Why do ACH payments take 7-8 days to post?

Very curious on others’ thoughts on this as well as I’m frustrated with this timing. Non-profits and clubs that don’t have credit/debit cards have no other option than ACH (or mailing/dropping off a check which isn’t always feasible). With my current state of business, that money is needed before I can purchase inventory for their order so it’s frustrating!

Agreed. Other payment processing companies process ACH payments in 2 to 3 days. It’s really frustrating and annoying that HoneyBook takes 7 to 10. I had one just a few weeks ago take 10 days. 
 

they really need to get that down to 2-3 like the others. AKA Quickbooks, etc. 

Totally agree. It would be one thing if the transaction fees were lower, but I’ve looked at other payment providers transaction fees specifically for ACH and I’ve found them much lower and faster. 

I hope Honeybook lowers the fees for ACH and take less time.

This situation is incredibly frustrating. I haven’t fully transitioned to using HB for larger invoices because of the higher fees and slower processing times. QuickBooks ACH charges just 1%, and payments are received within 1-2 days. Meanwhile, HB not only charges a higher fee but also takes an average of 5+ days to process. As a small business, waiting that long for payments is a significant inconvenience and makes me hesitant to fully switch to HB. 

I process around $175-200K in online invoicing each year, and the current system is discouraging. It’s surprising that credit card payments, which carry more risk of fraud, are deposited in just a day, while ACH takes much longer.

This makes no sense when Quickbooks can do it in 1-2 days and also only has a 1% fee. It is feasible. 

It’s honestly so annoying.

even the  HB article regarding ACH says it only takes 2-3 days. It’s like they copy and pasted and article instead of writing it to fit their platform. I just got paid from a client, thought I could breath now that I could buy groceries  and get my sons medicine and here we are waiting 11 days for a freaking deposit. It’s honestly enough for me to switch platforms. 

Hey @Cassie Collins Borcherding! ACH transfers take 7-8 business days per our Help Center. Payments made via credit/debit card are the ones that take 2-3! I’ve attached a screenshot of a chart with processing times below. 
If you wanted, you are able to turn off bank transfers in your invoices so that your clients can pay only with credit or debit with the 2-3 business day processing time! 

 

Hope this helps! If you have any other questions feel free to reach out to our Support team at Concierge@HoneyBook.com :)

The honeybook blog litererally

says 2-3 days in sections and specifically

1. Processing time: ACH transactions can take 1-3 business days to process, which may be slower than some other payment methods like wire transfers.

i mean. If it’s in the blog on honeybook, then HBshould probably apply their own times to that instead of what I can now only assume is for every other processor but honeybook. (And honestly 1-3 is fine) I have a payment made Oct 4 that doesn’t process until est.  Oct 15 even though my client has already showed me it’s fully processed on her end. 

I did turn the feature off: however I didn’t know you had to do this on every single file which is honestly a hassle 

Hey Cassie! Can you send the link to the blog page that shows that!? That’s incorrect information and I’m so sorry we hadn’t caught that typo! 

Bank transfers (ACH) take 7-8 business days and payments made via credit/debit cards take 2-3 business days. Unfortunately this is the speed at which the banking system processes these ACH payments and we’re unable to intervene to speed it up as much as we’d like to. 

I’m also so frustrated by this! It’s 2025! It definitely shouldn’t take this long! 

​@Monica R Just here to also raise the issue. You and your peers state "it's just the system" as if that's what is universally expected of ACH - but it's not. ACH for most other payment processors like Freshbooks, QuickBooks, PayPal, Stripe, etc. are less than half the time (even next day in some cases).

It's not a universal "bank system" issue, and Honeybook should prioritize this. Small businesses waiting on funds for 2 weeks (10 business days) can make or break them. I don't think that is HB's intended outcome, but they are definitely contributing to added stress and strain. Mentally and financially. 

How is this seriously still happening a year later than this inital thread? I honestly never thought to check how long HoneyBook holds ACH payments because 1-3 business days is THE standard. Now I need to either try to get clients to bypass HoneyBook for payment or scrap the system altogether. I have bills to pay while HoneyBook holds my money!

This is such a problem. I encounter this all the time. Honeybook is so over priced. Further more  if you know they prolong the payment as they earn interest on our money and charge 1.5% and on top of that they charge for each of our transactions a percentage and an annual fee. 

They make things so difficult for us small businesses to operate. Our time is money just like theirs. We are loosing so much time juggling with all this extra buttons and technology they try to add and each enhancement is more work for us and more money for them. One would think this AI age things move faster, however, it seems like snail pace!

I totally see your frustration same with all of us. It is absurd the way this platform operates! 

​@Srini Perera - I completely understand why this feels even more frustrating knowing that this feedback has already been shared through feature requests and there hasn’t been visible movement. When concerns like payout timing and fees directly impact cash flow, it’s hard not to feel discouraged—especially after years of loyalty to the platform.

ACH timelines are still largely dictated by banking systems and risk controls, but that doesn’t make the experience any less painful for small businesses that rely on predictable deposits. The frustration makes sense, particularly when price increases are happening and these core financial workflows haven’t improved in a meaningful way.

At this point, continuing to submitting a feature request (or upvoting current requestws) is usually the most effective way to signal how widespread and urgent the issue still is. Adding real-world impact—like how delays affect operations or force businesses to use other platforms—can help reinforce the priority.

You’re definitely not alone in this, and the feedback is valid. Hopefully HoneyBook starts communicating more clearly around what’s actively being worked on and what timelines realistically look like. 💛