If you are looking to help your business grow, then you might be looking into the possibility of introducing credit card payments into your company. When you do this, you are going to need to look at a variety of different credit card processing companies and decide which is the best one to serve your business needs. This is going to be necessary in order to give your business that extra something, and stay competitive with the other companies on the market. Going from a business that only accepts cash to one that now can accept credit cards is a big jump, and you need to carefully consider your options when it comes to different credit card processing companies.
You are likely going to experience an increase in sales once you introduce this into your business, so it is imperative that you make all the right choices and fully consider all possibilities before you settle on one company. We are going to be looking at five tips that you need to consider when choosing one of these companies, and hopefully, by the time you are done reading, you will have a good idea of exactly what you are looking for.
Set Up Time
One of the very first things that you are going to need to consider is how long it is going to take for this new technology to be set up in your company. Ask each individual company how long it is going to take them to set up your account and install all the equipment. If you can, choose the company that has the least wait time so that your business can get this service up and running as soon as possible. Think about all those profits you could be missing out on while you are waiting for your credit card processing company to make all the necessary arrangements. Once you know how long this is going to take, it will be easy for you to plan accordingly and you can give your customers a time frame on this too.
It is not only the length of time this is going to take that you should consider. You need to look at how complex the system is and if you or your employees are going to be able to work it without assistance. If you don’t think this is going to be possible, check on the setup options that the company has available to provide your business. The last thing you are going to need is a system that you don’t know how to use, and a provider who is not able to help you make sense of it.
Customer Support Options
Another important tip that you should consider is what kind of customer support your provider is willing to offer you. Technology breaks and malfunctions all the time, so what if this happens with the credit card machine that has been provided for you? Is the company just going to leave you in the dark to sort the issue yourself, or do they have customer support that can help your company get back on track as soon as possible? Or, what about ongoing support such as if you have questions about your monthly bill? You need to check with each company you consider what kind of support options they have available for you.
The best thing that you can do is hire a company who can provide you with the round the clock support that you require. This is not always going to be easy and can mean that you end up paying a little more per month than you would like. Even though this is the case, we would advise that you do this as you will know that any support needs you have will be seen to. Having an unreliable credit card processing company is not something that you will find very pleasant to deal with.
Associated Costs
You might not think that there are a lot of fees associated with adding credit card payments to your business, but we can assure you there are. We are not telling you this to put you off as adding this to your company is an excellent idea, but it is something that you have to seriously think about whether you can afford. One of the things that you are going to have to pay is a monthly statement fee. This is something that the company will charge you for sending you a statement each month, and this usually ends up as something like $10. Then on top of this, you are going to have to pay the application and set up fee. This will depend on which company you use as some don’t charge an application fee but do charge for set up.
Then you have got the interchange fee, and this is where it can start to get a little complicated. For every transaction you process, you are charged a percentage of the transaction which is paid directly to the bank from the processing company. The amount you will be charged depends on things like the size of the transaction and whether it was an in-store purchase, but it is usually around 2-3%. Also, if for some reason you want to end your contract with a specific company, for example, if you wanted to move somewhere else, then you could face an early cancellation fee. You should be aware that these can vary massively, and you could end up facing thousands to break the fee. For this reason, it is imperative that you know everything about your contract and the costs associated with it before you sign.
Accepted Payment Types
You are not going to want to be turning away customers who come to your store, so double check that you are going to be able to accept all major credit and debit cards. Consider also having a system that allows gift cards or any kind of prepaid card, so that you are not going to have to turn away anyone who comes to your door. Don’t forget to check that the credit card processing company you have chosen to use allows you to do this before you sign any kind of contract with them.
Technology Can Be Handy
The final thing that we are going to suggest is that you look into getting some extra helpful technology on your side. It is more common now for people to want to use their smartphones to pay for things, using things such as Apple Pay and Android Pay. As such, you need to look into whether it is an option to support these tech advances. What this means is that you want a payment processor that can offer you near field communication, which supports all the new types of payments that the new tech generation will want to use. In 2018, it was estimated that 250 million people now use Apple Pay, and that is not even considering those who have Android or Samsung phones.
We hope that you have found this information helpful, and now feel like you have the tips that you need to consider when you are choosing a credit card processing company. Good luck with the growth of your business, and we hope that you can find the processing company that you are looking for in no time. There are dozens of these companies on the market, and one of them is bound to offer you everything that you need, so get looking at those in your area, or widen your search a little more.