I have several Clover machines and they have been great. They have a Wifi model so you can use it on the land line in store, hand it to a customer to enter their pin or if you need to do an out of store event or show just turn on the wifi feature and bring it with you. I would not recommend using a software where it captures the credit card number on an internal system in your store. Never store the numbers, to much fraud leave that responsibility to the credit card company. Clover xxx-xxx-xxxx
We use Paypal, which like the Square, came with a free plug-in
swiper for mobile devices. We started using it a few years ago when we
were working out of our dining room and have stuck with it in our
storefront for several reasons. Lots of people already have a Paypal
account set up from using for other purchases and are familiar with it
and trust it to begin with ... and even when they swipe here in the the
store, they can choose to have their receipts emailed to them, which
means in practice that I've never actually had to generate a paper
receipt. I can send invoices online for orders placed over the phone or
online, or even break up the payment with half due to start, and then
send a reminder when the rest of the payment is due at delivery. Setting
due dates is super-handy! I can transfer that money to my bank or use
it to buy supplies or pay for other business needs by paying at other merchants
using Paypal because so many places accept it. There are tools for me to
set up an online store, so it's easy to check people out because all of
my products and options are listed already. I can also generate packing
slips or invoices easily from the tools menu. When it's tax time, I can
download all my transactions in a snap. Lastly, when I started
looking into whether or not I should change my system, I just got
dismayed pretty quickly with some of the very aggressive sales tactics
used to try to get me to switch. One guy is on his 7th attempt and I'm
still trying to swat him away. I was trained in sales and understand how
important the 2nd or 3rd attempt is ... but it seems to me this particular group of salespeople are especially tenacious and I am almost regretting looking into other means.
If you do more than $5k a month, you should look at traditional Credit Card account. Square and QB charge a tiered rate and you can save money if you work with a reputable company that has Interchange pricing. This allows you to take advantage of lower rates on debit cards. (as low as .05% so when Square charges you 2.75% that is a big difference.) The new EMV (Chip card) readers all cost money. $70-$150 depending on the service. If you have more questions email me at [email address]
I never wanted to add credit cards to my business. As a sole prop. it is just one more thing I have to do in my bookkeeping & keep track of. What I didn't realize until it was pointed out to me was - there are people who won't even stop at my business to see what I have because I don't offer this service. ? Has it improved my business & income, yes it has. Take your time & learn about the fees, percent rates and service that is right for your business. Interview the company, After all they are working for you, as well as you working for them.
When I first started taking credit cards the company I choose had middle to lower of nations fees at the time, but it was all the additional charges for this & that which made the end fee very high, I don't recall the brand. Then I joined NFIB. That was the best move I've ever made. A member benefit is working with a credit card processor / Process Now. 1. my rates were cut more then 1/2 of my previous charges 2. payments are in my bank within 24 hours 3. free equipment 4. my business is compliant 5. assistance making sure 27/7/365 day assistance (800 #, customer service in the U.S.) Been with them over 2 years & no other company has beaten my rates. As one person said there is more to to credit card processing then just the % for processing. Like being in PCI compliance. If you are currently taking credit cards and 1.) don't know what this is 2.) don't have a posted sign (from the PCI group) saying you are in compliant: then your credit card processor is not doing it't job.
Square is not secure and also the rates are very high. Can I ask why you need a card reader? Do you have many in person transactions? What type of businessdo you have? I personally have a nice portal that my clients can go to and make payments and see all previous transactions.
I have had the PayPal card reader for years and I have never actually needed to use it.
Shop the rates for sure. Additionally look at length of contracts. Also, check you bank where you have your business accounts and loans, often they will give you a break for repeat business. Make them compete for your business before you sign and be sure to check square readers as well that attach to smart phones and tablet. They too may offer a competitive rate!
Square and Paypal are great places to start out. They don't have a monthly fee and the rates are OK until you start processing over 10k a month. That seems to be the tipping point where if you sign up with a credit card service they can sell you the service and their fees are lower than Square and Paypal. If you swipe, your total monthly fees should not be more that 1.5% to 2.0% of your total transactions. If you key-in or process on a web site your fees should not be more than 2.25% to 2.75% of your total transactions. Remember, keep track of your fees for they are tax deductible.
Square is the best I've worked with, and I've done PayPal, ProPay, and others. Square works great with my Android (and for others with their iPhones and iPads), and you can set up a shop online for free. I got rid of my Etsy shop that was costing me more per listing than I was actually making in the shop. Haven't looked back!
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Answers (1-10)
Stay away from FirstData, big mistake!! Square is good.
I have several Clover machines and they have been great. They have a Wifi model so you can use it on the land line in store, hand it to a customer to enter their pin or if you need to do an out of store event or show just turn on the wifi feature and bring it with you. I would not recommend using a software where it captures the credit card number on an internal system in your store. Never store the numbers, to much fraud leave that responsibility to the credit card company. Clover xxx-xxx-xxxx
Lastly, when I started looking into whether or not I should change my system, I just got dismayed pretty quickly with some of the very aggressive sales tactics used to try to get me to switch. One guy is on his 7th attempt and I'm still trying to swat him away. I was trained in sales and understand how important the 2nd or 3rd attempt is ... but it seems to me this particular group of salespeople are especially tenacious and I am almost regretting looking into other means.
If you have more questions email me at [email address]
I never wanted to add credit cards to my business. As a sole prop. it is just one more thing I have to do in my bookkeeping & keep track of. What I didn't realize until it was pointed out to me was - there are people who won't even stop at my business to see what I have because I don't offer this service. ? Has it improved my business & income, yes it has. Take your time & learn about the fees, percent rates and service that is right for your business. Interview the company, After all they are working for you, as well as you working for them.
When I first started taking credit cards the company I choose had middle to lower of nations fees at the time, but it was all the additional charges for this & that which made the end fee very high, I don't recall the brand. Then I joined NFIB. That was the best move I've ever made. A member benefit is working with a credit card processor / Process Now. 1. my rates were cut more then 1/2 of my previous charges 2. payments are in my bank within 24 hours 3. free equipment 4. my business is compliant 5. assistance making sure 27/7/365 day assistance (800 #, customer service in the U.S.) Been with them over 2 years & no other company has beaten my rates. As one person said there is more to to credit card processing then just the % for processing. Like being in PCI compliance. If you are currently taking credit cards and 1.) don't know what this is 2.) don't have a posted sign (from the PCI group) saying you are in compliant: then your credit card processor is not doing it't job.
Square is not secure and also the rates are very high. Can I ask why you need a card reader? Do you have many in person transactions? What type of businessdo you have? I personally have a nice portal that my clients can go to and make payments and see all previous transactions.
I have had the PayPal card reader for years and I have never actually needed to use it.
Shop the rates for sure. Additionally look at length of contracts. Also, check you bank where you have your business accounts and loans, often they will give you a break for repeat business. Make them compete for your business before you sign and be sure to check square readers as well that attach to smart phones and tablet. They too may offer a competitive rate!
Square and Paypal are great places to start out. They don't have a monthly fee and the rates are OK until you start processing over 10k a month. That seems to be the tipping point where if you sign up with a credit card service they can sell you the service and their fees are lower than Square and Paypal. If you swipe, your total monthly fees should not be more that 1.5% to 2.0% of your total transactions. If you key-in or process on a web site your fees should not be more than 2.25% to 2.75% of your total transactions. Remember, keep track of your fees for they are tax deductible.
Square is the best I've worked with, and I've done PayPal, ProPay, and others. Square works great with my Android (and for others with their iPhones and iPads), and you can set up a shop online for free. I got rid of my Etsy shop that was costing me more per listing than I was actually making in the shop. Haven't looked back!