Divine Design Center

How Divine Design Center broke free from payment limits and unlocked credit cards

25%

Increase in credit card usage from customers

$5,000+

Saved annually in processing fees and add-on costs

Headquarters

Boston, United States

Industry

Wholesale & Distribution, Luxury Kitchen & Bath Products

Employees

About the Company

Divine Design Center operates New England's largest luxury showroom, specializing in high-end kitchens, interior design products, outdoor living solutions, and furniture. They offer full-service design consultation and distribute premium products from top brands.

Pain Points

Divine Design Center was trapped by payment limits, rising fees, and manual workarounds that slowed growth.

Credit Card Barrier

QuickBooks made it nearly impossible to accept credit cards without manual fee calculations and invoice re-editing that confused customers.

Payment Limits

$50,000 transaction limits forced the team to split large invoices into multiple payments, creating operational burden.

Rising Costs

QuickBooks payment add-ons were "starting to get very expensive" with annual increases and per-payment fees.

Manual Complexity

Had to manually calculate and add credit card fees to invoices, then re-edit them, causing customer confusion.

The
Challenge

Divine Design Center specializes in high-end interior design and construction projects, often involving contracts worth $100,000 or more with multiple payment milestones. As Caralyn, the company's bookkeeper and finance lead, managed increasingly complex payment workflows, she found herself constrained by QuickBooks' payment limitations.

"We were not accepting credit cards because it was hard to figure out because QuickBooks removes the amount of the fee from your payment," Caralyn explained. When she tried to work around this, she had to manually add fees to invoices: "I was adding it on so that way the customer was paying for it. I then had to re-edit the invoice."

"You couldn't send an electronic payment or invoice for over $50,000. I would have to split up a $100,000 invoice into three invoices."

Caralyn

Director of Logistics and Finance

Meanwhile, costs were climbing. QuickBooks charged around $2 per payment plus expensive add-on features. "QuickBooks was starting to get very expensive. It's a whole entire add-on feature," Caralyn noted, "and they go up every year."

The result was a constant stream of customer inquiries and a cumbersome workflow that didn't match the company's premium service standards.

The
Solution

When co-founder Magued discovered Nickel, Divine Design Center decided to give it a try. The transformation was immediate. Suddenly, accepting credit cards went from impossible to effortless, large luxury invoices no longer needed splitting and the mounting QuickBooks fees stopped.

"We liked it so much. It was so easy, that we just decided to continue to use it."

Magued

Co-Founder

Seamless credit card acceptance

Nickel eliminated the complexity that had prevented Divine Design Center from accepting credit cards. Now, 25% of customers pay by credit card, compared to 0% before.

The fee structure became transparent for customers. "It's very straightforward that they see they pay the fee," Caralyn explained, eliminating the need for manual calculations and invoice edits.

Unlimited payment processing

Nickel removed the $50,000 payment limits that had plagued Divine Design Center's workflow. "Now, I just send it for whatever the amount is," Caralyn said. This eliminated the need to split large invoices into multiple payments, streamlining both the administrative process and the customer experience.

Cost-effective integration

Rather than replacing their entire system, Nickel integrated with Divine Design Center's existing QuickBooks workflow. "There was already a link to show how to pay it through QuickBooks. We just changed that link now to be the Nickel link," Caralyn explained. "I literally copy the link out of Nickel and then just change it in, and I just edit the hyperlink."

This approach saved thousands in QuickBooks add-on costs while maintaining the familiar invoice format customers expected. "Most people want it," Caralyn noted about the QuickBooks invoice format, so the integration preserved customer preference while adding payment flexibility.

Enhanced Payment Visibility

Nickel's dual notification system gives Divine Design Center complete payment visibility. "I get a notification that someone paid and then a notification when we get paid, it shows up in the bank," Caralyn said. Unlike QuickBooks' lump-sum deposits, "Nickel tells me in the bank you got $15,000 from this person. You got $7,000 from this person."

When payments fail, immediate notifications enable quick resolution. "When a payment doesn't go through, getting that notification right away is very helpful. Sometimes people type in the wrong account number."

Make every Nickel count

Join 10,000+ businesses paying and getting paid on Nickel

Start for free