Quick Start Guide for Accepting Bitcoin

Below is a list of the tools you can consider for accepting Bitcoin at your business. We can provide advice and direction but ultimately you need to make your own decisions about what is the best solution for your needs.
Regardless of what options you look at, we highly encourage you to learn about the difference between custodial and non-custodial wallets, what the Bitcoin Lightning Network is, and how to safely hold your Bitcoin for the long-term! 🚀🌙

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How Do You Usually Receive Payments?

Retail & Point Of Sale

For cafes & restaurants, shops, vendors at farmers' markets, where payments is at a physical point of sale.
Go

Sending Invoices

For trades, professional service providers, or businesses that provide invoices for later payment.
Go

E-Commerce

For e-commere stores / Shopify / WooCommerce, etc
Go

Paying at Retail Point of Sale

Our Suggestion: Lightning Pay
LightningPay.nz

Lightning Pay is an out of the box solution for merchants wanting to accept bitcoin in NZ at Point-of-Sale with their App or via invoice using their Merchant Payment Links.

  • Based in NZ so fully support NZD
  • No setup, ongoing or transaction fees!
  • Instant conversion of a % of transaction to NZD
  • Management dashboard for transaction monitoring
Visit the Lightning Pay Website

Swiss Bitcoin Pay
swiss-bitcoin-pay.ch

Swiss Bitcoin Pay is a free out-of-the-box solutions for accepting Bitcoin at point of sale.

  • Easy to use and minimal staff training required, multiple staff can use.
  • Non-custodial interface, send straight to your Bitcoin On-chain or Lightning address.
  • Designed specifically for Point of Sale with clear transaction records. Funds can only be received to nominated account. NZD price display.
  • Management dashboard for reconciliation.
Visit Swiss Bitcoin Pay Website

Other Options:
Breez in Point of Sale Mode - Visit Breez Website

sbp pos

Paying by Invoice

For invoices for later payment that you would usually send via email / Xero etc, you can add the QR code & address for a Bitcoin on-chain wallet or Lightning address directly to the invoice.

The problem with this is that you may end up reusing Bitcoin addresses which is not good for your privacy, and it is difficult to confirm the exact NZD / Sats amount that you will receive. It may also become difficult to track which payments were made by whom.

Lightning Pay provide a Merchant Payment Links service. An amount in NZD can be set and a link is generated that can be sent to the customer for paying. See Lightning Pay for more information

There are also pure Bitcoin solutions available including BTC Pay Server and Zaprite that may be suitable for you.

pay by invoice

E-Commerce Solutions

Similar to invoices, there are several Bitcoin payment processors and integrations available that are suitable for eCommerce platforms such Shopify or BigCommerce.

Options include Open Node Zaprite and BTC Pay Server.

Get In Touch To Discuss

What Is The Bitcoin Lightning Network?

The Bitcoin Lightning Network

The Bitcoin Lightning Network is an open protocol for sending Bitcoin quickly and with minimal fees. Payments are immediate and are built on another layer of Bitcoin that is optimised for speed of payments and an easy user experience.

Get A Bitcoin Lightning Wallet

Of all the solutions available for accepting Bitcoin, simply downloading and using a Bitcoin Lightning Wallet on your phone may be the easiest option to get started with.

There are a number of options out there for this and you can see various recommendations here.

It is important to understand that some Lightning Wallets are similar to a bank where your funds are “custodial” (You are trusting them to manage your funds), while other options are “self-custodial” and are a bit more like directly receiving cash.

Wallets we like include:

Buy Bitcoin over the Lightning Network

The quickest, easiest and cheapest way to Buy Bitcoin over the Lightning Network in New Zealand is with Lightning Pay. They are a registered financial serivce provider and so the signup process is similar to any other registered exchange or broker.

Long-Term Bitcoin Storage

Store Your Bitcoin for the Future!

Regardless of how you accept Bitcoin for payment, it is important to consider how you will hold any Bitcoin that you decide to keep.

Will your Bitcoin still be safe and accessible in 1, 5, 10 years?

There are a lot of resources out there already but BTCSessions provides some of the best YouTube tutorials on all the Bitcoin storage options.

Considerations include:

  • Using a hardware wallet
  • How to store your Seed Phrase securely
  • How to protect your privacy

willy
“Bitcoin makes it easy for us to accept payments for work.”
Willy - Carpentry & Joinery, Central Hawkes Bay

Tax and Accounting Considerations

Please note: You should ask your accountant for specific advice, this content is only general considerations
When you receive Bitcoin as payment this still counts as part of your business income. You need to account for GST and pay tax on this income.
To work out your tax, you’ll need to calculate the value of the Bitcoin in New Zealand dollars (NZD) at the time they are received. Most apps (wallets) do this for you already, and let you download a payment history.
However if you decide to keep the Bitcoin and then sell it at a later date when the value in NZD has changed, you will need to calculate the gain or loss on the date of disposal and this then goes towards the business income. IRD has further advice on this matter. We recommend talking to your accountant to make sure you’re doing this correctly.
Selling small amounts of Bitcoin for dollars isn’t very cost effective, so once you have enough that it makes economic sense then you can transfer it to a broker or exchange to receive dollars.

Holding Bitcoin

The easiest thing is to just hold the Bitcoin. If your suppliers accept Bitcoin it might be beneficial to hold onto it to reap the full benefit of reduced transaction costs.

Buying your Bitcoin off the business

Another option is for the business owners to buy the bitcoin off of the business at point of sale and deposit their own money into the business bank account. This helps keep the tax \ clear and simple. The business owner then works out their personal profit or loss at the end of the year. You only have to pay the tax on the loss or gain of the Bitcoin when you sell the Bitcoin.

Selling Bitcoin on an Exchange

If you want to sell your bitcoin out for NZD you can do this by signing up to an exchange such as EasyCrypto or Bitaroo. We’re not affiliated with any broker or exchange, so ensure you do your due diligence on what the best option is for you.
Book a Free Consultation

Book a Free Consultation

We are dedicated to helping merchants in New Zealand build their business and reduce payment costs by accepting Bitcoin.
If you have questions about accepting Bitcoin or how to get started please book a free call below, or flick us an email.

Contact to Book

Location Ones and Zeroes Technology,
Level 1 Alta House,
Terrace Junction
1092 Frankton Road, Queenstown,
New Zealand 9300
Mail inverse [email protected]