Free Greetings eCards

by: Wayne Akey

Most businesses accept credit cards and consider the
process fees a cost of doing business. However by
implementing an ACH payment system you can realize
dramatic savings and increase sales.
ACH refers to the Automated Clearing House and
generically means moving money electronically to
and from checking and savings accounts. An example
would be a check by phone or taking recurring payments
directly from a checking account.
The MAJOR difference between ACH and credit card
processing is that a credit card transaction “captures”
the merchant’s funds from the consumer and essentially
guarantees payment. An ACH transaction is a request to
transfer funds. The transaction may reject for several
reasons with the most common being NSF (non
sufficient funds) or a closed account. The funds are
not guaranteed.
It is the guarantee piece that allows the credit card
company to charge a percentage of the transaction to
cover the risks involved. Typically a transaction will
consist of a discount rate, 2.5% for example and a
transaction fee, typically in the 30 cent range. This
means that every $100 processed incurs about $2.85 in
merchant fees.
Contrast this with an ACH transaction. Typically there
is no discount rate just a .30 (or less) transaction
fee. If you process $25,000 per month using ACH
processing will save around $7500 per year. Certainly
you will have more “failed” sales due to ACH
transaction rejects (eg NSF) but your transaction savings
will far exceed these losses. In addition you will
appeal to a much wider range of consumers. Estimates
vary but MANY people do not have credit cards or are
at their limit on their cards. So the benefits are two
fold-much reduced transaction fees and a new payment
vehicle for your customers.
So consider ACH processing for your business. It will
save you money and win new customers.

by: Keith Baxter

Any smart business owner knows that accepting credit cards as a payment option will dramatically increase revenues. Not only do credit cards offer customers the convenience and ease of not having to carry around cash or checks, it lends a sense of professionalism to your establishment as well. The process of applying to become a credit card merchant can be a bit confusing and frustrating, so let's take a look at how it all works.
The Credit Card Account
The credit card account that you will use is called a merchant account. These accounts are different from a regular business checking account in that they are accounts that have been secured through a bank that offers credit card processing. This account enables you to process your credit card transactions through their banking establishment. This is a safe and secure process which provides both you and the buyer security and protection from the beginning of the transaction right through to the end.
Since most of the merchant accounts are offered by a third party vendor, you are not obligated to use any specific bank or institution. You are free to choose the one that offers the options that will work best for you and your company.
What you do need to pay attention to are the fees. These fees will come in three different forms. First, the initial setup fee (pretty self-explanatory), moving on to the percentage fee (the provider will take a percentage of each transaction based on amount of sale), and then ending with the monthly service fee. Read the fine print of any contract before signing it. Pay attention to all three fee categories, not just one.
Also, look for contract obligations. Some providers will offer you great deals but will want you to sign on with them for a long period of time. You need to be aware of what, if any, penalties will be charged for getting out of the contract if things don't work out.
How Do I Actually Get Paid
Obviously, this is pretty important. If a customer has used a credit card, no money has actually changed hands. Since more and more customers are now using credit cards, how that money gets into your account and how fast has become vitally important.
Any of the reputable merchant account providers will provide the business owner with payment into their account within the first 24 to 48 hours of the initial transaction. Whether that customer has a balance on that card is not a concern of yours. The bank will pay you anyway.
If the customer disputes the said transaction, the bank is usually under no obligation to pay the business owner, especially if that dispute has been deemed acceptable. If a business owner has a high number of legitimacy claims against them, the provider may just drop them.
The majority of the time, though, things go as planned and the money shows up in your account within a day or two.

by: Jakob Jelling

Point of sale software gives business owners a convenient way of checking out customers and of recording sales. It can keep a record of the store inventory, updating it when an order is processed. It can also print out receipts, carry out credit card processing, track customers, etc. Point of sale software eases the flow at checkout terminals, while recording all the information that can help you make better business decisions.
Point of sale software allows users to input via keyboard or mouse, and some even have a touch screen interface. You can install the software on your checkout register.
When checking out a customer you can either input the sales item yourself or use a bar code scanner. The point of sale software will look up the item in the inventory and bring up the price. It can also calculate tax on the item and change for the customer.
POS software can print out receipts and reports. Point of sale software makes your business accounting a lot easier by creating reports on inventory, sales, customers, etc. Since it is already recording each sale, it can easily tell you the sales and revenue of the day.
Point of sale software can also help with credit card processing. Credit cards are the preferred method of payment. People do not want to carry around cash for all their purchases. Credit card is a convenient method of payment and if you do not have credit card processing, your business can lose some of its competitiveness.
Point of sale software receives input from the POS hardware, which is the scanning station for the credit card. The software will process the credit card payment for you. It can check that the card has not expired and is valid. You will need a merchant account for the point of sale software to do its job.
POS software is generally easy to install and easy to use. You will need to know how to update inventory and record a price change for an item. Point of sale software usually provides an easy to use interface to do this. It can make the job of the cashier a lot easier by automating the routine tasks of the day.
There is a wide variety of point of sale software available. You can choose one that fits your budget and meets the needs of your particular business. The software will have compatibility requirements with the point of sale hardware. It will also have operating system requirements such as it might need a Windows or Linux system.
Point of sale software can more than pay for itself over time by making checkout faster and doing your accounting for you. Point of sale software may be the right solution for your business and can provide you with tons of benefits.