Businesses in Oklahoma City Can Reap the Benefits of Credit Card Processing
They say you should dress for the job you want, not the one you have. In some ways, this applies to business as well. If you want your small business to ‘grow up’, you have to operate – at least on some level – with a ‘big business mentality’. Of course this refers to strategy and enterprise rather than expenditure. The mistake some smaller entrepreneurs make is trying to exaggerate their image. They’ll get expensive offices, branded stationery, and fancy websites.
Yes, this will give your business more visual heft than it has. But it will also eat into your profits, because you’re essentially spending money you don’t have. Money you’re not sure you can recoup. So if you’re going to make ‘big business investments’, focus on things that earn cash. Just as an example, you can get a decent website for next to nothing.
Verify customer payment options
Get yourself a payment processor that is friendly to small business but capable of supporting bigger ones. You want a service that will grow with you. Your focus should be on good credentials, affordable rates, and convenient features. Just as an example, if you’re offering to accept payment upon delivery, then you need mobile payment apps or a portable electronic keypad for customers to swipe their cards. It’s ideal if your merchant processor can reconcile in just a few days.
This will help you avoid cash-flow problems. So if you can find a merchant processor that offers software or card readers at no extra charge, and one who can get the cash to your bank in 24 to 72 hours, that’s a good start. Being a small business, you may not have strong financial history or a solid credit line. So you may need to work with a payment processor that accepts bad credit or even previous bankruptcies. Depending on what you sell, you may also require a payment processor that works with ‘high risk’ businesses.
No matter what processor you choose, you’ll avoid the hassle of chasing payments from customers or waiting for their checks to clear. With card payments, you see the money in your system before handing over goods or services, even if the customer takes longer to pay their credit card bill. That’s the customer’s bank’s problem, not yours!
For more information on how your small business in Oklahoma City can reap the benefits of accepting credit cards, or to sign up for a merchant account, please call (888) 924-2743 or go to Charge.com.