Taking Venmo, Zelle, cash and checks in a lawn care business
You can run a lawn care business on Venmo, Zelle, cash and checks. Put your payment details on every invoice, write down each payment the day it arrives, and report all of it as income, whether or not an app sends you a tax form.
Not tax or legal advice. This guide is general information. The fees and tax points below were read on the official pages linked here on November 15, 2026, and they change. Check the links, and ask a tax professional about your own situation.
The four ways customers pay, side by side
| Method | Fee to you | How the customer pays | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venmo | Business profile: 1.9% + $0.10 on each payment you receive. On a personal profile, a payment the sender marks as goods and services has a 2.99% fee. Instant transfer to your bank: 1.75% (minimum $0.25, maximum $25). [Venmo fees page, November 2026] | Sends to your Venmo username from the app. | Fees come out of what you receive. Set up a business profile so business money is separate from personal money. |
| Zelle | Zelle is offered through banks. Whether your account can take business payments, and any fee or limit, depends on your bank. Ask your bank. | Sends from their own bank’s app to your phone number or email. | The payment shows up as a bank deposit, often with only a name. Match it to a customer the same day. |
| Cash | None. | Hands it to you or leaves it in an agreed place. | There is no record unless you make one. Write it down and give a receipt. |
| Check | None from the customer’s side. Your bank’s account fees still apply. | Hands it over or mails it. | Note the check number. Deposit it soon. Tell customers exactly what name to write. |
Cash App also has business accounts with their own fee. We could not confirm the current rate on Cash App’s site, so check it there before you rely on it.
Business profile or personal profile?
Use a business profile or business account for business payments. On Venmo, payments to a business profile carry the seller fee shown above, and payments to a personal profile that the sender marks as goods and services carry a fee too. Each app sets its own rules for business use in its user agreement, so read the current terms for the app you use.
Two plain reasons to keep business money separate:
- At tax time you can see your income without picking through personal payments.
- The IRS says money you get as a gift or as repayment for a personal expense is not taxable income. Mixing the two makes it harder to show which is which.
What the IRS says about reporting this income
- All of it counts. The IRS says: “Whether or not you receive a Form 1099-K, you must still report any income on your tax return.” That covers Venmo, Zelle, cash and checks alike. [IRS, Understanding your Form 1099-K, page reviewed November 13, 2026]
- Form 1099-K. As of that same IRS page, payment apps and online marketplaces must send a Form 1099-K when your payments for goods or services “exceed $20,000 in more than 200 transactions”. This threshold has changed before. Read the IRS page for the current rule.
- Zelle does not send a 1099-K. Zelle’s site says: “Zelle does not report transactions made on the Zelle network to the IRS,” and “If payments you receive on the Zelle network are taxable, it is your responsibility to report them to the IRS.” [Zelle FAQ, November 2026]
- Self-employment. The IRS says: “You have to file an income tax return if your net earnings from self-employment were $400 or more.” It also says self-employed people generally pay estimated tax each quarter. [IRS, Self-employed individuals tax center, page reviewed September 27, 2026]
- Records. The IRS says you may use “any recordkeeping system suited to your business that clearly shows your income and expenses.” [IRS, Recordkeeping, page reviewed May 1, 2026]
- Sales tax. Some states tax lawn services and some do not. Check with your state’s tax agency.
Put your payment details on every invoice
Customers pay faster when they do not have to ask how. On each invoice, show:
- Your Venmo username, written exactly as it appears in the app
- The phone number or email your Zelle is registered to
- The name to write on a check, and where to mail or leave it
- What to do with cash
- The invoice number, and a request to put it in the payment note
Our free mowing invoice template has a “How to pay” block for exactly this.
A simple way to track who has paid
- Number every invoice. Ask customers to put the number in the Venmo or Zelle note.
- Record each payment the day it lands. Write the date, the customer, the amount, the method, and the check number if there is one.
- Match deposits weekly. Go through your Venmo history and bank deposits once a week and tick each one against an invoice.
- Keep a list of what is still owed. Anything unpaid after your due date gets a reminder.
- Give a receipt for cash. A text that says “Got your $45 cash for May 6, thanks” is a record for both of you.
A notebook or spreadsheet does this fine if you keep it up.
How Mowday handles it
Mowday is a free app built around this way of getting paid. You save your Venmo, Cash App and Zelle details once. Each invoice link then shows the customer what they owe, a Venmo or Cash App button with the amount filled in, and your Zelle phone or email. The customer can tap “I’ve paid”, and you confirm when the money arrives. You record cash and checks yourself, with the check number. The Money tab lists what is still owed.
Mowday does not move the money and does not send the invoice for you. You paste the link into your own text or email. Card payments through Stripe are optional. See the fact sheet and pricing.
Questions
Can I use Venmo for my lawn care business?
Yes. Venmo offers business profiles for this, with a seller fee of 1.9% + $0.10 per payment received, per Venmo’s fees page as read in November 2026.
Do I have to report cash and Zelle payments if I never get a tax form?
The IRS says you must report any income whether or not you receive a Form 1099-K. This is general information, not tax advice.
Is it fine to accept only cash and checks?
Yes. Just keep a written record of every payment and give receipts for cash.
Related
Try Mowday free
Mowday is free today: $0, unlimited customers, no card required, no time limit. It runs in your browser. Sign in with a code sent to your email. See pricing and the fact sheet for what it does and does not do.
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