Article Contributed by Erin Steiner
Even if you conduct most (or even all) of your business offline, accepting online payments is the most convenient form of accepting money for your products or services. Here are just some of the conveniences offered by this method of processing credit cards.
Setup
Online payment processing is incredibly easy to set up. This is true both on your website and in “real” life. It usually involves little more than setting up an account (which only takes a couple of minutes) and then inserting some code into your business’s website. Viola! You’re done!
Going Offline is Easy
If your business takes place almost entirely offline, you simply use the card reader that the payment processor will send to you—these card readers plug easily into the headphone jack of a smart phone or a tablet computer and turn the machine into a register system! Many of them will even provide you with receipt printers if your customers prefer tangible receipts to their emailed counterparts.
Take All Forms of Payments
Whereas you used to have to have a set up for each form of payment you wanted to process—credit card, check, and cash—online payment processors can help you accept and track all three and through one account. You can key in cash sales (and mark them as such). You can use the camera on your phone or tablet computer to take a picture of (aka “scan”) the check, which inputs the banking info into your system and processes the payment accordingly.
For a web-based business, this translates into your payment processing choice accepting ACH payments (payments directly from your bank account) as well as credit accounts. If the customer has an account with the same processor, they can simply log in with their own account information and send the money that way.
Accept Payments 24/7
Instead of forcing people to conform to your business hours, people can buy from you 24/7 via your website. It’s convenient for them and helps you increase your revenue all at the same time. They say money makes the world go round…
Accept Payments in All Currencies
With a traditional merchant service, you are typically limited to accepting payments in your native currency. If you do want to accept other forms of currency, you’ll need to find a way to get it exchanged from whatever it is to whatever you deal in where you live.
Most online payment processors, on the other hand, have the ability to accept all of the major currencies and have a built-in currency converter that will convert their currency to yours automatically. Easy!
Record Tracking
Instead of having to import payment information from your cash ledger, your credit card processor and your bank processor, it’s all tracked via a single account which is almost certainly compatible with your accounting software. This is a major time-saver (and reduces your chances of being the victim of your own human errors).
There are lots of different online payment processors to choose from. Currently the most popular is PayPal, with Square coming in at a very close second. These aren’t your only choices, though. With some research, you’ll turn up plenty of other viable options.
The point is, if you want to save yourself work and increase your profit margin, accepting online payments is the best way to accomplish those goals simultaneously. Good luck!
About the Author
Erin Steiner is a freelance writer from Portland, Oregon, who covers a variety of topics.