Say Yes to Credit Card Payments, and Say Yes to Improved Cash Flow

You’ve closed the sale–but that doesn’t mean that you have the cash. Why? Your money could be stuck in late payments, forgotten instalments, and checks ‘in the mail’. This means that when you get those payments that do eventually come through, they can sometimes immediately get swallowed up in expenses. These can include delivery rates, shipping fees, packaging, licenses, rent, salaries, raw materials, and all the other costs that are essential to the running of your business. And if you ignore them, your business could eventually fail.

Unhappy teams are bad for business

Think about it. Unpaid staffers will stop working very quickly, and they may also take out their frustrations on customers. A lack of production supplies means you’ll soon have no finished items to sell. And, of course you can’t sell if you are locked out of your office or your online store is taken down. This is where cash flow can become a very serious problem.

Yes, you’ve priced your product properly, and your revenues are enough to cover costs and make profits. But because payments come in at different times, you could find yourself ‘broke’ despite the thousands of dollars you have in sales. Accepting credit cards can resolve this in several ways. Generally, if you use a good payment processor, you’ll normally have the cash in your account within 1 to 3 days max. You’ll also have credit card statements that are helpful for bookkeeping.

Automated card payments

Another area that causes cash flow crises are instalment plans. You may find yourself constantly chasing the next payment. With credit cards, you can set up recurring payments, deducting a pre-set amount from your client’s credit card at regular intervals. This lets you accurately predict the date and volume of cash coming in, so you’re less likely to sink into a cashless rut.

Payment processors have affordable fees, sometimes as low as 15 cents per transaction. Of course the clearest benefit of accepting credit card payments is you’ll actually get paid. A client can claim they have no money, but if there’s a credit line on their card, they can pay that way instead.

For more information on how saying yes to credit card payments is saying yes to improved cash flow, or to sign up for  a merchant account, please call (888) 924-2743 or go to Charge.com.