invoice, they see their total cost, payment schedule, and the terms of their plan, all before they commit to how they want to pay. Affirm does not charge late fees or service fees, and there is no compounding interest.3 Payment plans typically range from 3 to 36 months, with rates from 0% to 36% APR depending on the customer’s credit profile. The feature is available for transactions between $50 and $30,0002, which covers a wide range of service and project sizes.1
For your clients who manage cash flow or need to deal with a large unexpected expense such as a capital purchase or payroll issue, this kind of flexibility can be very meaningful. BNPL is a structured, transparent installment plan with clear terms, and for your clients’ businesses, it can offer a way to get a “yes” from a customer who might otherwise walk away or delay.
The Accountant’s Opportunity: A Practical Advisory Conversation
It’s worth repeating one of the immediate benefits to you. As an accounting professional, you will benefit by having an open conversation with your clients on the value of BNPL tools to guide them how they can leverage them to help grow their businesses.
You probably already know which clients would benefit most from this feature. Here are a few to consider:
Clients looking to offer more flexible payment options. If you’re seeing large invoice amounts, longer payment timelines, or customers asking for more flexibility, BNPL is worth a conversation. Offering pay-over-time options can give customers another way to pay while helping eligible businesses receive the financed amount upfront when a customer chooses Affirm.
Clients in project-based industries. Contractors, IT service providers, event planners, marketing agencies, interior designers, and similar businesses often bill for large projects. Offering pay-over-time options can give customers more flexibility in how they manage those costs and may help businesses create a smoother payment experience when it’s time to move forward.
Clients trying to grow their average transaction. Customers may be more willing to proceed with larger purchases when they can spread the cost out over a period of time. For clients whose services allow for this kind of payment, BNPL may help customers say “yes” more often.
Clients looking to streamline payment conversations. If a client’s team spends significant time discussing payment timing it may be worth exploring whether flexible payment options could improve the customer payment experience. When an eligible customer chooses Affirm, the business can receive the financed amount upfront while Affirm manages customer repayment for that financed amount.
One of the most common questions clients will have is how Affirm transactions show up in their books.
Affirm transactions reconcile in QuickBooks the same way credit card and ACH payments do. There are no journal entries, new liability accounts to track, or deferred revenue complications. When a customer pays through Affirm, the transaction posts as a payment against the invoice, and the merchant receives funds net of the processing fee. The fee structure mirrors the standard credit card processing rate with no additional costs for offering this option.
From a financial reporting standpoint, this is a clean, straightforward transaction. Your client received payment. The invoice is closed. Affirm’s relationship with the customer is entirely separate.
Getting Started
Affirm BNPL through QuickBooks is available to eligible QuickBooks Payments businesses. Businesses that already have QuickBooks Payments will find that Affirm is enabled automatically on eligible invoices. Those who don’t yet have QuickBooks Payments will need to sign up and go through the standard approval process.
The feature can be toggled on or off at the settings level or adjusted on individual invoices. Affirm must be offered in a fair and consistent manner to all customers. For clients who want a personalized walkthrough, QuickBooks has a dedicated support line at 800-580-2443. Clients that do not yet see Affirm in their QuickBooks account can email enable-affirm-qbo@intuit.com to request it.
The Bottom Line
Affirm Buy Now, Pay Later in QuickBooks isn’t a gimmick; it’s a cash flow tool that addresses one of the most common finance issues for small- and mid-sized service businesses: the gap between when the work is done and when money actually arrives.
For accountants, this is an advisory opportunity. When you understand how the feature works you can have informed, confident conversations with clients about whether it fits their business. For clients who want to offer customers more payment flexibility, improve the payment experience, or explore ways to support cash flow management, Affirm may be worth discussing.
Money movement services are provided by Intuit Payments Inc., licensed as a Money Transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services. For details about our money transmission licenses, or for Texas customers with complaints about our service, please visit intuit.com/legal/licenses/payment-licenses/.
QuickBooks Payments: QuickBooks Payments account subject to eligibility criteria, credit, and approval. Subscription to QuickBooks Online required. Not available in U.S. territories or outside the U.S.
1Payment options through Affirm are subject to an eligibility check and are provided by these lending partners: affirm.com/lenders. For example, a $1,000 purchase might cost $90.26/mo over 12 months at 15% APR. Affirm availability and eligibility may vary. Restrictions apply. See affirm.com/terms#use. Options depend on the purchase amount, and a down payment may be required. For licenses and disclosures, see affirm.com/licenses.
Affirm buy now, pay later features have limited availability and are subject to change. Features may be more broadly available soon. If you do not currently see Affirm Buy now, pay later in your QuickBooks Online account, please email enable-affirm-qbo@intuit.com to request access.
2Affirm may finance up to $20,000 for qualified applicants, and a down payment may be required for amounts above that threshold.
3Interest will apply. Rates vary and depend on applicant’s credit profile and other factors
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