How to Accept Bitcoin at Your Business — Step by Step

Before your first transaction

Before you can accept Bitcoin with OrangeTill, two things need to be in place:

A Bitcoin wallet with at least one receive address (see our wallet guide if you need to set one up)
Your OrangeTill subscription active and your wallet address entered in Settings

That's genuinely it. No hardware to buy, no integration to configure, no developer needed. Once those two things are done, you're ready to take your first Bitcoin payment.

The complete payment flow

A Bitcoin payment with OrangeTill takes about 60 seconds from start to finish. Here's every step:

Open OrangeTill and enter the amount

Open orangetill.io on your phone, tablet, or computer. Use the keypad to enter the dollar amount your customer owes — exactly as you would on a regular POS system. OrangeTill automatically converts it to the current crypto equivalent using live exchange rates that refresh every minute.

Choose which cryptocurrency to accept

All the cryptocurrencies you've set up wallet addresses for will appear as active options. Grayed-out coins indicate you haven't added a wallet address for that coin yet. Ask your customer which crypto they prefer — most will have Bitcoin, but it's worth asking especially if you accept multiple options.

Generate the QR code

Tap "Generate QR Code." A QR code appears containing your wallet address and the exact crypto amount pre-filled. This is what your customer will scan with their wallet app. You'll also see your business name and the dollar amount displayed prominently.

Show the screen to your customer

Turn your screen toward the customer. They open their wallet app, tap Send, and scan your QR code. The wallet fills in the address and amount automatically — the customer just reviews and confirms. The whole process takes about 15 seconds on the customer's end.

Verify the payment in your own wallet app

This is the most important step: open your wallet app and confirm the payment arrived before completing the transaction. For Bitcoin this may take a few minutes to confirm. For other cryptocurrencies it's often faster. Do not release goods or services until you see the payment in your wallet.

Log the payment in OrangeTill

Once you've confirmed receipt, tap "Payment Received — Log It." A confirmation dialog asks you to verify before saving. The transaction is added to your History with the date, time, dollar amount, and crypto equivalent. You can optionally add a note — table number, invoice reference, customer name — before or after generating the QR code.

Hodl says

Always verify in your own wallet before tapping "Log It." OrangeTill generates the QR code and logs the record — but only your wallet app can confirm the payment actually arrived on the blockchain.

Signaling that you accept Bitcoin

One of the easiest ways to increase Bitcoin payments is to let customers know you accept it before they reach the counter. A few simple approaches:

A small sign or sticker near your register or front door. "We accept Bitcoin" catches the eye of crypto users who may not have thought to ask.
On your menu or price list. A small Bitcoin symbol alongside your prices is subtle but noticed.
On your social media. A post mentioning you accept Bitcoin will often be shared by crypto-enthusiast customers who want to support you.
Simply mentioning it. If you're in conversation with a customer — especially a regular — mentioning casually that you accept Bitcoin often prompts interest.

Keeping records for tax time

In the United States, cryptocurrency received as business income is taxable. The IRS treats each Bitcoin payment as income at the fair market value in dollars at the time of receipt. This is exactly what OrangeTill records — the dollar amount at the time of each transaction.

Every payment logged in OrangeTill is stored locally on your device with:

Date and time of the transaction
Dollar amount at time of payment
Cryptocurrency used and the crypto amount
Any note you added

From the History tab, you can export all of this as a CSV file — which is exactly what your accountant needs for tax reporting. We recommend exporting at the end of each month and storing the file alongside your other business records.

📋 Quick tax checklist for crypto merchants

✓ Record every transaction with the dollar value at time of receipt (OrangeTill does this automatically)

✓ Export CSV from History at least monthly

✓ If you convert crypto to dollars, record the date and conversion rate

✓ Provide your accountant with both your OrangeTill export and any exchange statements

✓ Check the IRS virtual currency guidance — it's more readable than you'd expect

What to do with Bitcoin after you receive it

Once Bitcoin arrives in your wallet, you have a few options:

Convert to dollars immediately. Send your Bitcoin to a cryptocurrency exchange — Coinbase, Strike, and River are all popular options — and sell it for dollars, which you then withdraw to your bank. This gives you certainty and eliminates price risk.
Hold it as savings. Some merchants treat a portion of their crypto income as a long-term savings vehicle — essentially a bet that Bitcoin's price will be higher in the future than it is today.
Spend it directly. An increasing number of businesses accept Bitcoin, including some major retailers. Holding Bitcoin and spending it at other crypto-accepting businesses keeps the circular economy going.

There's no right answer. Many merchants start by converting immediately until they're comfortable with how it all works, then decide whether they want to hold any over time.

Common situations and how to handle them

My customer doesn't have a Bitcoin wallet ▼

Show them orangetill.com/start — it walks anyone through getting their first wallet in about 5 minutes. You can even print out a small card with the URL to hand to interested customers. Or simply accept another payment method this time and plant the seed for next time.

The payment is taking a long time to appear ▼

Bitcoin transactions typically confirm within 10–30 minutes, though can take longer during busy network periods. Other cryptocurrencies like Solana confirm in seconds. If a payment shows as "pending" in your wallet, it has been sent and is being processed — it's just waiting for network confirmation. For small amounts from a trusted customer, accepting a pending transaction is generally reasonable.

I entered the wrong amount — how do I fix it? ▼

Tap Cancel and start over. The customer hasn't paid yet — you're just regenerating the QR code with the correct amount. Never tap "Payment Received" for an incorrect amount.

A customer wants a refund ▼

Bitcoin transactions cannot be reversed on the blockchain. If you choose to issue a refund, you send the appropriate amount of crypto from your wallet to the customer's address manually. This is why communicating your refund policy before a customer pays with crypto is important. Many merchants post a simple sign: "Bitcoin payments are final — please verify your order before paying."

My customer paid but I don't see it in my wallet ▼

First, check that the customer paid to the correct address — have them show you the transaction in their wallet app. Bitcoin takes time to confirm; it may show as pending first. If the address was correct and time has passed, check a blockchain explorer (search "[coin name] blockchain explorer" and paste the transaction ID) to see its status.

Do I need internet to use OrangeTill? ▼

Yes — OrangeTill needs internet to fetch live exchange rates and for your customer's wallet to broadcast the transaction. Both are standard requirements for any Bitcoin payment system. A stable WiFi or cellular connection is all you need.

Can I use OrangeTill on multiple devices? ▼

Yes — you can log into OrangeTill on any device using the same email address. Your settings and wallet addresses sync. Note that payment history is currently stored locally on each device, so history from one device won't automatically appear on another. Multi-device history sync is on our roadmap.

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