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Michelle Hope

Payments Editor, Paydigo

Michelle Hope writes about payment economics for the businesses that live on them, trade contractors, route-based service companies, and the agents who sell to them. Her work focuses on the unglamorous mechanics: effective rates, recurring-billing recovery, dispute ratios, and the difference between a rate sheet and a statement.

Before joining Paydigo she spent a decade around merchant portfolios, reading statements for a living and explaining to owners why the number they were quoted was not the number they paid. She now covers pricing models, subscription billing for service businesses, dispute prevention, and the partner side of the industry. She is based in Southern California.

What she covers
  • Processing costs & effective rate
  • Subscription billing for service businesses
  • Disputes & chargeback prevention
  • The partner/agent economy

43 articles

Electrical Service Memberships: Building a $19-a-Month Recurring Line

Electrical · 8 min

How Residual Income Actually Works for a Payments Agent

Residuals · 9 min

How to Bill HVAC Maintenance Plans Automatically (Without Chasing Cards)

HVAC · 8 min

Selling Subscription Billing Into the Trades

Selling · 9 min

Reading a Merchant Statement: A Field Guide for Agents

Selling · 9 min

Recurring Billing for Pool Service Companies: Collect $140 a Month Without the Chase

Pool service · 8 min

Building a Proposal From a Statement in Under 10 Minutes

Selling · 8 min

Lawn Care Subscription Billing: Turning Mow-and-Maintain Contracts Into Predictable Revenue

Lawn & landscape · 8 min

Pricing a Deal: Flat Rate or Interchange-Plus

Pricing · 8 min

Pest Control Billing: Automating Quarterly Service Contracts

Pest control · 8 min

Commission Tiers Explained: Entry, Growth and Sub-ISO

Residuals · 8 min

Priority Service Clubs for Plumbers: Pricing, Billing and Retention

Plumbing · 9 min

Sub-Partner Overrides: Building a Team Under You

Residuals · 7 min

Portfolio Health: Returns, Chargebacks and Retrievals

Portfolio · 7 min

Recurring Payments for Cleaning and Janitorial Businesses

Cleaning · 8 min

The HVAC Vertical Playbook for Payments Agents

Verticals · 8 min

Roofing Inspection Plans: Selling and Billing an Annual Program

Roofing · 8 min

Pool and Lawn Care: A Seasonal Vertical Playbook

Verticals · 7 min

Extended Service Plans for Appliance Repair: How the Billing Works

Appliance repair · 8 min

High-Risk Underwriting: What Slows an Application Down

Underwriting · 8 min

Billing Monitoring and Inspection Contracts for Fire and Security Companies

Fire & security · 8 min

MCC Codes That Change Your Deal

Underwriting · 7 min

Gym and Studio Membership Billing: Failed Cards, Freezes and Churn

Fitness · 9 min

Why Pricing Locked at Invite Protects the Deal

Selling · 6 min

Salon and Spa Membership Programs: What to Charge and How to Collect

Salon & spa · 8 min

A Merchant's First Week: What Agents Should Actually Do

Onboarding · 7 min

Auto Repair Maintenance Clubs and Fleet Accounts on Monthly Terms

Auto repair · 8 min

Forecasting Residual Income and Setting a Monthly Goal

Residuals · 7 min

Recurring Invoices for Property Management and Commercial Accounts

Property services · 8 min

Cold Outreach to Trade Contractors That Actually Books Meetings

Selling · 7 min

Low-Cost Credit Card Processing: What Actually Drives Your Rate

Processing costs · 9 min

The Five Objections to Switching Processors, Answered

Selling · 7 min

Tap to Pay on Your Phone vs. a Card Reader: The Real Cost Comparison

Processing costs · 7 min

POS or Mobile-First: Matching Hardware to the Merchant

Selling · 6 min

Interchange-Plus vs. Flat Rate: Which Costs Less for Your Shop

Processing costs · 9 min

Working Your Book From the Partner App

Portfolio · 6 min

How Dispute Alerts Let You Refund Before a Chargeback

Disputes · 8 min

Compliance for Agents: What You Cannot Say in a Pitch

Compliance · 7 min

Next-Day Deposits and Cash Flow: How to Read Your Funding Pipeline

Cash flow · 7 min

Failed Card Recovery: Keeping Subscription Revenue From Leaking

Subscriptions · 8 min

Managing Subscriptions From Your Phone: A Field Guide for Service Businesses

Subscriptions · 9 min

Invoices, Payment Links or QR: Choosing How to Ask for Money

Getting paid · 7 min

Switching Payment Processors: A Checklist That Prevents Downtime

Processing costs · 8 min