Credit Card Processing Helps Fresh Produce Suppliers
Suppliers of fresh produce help move their business along with credit card processing. Their produce is sold face to face; ordered by phone and delivered; ordered over the internet and shipped. It’s also a big business. Take the state of Kentucky, for example. There are nearly 60 fresh produce suppliers in Kentucky. One of them has recently been awarded a contract worth close to $50 million to supply fruits and vegetables to the military. If you think tobacco, bourbon, horses and coal when you think about Kentucky that’s understandable. The state has long been known as a leader in those industries. There is a long history of fibrous hemp farming which tapered off but is now poised for a comeback. About 50% of the state of Kentucky is still farmland which makes Kentucky one of our top produce producing states. They have a long growing season that is hot and humid. It’s an ideal climate for perfect Kentucky tomatoes.
Operate within a window of peak freshness that credit card processing helps expedite
Fresh produce has a short shelf life. Once it’s ripe, you may have a week to enjoy it if you store it properly. Fresh produce suppliers often sell their produce before they plant. Once their crops are ready for picking it’s a race to get them to the table. There’s a lot of money going out for a long time until the crops are harvested and sold. Once picked, the transactions to purchase the produce completed by credit card are quickly processed, putting cash back in the business account over the course of a few days to a few weeks as fields are ready. That’s important to the financial stability of the farmer because there’s no long delay with sending invoices and waiting for 30 to 90 days for payment. There are no bounced checks and no aggravation of going after a client for the money. When the credit card is swiped, it’s approved in seconds and there’s no wondering if the money will be there.
What credit card processing system is best?
A top notch merchant service provider will help each supplier answer that question. The most comprehensive system is the Internet Processing Software because you can accept credit card payments online, over the phone, by mail, or face-to-face. If you are sending trucks of produce out for delivery to buyers, a mobile terminal or a wireless mobile unit for a smartphone or tablet may be a better choice. This kind of portable card processing is great if you set up a farm stand to sell produce retail at Farmers Markets or on your own property. By seasons end it may seem like a whirlwind of picking and hauling, but with credit card processing, you don’t have to worry about missed payments. Even working through fatigue, it’s difficult to make a mistake swiping a credit card for payment. Plus you have an automatic record of all the details of every transaction.
For more information on how credit card processing helps fresh produce suppliers, or to sign up for a merchant account, please call (888) 924-2743 or go to Charge.com.