Auto Transport Payments & Square Setup

Car shipping brokers take a deposit at booking and carriers collect the balance at delivery. Deposits taken well ahead of service and delivery disputes raise chargeback risk, so processors are cautious.

How these solutions fit auto transport & car shipping

See what each option adds to the way your business takes and tracks payments.

Merchant Account

For auto transport & car shipping: Arrange a processing account for towing calls, roadside services and storage charges, with checkout methods matched to how customers pay. Typical tickets for auto transport carriers and brokers run $500 to $3,000, and a merchant account's limits and pricing can be set for that range. A dedicated merchant account gives you custom pricing and processing limits set during underwriting. Roots uses it when Square isn't the right fit.
  • Statement review and a pricing quote
  • Underwriting and application support
  • A named support contact after go-live
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High-Risk Merchant Account

For auto transport & car shipping: Present your model for towing calls, roadside services and storage charges to specialist processing partners, with product and fulfillment documentation prepared. Declined elsewhere? Roots prepares the application and coordinates account review with processing partners that support your business category.
  • Prepare a strong application (processing history, refund policy, contracts)
  • Match you with a sponsor bank program that accepts your model
  • Ongoing chargeback-ratio monitoring
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Chargeback Management

For auto transport & car shipping: Organize evidence for disputed towing calls, roadside services and storage charges, including customer authorizations, delivery details and service records. Roots coordinates chargeback-management services to help your business handle disputes and organize responses.
  • Discuss your business goals on a free consultation
  • Coordinate your provider introduction and setup
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Payouts

For auto transport & car shipping: Distribute amounts owed to independent tow operators and roadside technicians, with payment references matched to dispatch references, tow invoices and storage balances. Pay carriers by bank transfer when delivery is confirmed. Roots Payouts sends bank payments to subcontractors, crews and vendors. Provided through our licensed banking and money-transmission partners. Roots Payments is not a bank or money transmitter.
  • Set up payee onboarding
  • Connect payouts to job completion or approvals
  • Reconciliation reporting
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Text to Pay

For auto transport & car shipping: Send a payment request for towing calls, roadside services and storage charges by text so customers can pay against a specific order or invoice. When the customer isn't standing in front of you, a text link gets auto transport carriers and brokers paid faster than a phone call. Text-to-pay sends a secure payment link by SMS so the customer pays from their phone instead of reading a card number over the phone.
  • Set up message templates and consent
  • Connect links to your invoices or transport management software
  • Report on paid and unpaid requests
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Square Invoices

For auto transport & car shipping: Send itemized invoices for towing calls, roadside services and storage charges and track deposits, due dates and outstanding balances. Small carriers can take booking deposits with Square Invoices. Square Invoices sends estimates and invoices by email, SMS or a shareable link and tracks what's paid, unpaid or overdue. Roots configures the templates, payment schedules and reminders around how you bill.
  • Build your service catalog, tax settings and branded invoice and estimate templates
  • Set up deposit and milestone schedules that match your contracts and any state limits you operate under
  • Connect Square to QuickBooks Online or Xero so paid invoices reconcile automatically
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Auto Transport & Car Shipping payment questions

Start with the workflows your business needs. Options on this page include Auto Transport Merchant Accounts, Auto Transport High-Risk Merchant Account, Chargeback Management for Auto Transport. Roots helps compare the setup, software and processing requirements around how you operate.
Yes. Bring your current POS, checkout or billing tools and recent processing statements. We review job estimates, deposits, field payments and final invoices, then plan the changes your auto transport & car shipping business needs.
Request a quote for your business. The review covers your payment mix, locations, software, hardware recommendations and implementation work. Consultations and payment reviews are free.
Bring recent payment statements, the systems you use and a record of how a customer places an order, receives a service or pays a bill. Tell us which auto transport & car shipping workflows need to improve so we can scope a practical setup.

Let’s set up payments for your auto transport & car shipping business

Book a free 30-minute payment review to compare costs, address payment problems and plan your next steps.