You can now pay suppliers by credit card with Apron, even when those suppliers don’t accept cards, because Apron charges your card and then sends your supplier a normal bank transfer in your company name.
So your client gets the flexibility of using their business credit card. Their supplier simply sees a standard bank payment arriving on time in the usual way. No new portals. No card terminals. No drama.
This article contains paid promotion for our partner Apron and is for general information only. This article is not financial advice.
For many small businesses, especially in December, this matters a lot. Late-paying customers, staff wages, suppliers, energy bills – it all hits at once. As a bookkeeper, you’re often the one trying to keep that cash flow under control.
In this post we’ll walk through:
- How paying suppliers by credit card with Apron actually works
- When this can help with cash flow, rewards and early payment discounts
- Practical use cases
- The risks, fees and guardrails you must talk about
- How to bring this into advisory conversations without giving financial advice
By the end, you’ll be able to explain Apron’s “Pay by card” feature clearly, spot where it might help a client, and have a structured way to talk through the numbers with them.
What does “pay suppliers by credit card with Apron” actually mean?
In plain English, paying suppliers by credit card with Apron means:
- Your client uses their business credit card as the funding source.
- Apron charges that card for the bill amount plus a fee.
- Apron then sends a standard bank transfer to the supplier on your chosen date.
From the supplier’s perspective, nothing changes. They don’t need to “accept cards”. They just see a bank payment from your client’s legal entity, with the reference you’ve chosen.
From your client’s perspective, this can:
- Shift the timing of cash leaving the business bank account.
- Turn unavoidable bills into card spend that might earn rewards.
- Potentially unlock early payment discounts, even when cash is tight.
However, it also introduces borrowing, card fees and the risk of interest if the card isn’t cleared in full and on time. So this is always a numbers and risk conversation – not a blanket “everyone should do this” solution.
How paying suppliers by credit card works in Apron (step-by-step)
Here’s the basic flow you can walk through with a client or your team. It’s simple once you’ve seen it end-to-end.
1. Add the bill into Apron
First, the bill needs to be in Apron. You can:
- Sync bills directly from Xero or QuickBooks Online
- Upload a PDF or image of the invoice
- Or add a payment manually if you only have bank details
This means you can use it for “normal” suppliers and for those one-off payments like deposits and Christmas parties.
2. Choose “Pay by credit card”
When you’re ready to pay, you:
- Select the bill(s) in Apron
- Choose credit card as the payment method
- Pick a stored card or add a new one
Before you confirm, Apron shows the total that will be charged to the card including the card fee, so your client can make a call there and then about whether it’s worth it.
At the time of writing, card payments are charged a fee of 2.5% of the payment amount, and that fee is displayed clearly before you hit go.
3. Apron charges the card
Apron then charges the business credit card for the amount due. To the card provider, this looks like a normal card transaction.
Apron supports most common card types, including Visa and Mastercard, with cards issued in the UK, US or Singapore (American Express isn’t currently supported).
4. Apron pays the supplier by bank transfer
Next, Apron sends a bank transfer to the supplier, usually the next working day, showing your client’s legal name as the sender and using your chosen reference.
So you get the best of both worlds:
- Client side – flexibility to pay by card and control timing.
- Supplier side – the comfort of a normal bank payment, on time, in full.
Why this matters for cash flow (with simple numbers)
The real value for clients sits in the timing. You’re not changing whether they pay; you’re changing when the money leaves the bank.
Let’s use a simple example.
- Supplier invoice: £1,000, due in 30 days
- Business credit card: up to 56 days interest-free, assuming the statement is paid in full and on time (exact terms vary by card)
One possible timing:
- Invoice arrives on 1 December, due 31 December.
- You schedule it in Apron to be paid on 31 December by card.
- Supplier gets a bank transfer on 31 December – they’re happy.
- Your client settles the card statement, say, on 25 January.
That’s up to around 55 days between receiving the invoice and the cash ultimately leaving their bank account, depending on the card cycle. If they combine 30-day terms with a long card cycle, some providers show up to 86 days of headroom, again assuming the card is cleared on time.
Used carefully, that can:
- Give breathing space when December is tight.
- Help avoid late payment penalties.
- Smooth out lumpy cash flows, especially for project-based businesses.
Used carelessly, it can just push the problem onto a card balance that starts to grow, plus interest. That’s why your clients must be aware of the risks and rewards. You can start the conversation, but they must take financial advice where needed from a regulated professional.
Earning rewards on unavoidable spend
Most business credit cards now offer some kind of reward:
- Cashback
- Airline or hotel points
- Statement credits or other perks
Without a tool like Apron, a lot of client spend that could earn rewards doesn’t, simply because many suppliers don’t take cards – think landlords, and some wholesalers.
By paying via Apron’s “Pay by card”:
- Your client’s unavoidable bills become reward-earning card spend.
- They can consolidate more of their business costs into one card statement.
However, the maths really matters here. You’ll want to help them compare:
- Card fee (for example, 2.5% of the payment)
- Rewards value (e.g. 1% cashback, or points worth ~1p per point)
- Any early payment discounts they can now access
Using Apron pay-by-card for early payment discounts
Some suppliers offer, say, 2% off if you pay within 10 days. Many of your clients would love to take those discounts, but don’t always have the cash at the perfect moment.
With Apron, they can:
- Pay the supplier early by card.
- Lock in the early payment discount.
- Settle the card later in their normal cycle.
A quick example:
- Supplier offers 2% discount (£80) on a £4,000 bill if paid early.
- Apron fee at 2.5% = £100.
- Card rewards at 1% cashback = £40.
Net position:
- Discount + rewards = £120
- Fee = £100
- Net gain before cash flow headroom = £20
Plus, they’ve still smoothed out when the cash actually leaves the bank, which might be worth more than the £20 on its own.
Your job isn’t to tell them what to do, but to help them see the numbers clearly so they can make an informed decision.
Apron’s pay-by-card feature is very transparent on fees:
- Card payments incur a 2.5% fee on the payment amount.
- The fee is always shown before you confirm.
Beyond that, there are the normal credit card considerations that you should raise, without telling clients what to do:
- If they don’t pay the card off in full and on time, interest and charges can apply.
- Using the card reduces available credit for other needs.
- Rewards and perks depend entirely on the specific card and provider terms.
Whether card-funded payments through Apron make sense in any situation depends on:
- The business’s cash flow position.
- The card’s interest rates and terms.
- The size and frequency of the payments.
- The owner’s appetite for risk and borrowing.
You can still be incredibly valuable by laying out the data and options in a structured way.
How bookkeepers can turn this into proper advisory (not salesy chat)
You are not there to “sell” Apron or tell clients how to borrow. You are there to spot patterns, bring options to the table, and help them think strategically. That’s the heart of what we teach inside The Bookkeepers’ Collective when we talk about advisory, cash flow and app stacks.
Here’s a simple advisory flow you can use.
1. Identify the right client
You’re looking for clients who:
- Are regularly nervous about bills at month-end.
- Have decent card headroom but low bank balances.
- Are missing early payment discounts because of timing.
- Ask “can I put this on the card?” more than once.
2. Map out their current cash flow pattern
Start with:
- Typical timing of customer receipts.
- Usual supplier payment terms.
- Card statement dates and interest-free periods.
Even a basic 12-week cash flow forecast can help here, which is exactly the kind of simple advisory service many bookkeepers are successfully charging for.
3. Model a small shift to card-funded payments
Choose a small, controlled test – for example:
- 3–5 key suppliers
- One period (such as December–January).
Then compare:
- Scenario A – paying directly from bank.
- Scenario B – paying those specific bills by card via Apron.
Look at:
- Payments timeline and headroom.
- Card fees vs rewards and any discounts.
- The impact on cash at the end of each week.
4. Present the findings, not a verdict
Then you can say something like:
“There’s a tool called Apron that lets you pay these suppliers by credit card, even though they don’t accept cards. Here’s what happens to your cash flow and costs if you do that in your case. If you’d like to explore this properly, we can loop in your financial adviser or your bank, but I wanted you to know the option exists.”
That’s advisory. It’s collaborative. It’s not salesy.
When paying suppliers by card probably isn’t right
Just because something is possible doesn’t mean it’s always wise. You can add real value by gently flagging situations where this might be a red flag, such as:
- Persistent cash shortages, not just seasonal bumps.
- Maxed-out cards with no realistic plan to pay them down.
- Clients already struggling with personal or business debt.
- Owners who see “card headroom” as free money rather than a tool.
In these cases, the conversation probably needs to move towards:
- Repricing (are they undercharging?).
- Tightening credit control.
- Cutting costs or changing the business model.
Those are topics you’re perfectly placed to support with – and they’re core themes in our pricing and growth training for bookkeepers within The Bookkeepers’ Collective.
FAQ: Paying Suppliers by Credit Card with Apron
How does Apron let my client pay a supplier by card if the supplier doesn’t accept cards?
Apron charges your client’s business credit card for the bill amount plus a fee, then sends a normal bank transfer to the supplier showing your client’s legal name and chosen reference. The supplier doesn’t need to do anything new or “accept cards” – they just receive a standard bank payment.
What is the fee for paying suppliers by credit card with Apron?
At the time of writing, Apron charges a 2.5% fee on card-funded payments. This amount is always shown on-screen before you confirm the payment, so your client can decide whether it’s worthwhile for that particular bill. Fees can change, so it’s important to check Apron’s latest pricing before relying on these figures.
Can my client use any business credit card with Apron?
Apron supports most common card types such as Visa and Mastercard and certain others, but it currently doesn’t support American Express. Cards must be issued in the UK, US or Singapore, although they can be denominated in any currency. Your client should always check the latest accepted card list in Apron’s help centre.
Is using Apron’s pay-by-card feature a form of borrowing?
Yes. Even though the supplier sees a normal bank payment, your client is using their credit card as the funding source. If they don’t pay the card off in full and on time, they could incur interest and charges. As a bookkeeper, you can explain how the timing and costs work, but you should not recommend specific borrowing strategies – that’s for a regulated financial adviser.
Apron Pay by Card
Credit cards can be risky when they’re used without a plan. However, with the right guardrails, clear maths and honest conversations, they can also be a really useful tool for smoothing cash flow and earning rewards on spend that was going to happen anyway.
Apron’s “Pay by card” feature sits squarely in the middle of that conversation. It doesn’t tell your clients whether they should use credit, but it makes it possible to pay more suppliers by card – including those who don’t accept cards – while suppliers still receive straightforward bank transfers.
If you’d like to explore this further, you can read more about Apron’s pay-by-card feature on their website and in their help centre.
This article is not financial advice.
