Corporate Payments and Solutions

Corporate payment systems are the tools a wholesale or manufacturing business uses to get paid by its commercial customers: a virtual terminal for AR staff keying in phone and email orders, back-office billing for invoices and job deposits, an ecommerce gateway for a wholesale ordering site or customer portal, and standalone terminals for a showroom or will-call counter. Clearwater Processing combines these with reporting and PCI compliance in a processing environment tailored to how your orders are placed and paid.

For distributors and manufacturers, corporate payments are the deposits, invoice payments, repeat orders, and counter sales they collect from commercial customers. Custom work such as structural or ornamental metal, powder-coated parts, or a fabricated stone countertop usually calls for a deposit before material is ordered, cut, or scheduled into the shop, with the balance due at pickup, delivery, or installation. Stone yards often take a deposit to hold a slab a customer has selected, and many powder coaters collect the balance before finished parts leave the shop. A corporate payment solution lets the office key the deposit by phone or bill it against the job quote, then take the final payment the same way, with both visible in reporting.

Large job orders are usually paid in stages rather than in one charge. A metal fabricator might take a deposit when drawings are approved, a progress payment when material arrives, and the balance at pickup or installation; a stone slab distributor might invoice a fabricator for a load of slabs and collect when the fabricator’s office calls. Each stage can be keyed into a virtual terminal from the office, paid against an invoice through back-office billing, or paid online through an ecommerce gateway. Clearwater Processing supports all card types, and each stage shows in reporting against the job.

They are built for businesses that sell to other businesses in volume or by the job: wholesale distributors with stocking orders and will-call pickups, metal fabricators and powder coating shops quoting custom runs, stone slab distributors and fabricators handling granite, quartz, and marble through slab holds, templating, and installs, wholesale wig distributors selling repeat stocking orders to salons and units to retail buyers, equipment dealers and parts distributors billing machine deposits and service work, and building supply yards selling to contractors on account. Private equity firms and management companies that own several of these businesses use them across the whole group. Each uses a different mix of corporate payment solutions, from keyed phone orders and job deposits to invoice billing, showroom terminals, and online ordering. Other commercial businesses use the same tools in different combinations.

For distribution and manufacturing, Clearwater Processing offers merchant accounts, virtual terminals for AR staff, back-office billing for invoices and deposits, recurring billing for standing orders, ecommerce gateways for wholesale ordering sites, standalone terminals for showrooms and will-call counters, reporting, PCI compliance, payment integrations, and statement analysis. Environments can be set up for a shop that sells only B2B, or for a stone yard or distributor that also sells over the counter.

Yes. Clearwater Processing provides QuickBooks and Xero integration, plus integration into custom-built software through simple API ecommerce gateways, virtual terminals, and back-office billing capabilities. For a distributor or fabricator, that means a deposit, a partial payment, and a final balance can be recorded against the customer and invoice in your reporting, which helps reduce manual matching at month-end.

Yes. Stone slab yards and many wholesalers sell over the counter to walk-in buyers while also invoicing contractors and commercial accounts. Clearwater Processing can combine standalone terminals for the showroom or warehouse counter with a virtual terminal and back-office billing for phone, email, and invoice orders, and the counter terminals accept chip (EMV) cards. For disputed payments, Clearwater works directly with merchants to help mitigate chargeback losses and works with trusted partner companies, backed by some of the largest financial institutions in the country, that offer chargeback insurance. Comprehensive merchant reporting lets owners and finance teams review both sides of the business.

Distributors and fabricators often have the same contractors, shops, and retailers ordering every week or month: a contractor reordering anchors and fasteners, a cabinet shop buying another bundle of quartz, a salon restocking its best-selling units. AR staff can key each reorder into the virtual terminal when the buyer calls or emails, and back-office billing supports scheduled or recurring charges where an account has a standing arrangement. Comprehensive reporting helps sales and AR confirm what each account has paid.

Fabricators and distributors often lay out cash for steel, aluminum, powder, slabs, or inventory before a job ships. A custom gate, a run of powder-coated railings, or a full kitchen of quartz can tie up material for weeks before the customer takes delivery. When a large deposit or invoice payment is funded the next day, that cash is available sooner to pay suppliers and keep the shop schedule moving. Clearwater Processing offers next-day funding as part of its processing environments, along with comprehensive reporting to see what has settled.

Yes. Clearwater Processing analyzes merchant statements from local banks and national processors. On high-ticket orders, small differences in fees add up, so the review deciphers each line item across keyed, invoiced, and showroom transactions and identifies hidden fees. On average, clients see total savings of 10%–30%.

Clearwater Processing provides US-based backend phone support available 24/7/365, so a declined card on a large order or a question at month-end close isn’t left waiting. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 7am to 10pm EST and Saturday from 8am to 10pm EST. Each client also has a dedicated representative’s personal cell phone number, which helps when a contractor is standing at the counter waiting to pay for a large order.

Level 2 and Level 3 data are extra details sent with a commercial card transaction beyond the basic card number and amount. Level 2 typically adds items such as the tax amount and a customer code or PO number, and Level 3 adds line-item detail such as product descriptions, quantities, and unit prices. Buyers using purchasing cards and corporate cards often rely on this data to reconcile spending and enforce purchasing controls, and card networks may treat qualifying commercial transactions differently when it is included. If a large share of your B2B payments come from commercial cards, raise it with your Clearwater representative when your processing environment is set up.

Yes. Clearwater Processing offers multi-merchant and multi-location capabilities with parent and sub-parent reporting, so a group that owns a distribution company and a fabrication shop, or a supplier with several branches and yards, can keep each entity’s payments separate for its own books while leadership reviews combined activity in one place.

Groups that own or operate several businesses, such as a private equity firm with portfolio companies in distribution and manufacturing or a management company running multiple branches and brands, often find each company on a different processor with different fees and statements. Clearwater Processing can set each business up as its own merchant location with parent and sub-parent reporting, review each company’s statements to identify hidden fees and savings, and support the switch from current processors. One dedicated representative with industry experience serves as the single point of contact for the whole group, with a direct cell phone number and US-based support 24/7/365, so a newly acquired company can be brought onto the same setup instead of being managed separately.

Equipment dealers often take a deposit when a machine is ordered, collect the balance at delivery, and then bill parts and service work to the same customer for years afterward. Building supply yards and fastener or lumber distributors sell to contractors on account, stage will-call pickups, and handle walk-in sales at the counter. Clearwater Processing can combine a virtual terminal for deposits and phone orders, back-office billing for invoices, standalone EMV terminals at the parts or will-call counter, and reporting by location, so each sale is collected the way that customer buys.

Yes. Clearwater Processing provides processor switching and migration support. Your dedicated representative reviews your current statements and how your business takes deposits, invoice payments, standing orders, and counter sales, then helps plan the move around open jobs and month-end close so AR can keep collecting while the new processing environment is set up.

Many commercial buyers pay suppliers by purchasing card or corporate card because it speeds up approvals and gives their AP team a single statement to reconcile. To make that easy, include the invoice number and PO number with each payment, send a receipt to the buyer’s AP contact, and make sure the charge appears under a business name they will recognize on their statement. On your side, Clearwater Processing’s integrations with accounting software help post each payment against the right customer and invoice in AR, so both sides close the month with fewer questions.

Yes. Clearwater Processing can automatically update cards on file that are about to expire, so a contractor’s monthly consumables order or a shop’s scheduled powder coating run keeps billing without AR chasing the buyer for new card details. That saves staff time and keeps recurring B2B revenue on schedule. Charges can still decline for other reasons, such as a card limit on a large order, so review each billing run in reporting.

Yes. Where card-network rules and state law allow it, Clearwater Processing’s custom invoicing supports dual pricing and zero-fee (surcharge) programs, along with surcharge integration, so a supplier can show a card price and an ACH or check price, or pass the card cost to buyers who choose to pay by card. The fee must be disclosed before payment, surcharges are not permitted on debit cards, and some states restrict them, so confirm the rules that apply to your business and customers first.