The problem
Years of friction
For three decades, Riverside Roofing Materials built its reputation on reliability and professionalism. Now in its second generation, the company continues that legacy. But when it came to getting paid, Pat Henderson was frustrated with an expensive, inflexible system.
"We were using the QuickBooks payment method. It was expensive and limited," Pat said. The fees ate into margins on every transaction, and the customer experience was constrained. Contractors and homeowners had to mail checks or drop by in person to settle invoices.
It only took me about 5 minutes to set up, and it just works.
Pat Henderson, Purchasing, 2nd Generation Owner
For a company positioning itself as a strategic partner to contractors, the payment process didn't match the level of service Riverside brought to everything else. "I've been looking for years," Pat explained, searching for a better solution that would work with his existing workflow, save money, and take almost no time to implement.
The roofing materials distribution business moves fast. Pat didn't have weeks to spend learning a new system or training his team. He needed something that would just work, right out of the box.
Then he found Nickel. "I'd been looking for years. I gave ChatGPT a shot, and it pulled something from Reddit. I read that post, and here we are."
The solution
Five-minute fix
After years of searching, Pat finally found what he was looking for. What he expected to be a complex transition turned into a five-minute setup that fundamentally changed how Riverside handles payments.
Unlike previous systems that required extensive setup and training, Nickel was operational almost instantly. "I just send out the payment link and get paid by customers," Pat explained.
Riverside takes advantage of Nickel's custom payment portal feature, where customers can easily enter their own account or routing number. The information is securely saved if they choose, enabling one-click checkout for future payments without repeatedly entering information. It's easy and simple.
Within just three months of that five-minute setup, Riverside processed $200,000 on Nickel. The system worked so smoothly that Pat completely disabled QuickBooks payment processing, making Nickel his primary digital payment solution for receiving payments.
Nickel's flat subscription pricing and truly free ACH transfers with no hidden fees immediately saved Riverside money compared to QuickBooks' per-transaction costs. But the real game-changer was payment method flexibility. "I like the ability to do that. If you wanna pay with ACH, it's free. But if you wanna pay with credit card, it's on you, and you gotta pay it," Pat said.
This flexibility lets Riverside offer customers choice in how they pay while protecting their own margins. Something impossible with their previous system.
Pat quickly recognized that Nickel wasn't just better for Riverside. It made his contractor customers look more professional too. "It gives them the ability to look extremely professional. Here's a link, here's how you can pay instead of mailing a check or dropping by."
For contractors doing $20,000+ jobs, being able to send homeowners a clean, professional payment link elevated their entire service experience. Pat actively encourages his contractor customers to adopt Nickel themselves. "I've been pushing it because I think it's built for the roofing contractor."
Riverside wasn't just distributing materials anymore. They were helping their customers look better to their customers.
Perhaps most telling: in three months of use, Pat hasn't received a single complaint or security concern from customers. When asked if customers ever question what Nickel is or express concerns, Pat's response was simple: "No. Never have."
The system simply works, staying invisible in the best possible way while enabling smooth, safe, professional payments. No unnecessary security questions, no hesitation, no pushback. Just seamless transactions.
