How to accept crypto payments for a small business
Take crypto payments with a processor that can settle to dollars, connect a business wallet, and record each sale's USD value for your books and taxes.
Vahe HakobyanEditor-in-chief
Updated Oct 6, 20263 min readFact-checked
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Decide up front who watches the wallet and who keeps records. A processor handles the coin side, but records and security stay with you.
What should you prepare first?
Start by choosing a crypto payment processor. Many processors can settle sales to dollars, so you do not manage the coin side alone. Bitcoin checkout services go back to May 2011, when BitPay was founded to offer mobile checkout for businesses.
How do you set up crypto payments?
You set up a business wallet, connect it to your checkout or invoices, and choose how each sale settles. Then you show the accepted coins and networks before checkout.
- 1Create a business walletOpen a wallet your processor supports or one you control, and link it to your checkout.
- 2Back up recovery dataStore the backup and recovery phrase somewhere safe and private, apart from the wallet. Lost access means the funds are gone.
- 3Choose settlement and ratesDecide whether the processor converts each sale to dollars or you keep the crypto, and pick the exchange-rate source.
- 4Show coins and termsList the coins and networks you accept, plus payment terms, before the customer pays. Most public blockchains are traceable, so payments are usually pseudonymous, not fully anonymous.
What do you do after a sale?
After each sale, record the payment and keep your accounts clean. Limit who can reach the wallet keys, and match processor payouts to your records. The IRS treats digital assets as property.
- Record the fair market value in USD at the time of payment.
- Keep records that support the positions on your federal income tax return.
- Answer the digital assets question on Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR, or on your entity's return.
- Store wallet keys and recovery data where only trusted staff can reach them.
- Reconcile processor payouts with your sales records.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, but you receive coins directly and handle conversion, records, and refunds yourself.
Only the receiver can issue a refund, since the payment cannot be reversed. You send an equivalent amount back.
A wrong-network send can lose funds because no central authority can reverse it. Contact your processor right away.
