Customer
Industry
Home Cleaning Business Software (ISV)
Products
GoDaddy PayFac as a Service
Results
Pricing flexibility, full merchant visibility, and a true partnership
The problem: A partner program that held both the pricing and the power
MaidPad is an independent software vendor (ISV) that created a business management app for cleaning companies. Within their handy app, cleaning business owners can set up recurring appointments, manage clients and teams, create estimates and invoices, and accept payments, all from their computer, tablet, or phone.
For years, payments within MaidPad ran through Square’s payment partner program.
This partnership initially worked, but as issues began to build over a longer period of time, MaidPad felt compelled to switch from Square to GoDaddy Payments.
The first issue that came up was the 30-cent fee on every transaction from Square.
The $0.30 — the 30 cents part of the fee — they didn't have any flexibility on that. That's really hard for the merchants to plan, calculate, and to model their pricing structure.
— Cyro, Founder, MaidPad
MaidPad customers were not happy with the unexplained fees. But a deeper problem was control. As MaidPad grew and brought more merchants to Square, it earned no leverage in return.
We didn't have any power to negotiate. We didn't even have access to the fees. It's totally blocked to us. We would increase the number of merchants we would bring to Square, but they would only negotiate pricing directly with each one of them.— Cyro, Founder, MaidPad
And when a merchant needed help, MaidPad's hands were tied.
We don't have access to anything from the merchant on Square outside of the transaction itself. We couldn't help them with anything, such as refunds, payouts, setup of the account. We could only tell them, "OK, go there and check this.”— Cyro, Founder, MaidPad
The search for Square alternatives: Looking for an ISV payments partner, not another tool
When MaidPad started evaluating Square alternatives, the team sifted through the usual names, including Stripe. The difference came down to how each provider showed up. When MaidPad reached out to Stripe with preliminary questions, they pointed MaidPad to the developer documentation.
GoDaddy PayFac as a Service, however, delivered like a true partner.
Just the word PARTNER is what differentiates. The other ones are just like tools that we use. It's better to have a partner — somebody that you can count on, somebody that can look at an issue with you to see the best ways to solve it.— Cyro, Founder, MaidPad
The switch: easier than expected
Migrating a payments stack sounds daunting. For MaidPad, which only had a small engineering team, the worry was real. What made the difference was a GoDaddy team on the other end of every question.
It was actually easier, especially because we could always have somebody on the GoDaddy side to help us. With Square, we had to do everything by ourselves.— Cyro, Founder, MaidPad
The difference: Simple pricing, full visibility, real support
Today, MaidPad's merchants process payments on a flat 2.8% rate with no per-transaction fee. The 30-cent fee that complicated every pricing conversation is gone. MaidPad also has visibility into its merchants' accounts, as well as a payments partner that treats MaidPad's growth as shared growth.
Here is a quick breakdown of MaidPad's experience with Square and GoDaddy.
| Before (Square) | After (GoDaddy Payments) |
|---|---|
| 2.9% + $0.30 flat fee per transaction | Flat 2.8%: No per-transaction flat fee |
| No pricing control or negotiation power | An ISV relationship built on partnership |
| No visibility into merchant accounts | Full merchant visibility through Commerce Home |
| Self-service docs and developer redirects | A dedicated GoDaddy team at every step |
Check out this guide, Square vs GoDaddy, to learn more about why you should choose GoDaddy.
The verdict: A thriving partnership
When our team asked Cyro what he'd tell another software company still weighing the move, he didn't hesitate.
I would tell them to switch for sure.— Cyro, Founder, MaidPad
Are you experiencing Square pricing problems as an ISV?
If you run a software platform serving small businesses and you're tired of rigid pricing, limited visibility, and being treated like a tool instead of a partner, GoDaddy can help.
