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About 20% of new companies fail before they have the chance to get off the ground. One of the main reasons why is that business owners can’t stay on top of their cash flow.
The best way to keep money coming through the door is to accept multiple payment options. That’s where the payment processing system comes into play.
These pieces of machinery allow companies to accept debit card, credit card, and ACH payments from consumers.
Depending on the type of system you invest in, you could also take inventory and perform other store functions on it. You only need to choose the right one. Continue reading to learn more.
The first thing to consider when choosing a payment processor is the type of transactions you want to be able to accept.
If you own a restaurant and want to process takeout orders over the phone, you’re going to need a payment processing system that will allow you to enter a customer’s card information manually.
To take in-person payments, your system will have to accept both chip and magnetic strip cards.
Some people either hate taking their wallet into the store with them, or they forget it altogether. In both scenarios, they’ll ask if they can pay with their mobile phone.
By offering various payment processing methods, you’ll improve your overall cash flow and attract more customers.
Payment systems come with transaction fees, chargeback fees, monthly fees, setup costs, membership fees, and cancelation charges. While you shouldn’t pour too much money into your payment processor, you should try to keep costs as low as possible.
The best way to do this is to consider what kind of business you are. For example, If you own a large furniture store that takes a great number of high transactions, you’ll want to pick the payment system that comes with the lowest transaction fees.
Keep in mind that frequent high transactions could make you a high-risk business. This will come with naturally expensive high-risk merchant payment processing fees.
Holding times refers to how long it will take for money to appear in your business account after you make a sale. Even if the customer’s payment processes right away, it could take a few days for you to see the money. This is to account for chargebacks and refunds.
You can opt for a payment processing system that will allow for same-day deposits, but it will cost extra. Be sure to factor this into your normal monthly payments.
Many people think that payment processing services and POS (point-of-sale) systems are the same thing, but they are two very different machines. POS systems let business owners manage their inventory, create sales reports, and record payments. Many of them even allow for accounting integration.
This being said, there are some payment gateway systems that also have POS capabilities. Opting for it will come with added fees.
In some cases, you can integrate your already existing POS hardware into your payment processing system. You’ll need to make sure the two are compatible before you proceed.
There is almost no coming back from a data breach. If your payment system allows a fraudulent payment to go through, it could be the end of your business.
That’s why it’s crucial that you choose a payment system that offers quality fraud protection. Find a payment processing service that flags and rejects risky transactions.
They should also encrypt data during the time of the transaction and also encrypt any data that’s stored in your system.
Some payment gateways set a limit on the number of transactions that your business is allowed to process every month. Once you hit that limit, that’s it. You can’t process anymore.
For small businesses, this isn’t too much of a problem. For larger companies, however, it could put a plug in their entire operation.
Tying yourself into a long-term contract with payment processing services should be avoided if you can help it. You want to be able to drop out of the service if you find it doesn’t fit your business model.
Most services charge on a month-to-month basis and don’t require businesses to sign a contract. If a business owner decides to no longer use the service, they can cancel their account with no repercussions.
Some services will allow for cancelations but charge a termination fee. You’ll need to find out where a service stands before you commit.
For some businesses, live 24/7 support may be overkill. For others, it’s a necessity.
If you run on extended business hours or take payments from everywhere around the globe, you’ll be glad to have the extra support in the event your system goes down. If your system glitches up and stops allowing you to accept payments at a big weekend event, you could lose out on a lot of revenue.
If you’re going to accept card and ACH payments, you’ll need to invest in a payment processing system for your business. Doing so will allow you to give customers multiple payment options, which is better for your overall cash flow.
Before choosing a system provider, you’ll need to look at their fraud protection options, customer support, holding times, and transaction limits.
While many companies tack on expensive credit card processing fees, you can rest easy knowing we don’t. That means you’ll get to keep all of your profits! Go here to complete your merchant request form!
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