Do you accept payments from customers using their credit card?
If you’ve finished the job at the customer’s home and he hands you a credit card what do you do at that point? Do you take out one of those small machines, insert the card, enter the amount, insert a blank form, and pull the sliding device across the card, hand the card back to the customer? How does it work from there?
How much do you pay the credit card company for their service – 2-3% of the transaction amount?
Most people seem to pay for things with either a debit or credit card don’t they?
Replies
Im starting to think... thats the way people pay for everything. I know I do. Buy some fuel.. milk.. coffee... debit card
debit card for everything.. credit card for some larger purchases. PLastic, plastic, plastic.
Its time to switch gears.. add that capability to your company. Just another avenue to generate some sales right? I must get a couple calls a month... "do you accept credit cards... no... ok.. thanks.. bye "
Ive seen nextel offers phones with point of sales capability. Ie.. the phones got a card swiper attached? ( at least I think ive seen this? )
Anyone else use a phone like this?
or other ideas?
GoodLuck
Well I'll talk with ya from the homeowners' perspective.
I use a credit card for EVERYTHING I can.
Reason? simple: I don't carry a balance so I don't pay finance fees.
BUT I EARN either Membership Rewards points (on American Express card) or Frequent Flyer points (on VISA card).
So everything I can charge to one or the other, I do.
As I understand my merchant/retail friends tell though, AMEX charges higher fee for using their card - on order of 4% IIRC, than VISA (which would apply whether is debit or credit VISA card, I think) which is lower - like 2-3%.
Honestly, if I could charge any and all things I get done on my residence and car to a credit card, I would in a heartbeat. But when I'm lucky enough to get a tradesman - ANY tradesman to show up at my rural location, I find I get the best price by negotiating for a cash payment price.
DUM SPIRO SPERO: "While I breathe I hope"
I hadn't considered the kickback angle.A store like a Walmart processes CC for less than one percent cost but a Mom and Pop local store will have fees up to 4% for the Visa/MC and more for the Amex.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
As a consumer, it's amazing how one can utilize knowledge of these fees to your advantage.
Or even, just knowing prices and being bold enough to ask.
Or even, just knowing that the old adage: CASH IS KING; can work for ya.
Couple of anecdotes:
1) While in Boston, at a jewelers, negotiated a price on an item - was his "best price"...then when went to talk payment - as in "how do you wish to pay for this M'am", I asked if they took credit cards? Answer: yes; My response: "If I pay you cash (check), would you knock off another 4% since you're saving on the CC fee?" AND HE DID.
2) While in Mall yesterday, saw a new perfume that I like. Had seen prices on internet for it already. Had the clerk pull bottle out - saw the price and told him "I can order that on the internet for less than that, inclusive of shipping!" He immediately came back with a $20 reduction in price (which then BEAT the internet cost+s/h), and I bought it.
3) While hiring tree service to grind stumps on my lot, and remove leaning trees/grind their stumps, we made talked while he was here on day one to survey the work, re the cost, when he'd show up, how long it would take, what condition I expected site work to be left in, etc. He gave me his "best price". I asked him, "if I pay you cash upon completion, can you knock off X from that price?" Answer: YES. We shook on it, he showed up on time, did excellent job, I paid him on the spot. All happy campers at end of that deal and I recommend him to all in need of similar service.DUM SPIRO SPERO: "While I breathe I hope"
curious: how much did you pay for your stump grinding and what part of the country are you in? Got this coming up...
~18 trees felled and stumps ground, and another 5 existing stumps ground, and site cleanup. Total: $1800 cash. They left my lot IMMACULATE and got it done in 1/2 day (half the time he originally quoted, BTW).
Arrived with a crew of about 8, all equipment, and they went at it like the pros they are.
I'm in central Arkansas.DUM SPIRO SPERO: "While I breathe I hope"
"...I find I get the best price by negotiating for a cash payment price."
Miz, it is generally recognized that negotiating a lower price for cash drives the underground economy.
And in my opinion, it drives the price of work down to such levels that quality can suffer. Certainly, it deprives the honest tradesman and his family of an honest wage and profit. Not to mention his sense of professionalism and self-respect.
Cash payments can easily go unreported for tax purposes.
The honest tradesman who is asked for a cash quote will feel pressured to lower an otherwise fair price, or lose the job. Since he's honest, he'll pay income taxes, and feel like a fool for 'giving it away' by competing with the fly-by-nighters. After awhile, the honest guys say "WTF", and don't report the income. Eventually, they get nailed for tax fraud.
Meanwhile, the homeowner gets to brag they 'got a great deal', or that they 'bargained the guy down'. Imagine asking your doctor, dentist, engineer or lawyer how much their fee would be if you paid cash.... You'd be shown the door. The tradesman deserves the same respect.
Miz, I'm not saying that you're bragging about great cash deals...or about squeezing your tradesmen.... I am suggesting that you think hard about what wheels you set in motion by asking a tradesman to give you a cash price.costofwar.com/
I agree with some of what you say, but overall, this is an individual case kind of thing. For instance, if MizS wwere to ask me if I would discount my price if she were to pay cash on completion, my answer would be that I EXPECT t5o be paid upon completion anyways, and that it matters not to meif she paid in cash or by check, tho I might prefer check for larger jobs.at the same time --- " Imagine asking your doctor, dentist, engineer or lawyer how much their fee would be if you paid cash.... You'd be shown the door." ----is something I do. I have been offered discounts as deep as 15% for advance payment - an indication to me of the difficulty and cost the medical providers have in collecting their money.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Good answer to MizS' hypothetical question as it focuses on what is expected: Our agreement is that you will pay me in full upon completion.
But would you give her a discount for cash?costofwar.com/
no
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Pierre1, your reaching some far flung conclusions just because someone is paying with cash.
I think this subject has already been hashed over in here.
There isn't anything wrong with any technique used to negotiate lower prices. Here in the states we use the honor system for reporting income and it doesn't make any sense at all to blame cash payers, for choices made by cash receivers.
I've been offered cash many times while being asked to give a discount. Every time, I simply stated that cash would be fine, but no discount would be given because I would report the cash just the same as if it were in check form. I don't like the idea that someone would have something over on me and I don't like looking over my shoulder. I've never lost a job because I answered like that.
blue
I see what you're saying, Blue. And sure, as Piffin pointed out, each situation has its own circumstances. Certainly, cash is legal tender.
Here in the wilds of British Columbia, the underground economy is alive and well. Makes it a problem to do sub work for others who priced the whole job on a cash basis - never intending to report the transaction for tax purposes.
Why would I as the main or sub on a job want to give anyone the power over me that comes from their being able to turn me into the tax dept. should a dispute arise, now or later.
My reply to the 'how much for cash?' query includes: that I've accurately priced the job, that an invoice will be submitted upon completion, and that payment - in cash or by cheque - is expected at that time. I've only lost a few jobs because of that.costofwar.com/
I agree Pierre. I don't want anyone getting the power over me, so I tend to report cash honestly.
Someone mentioned in here that the credit card sends checks to use as cash. It should be noted that often, those types of checks are subject to instant interest and some also command a fixed fee for writing them. Therefor, this really wouldn't always be a good option even if you do pay the balance off each month.
blue
I was the one who mentioned that. I don't use those checks partly for that reaason, but the point was that i know they get sent, so the HO could use them if they NEED to to get me paid.The more I think on this whole thingt, if I were in a bit more of a service trade, dealing with three or more customers a week, I would probably set up to accept CC payments. Something like roof repairs or plumbing or emergency storm damae is not a thing that a lot of people plan for and have cash on hand.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Piffin, I think that remodelers should accept cc cards. If nothing else, it gives them a credibility that they are a legitimate business. Sometimes, a small thing like that might make adifference. The remodeling image tends to always lean toward simplicity. Simplicity is good but doing anything that allows you to stand out from the crowd helps to brand you, which is good.
blue
Blue,
Blue,I'm a remodeler. While I don't take credit cards, I agree with you that we need to have a way to stand out from the crowd.When you tell a customer that your price is firm, whether cash or check, you are standing out from the crowd of unprofessional types who hide the money. I do the same thing, and I report my income, no matter how they pay me. I think it earns you respect in the customer's eyes. It tells them that you are a man of integrity who does the right thing, which will allow them to trust you sooner than otherwise. Cash may be king in terms of liquidity, but trust is king in terms of customer relations. When I hire people, I steer clear of those who insist on cash payment, unless I can discern a valid reason. It screams "unprofessional" IMO.Bill
"Imagine asking your doctor, dentist, engineer or lawyer how much their fee would be if you paid cash.... You'd be shown the door. "
Actually, that has not been my experience.
As Piffin has noted, Doctors office's will negotiate their prices and fee schedules.
I'm finding this particularly true as I continue to be more and more involved with the health care of my 87 y/o Mom...DUM SPIRO SPERO: "While I breathe I hope"
I had a $3400 doctor bill last year that I paid $900 cash to settle. I've never had health insurance. In my experience, I have found that doctors with small practices, not connected to hospitals, are the ones easiest to "deal" with.
Ayup.
(And, may you stay healthy!)DUM SPIRO SPERO: "While I breathe I hope"
Just for the record...
It never entered my mind to "foster underground economy" or "tempt" anyone to not pay taxes on income they'd earned. Yeegads! Got too much respect for the IRS to even THINK about that.
I'm coming more from the business perspective of cash flow and float. And with cash, it's "king" cuz it's immediately rec'd and reuseable/applicable.
DUM SPIRO SPERO: "While I breathe I hope"
My doctors, pharmacy, dentists, etc. all get bargained down.It is just the insurance company doing the bargaining, not me.
asking your doctor, dentist, engineer or lawyer how much their fee would be if you paid cash.... You'd be shown the door
Hey, my doctor has separate rates for cash (as in not through insurance), and is quite happy to offer them. But, he's saving twice that way. First he has fewer insurance "compliance" costs with the billing (no waiting on the insurance company to approve, then pay, the bill; along with not having to have to cope with the accounting to the insurance co's accountants, too.) Secondly, he's more free to choose the medical procedures based on his skill & expertise, instead of mandated minimums from the insurance company. That means he can skip "rule out" tests, unless he decides they are necessary.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
I normally just sit back and listen here. However I can add alittle here. I have cc capabilities. Had to get them in order to do work on Camp Lejeune. Anything under $2000.00 is paid by cc and paid when invoiced. My bank BB&T charges me 3.17% for each transaction and $20.00 a month. I do not have the machine. Mine operates by calling an 800 number then entering your codes and card numbers and price. 2days later the money is in the bank. The only problem I can see is that there is no receipt this way. In my situation it works. Have not used it with a customer, but have told some that I have the capabilities.
John
asking your doctor, dentist, engineer or lawyer how much their fee would be if you paid cash.... You'd be shown the door
Doctors don't enter into that transaction here, of course; for them it's always the tchick-i-tchick with the carte-soleil. I don't have enough dentist bills--thank bog!--to make it worth worrying about, so I just write him a check.
But this is not true for the lawyers, not even close. In the last 10 years, every time I've needed to hire a lawyer--except Ironside--the lawyer offered a substantial 'discount' for cash while negotiating the fees/payment methods. That discount ranges from 15-30%, but is never less than the combined GST/PST rate (which here in Q is 15%).
One criminal lawyer I hired to straighten out some minor trouble one of my guys got himself into sat right there in the hallway of the courthouse and stated flatly, "If you pay cash, there's no tax."
When the wolves offer the sheep terms, the sheep look awful stoopid trying to stand on principle ordained by the eagles.
...unless of course the sheep are willing to eliminate the wolves completely first, which would tend to define them as something other than sheep as a result....
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
Thanks. Another one of those days when I learn something new.costofwar.com/
Glad ya didn't learn it from personal experience; needing to hire a lawyer takes all the fun out of it....
Back on the original topic, there's no beef that I can see with offering a discount for cash (or check) as opposed to accepting payment by credit card, because avoiding paying a credit card company their 2-4%cumshaw is perfectly legal. There was a big stink about that a good while ago--before the existence of debit cards--down in the States, IIRC; some gas station chains were offering something like a half-cent discount on pumps for cash only. The big three CC companies went berserk and succeeded in getting a law passed to make that illegal...which was subsequently successfully challenged in court by some Nader-ish advocacy group. I don't remember the details all that well so I may have some of them scrambled, but that was the essence of it.
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
I can see with offering a discount for cash (or check) as opposed to
The only caveat I can imagine is running afoul of the new reporting regulations for certain-sized financial transactions. I want to remember that the reporting level is only about $10K. Since there's more work, the banks may or may not charge an addtional fee--I'm not remembering what the current rule is.
Hmm, now I'm recollecting the seizure case case from a ways back where a contractor from Ohio or Kentucky flew into Houston with cash money to go to an equipment auction, and the Feds decided he did not have a good enough reason to have $20-25K in cash on him, so they kept it (ah, that was premptorially siezed in the public good to prevent possible future crime). I know it was a contested case, and was pending a whole bunch of judicial review. Wonder how that worked out.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
WHAAAAAATTT???
The FBI can now seize cash money you're carrying just because you don't have a reason to be carrying it???
Please tell me I misunderstood you, Cap. That's scary....
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
My wife's a banker, and she has to report any cash deposits of $10K or more. Several years ago, there were numerous cash deposits of $9990 or so to the same account in the same day. That got investigated.Birth, school, work, death.....................
Ironically, that type of reporting and investigations falls under the "Bank Privacy Act".
Sometimes I hate my country.
blue
It's called "Newspeak" in the novel '1984' iirc.costofwar.com/
The FBI can now seize cash money you're carrying just because you don't have a reason to be carrying it???
Hmm, Sky Marshal at the airport is the common "nabber" of such things is my understanding. Been that way for more than a decade, too. Part of the War on Drugs, so it goes back to the late 80s, I iamgine.
Please tell me I misunderstood you, Cap. That's scary....
I might could have it wrong, SHG might know a bit more details, if I remember some of his laments about siezure cases rightly.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
There have been regulations about how much cash money I could bring in over the border ever since before I started coming up here in 1980; but those regulations didn't forbid me to bring it in, just required me to declare it.
The easiest way to solve that problem--if it had been a problem which it was not--is to just slip your checkbook into your pocket. I bought this house with a personal, uncertified 50% downpayment check because I was quite content to wait while my bank here cleared the check from my bank there....
I understand the theory the gov't posits on large amounts of cash 'probably' being related to criminal activity in which they have both a legal and moral interest...but the result is that it allows the govt to stick its nose into stuff where they do not have a legal interest...like how much Aunt Sadie keeps stuffed in her mattress or sugar jar.
I think the government needs to come up with a better way to pay its bills than by taxing income and sales. It's unfair, inefficient, and inherently subject to cheating.
I propose government service by voluntary subscription. Get the form, check off the services you want, and mail 'em a check. Just like Triple-A, you get a subscriber card back in the mail, and when you need one of those services, you pull it out and away you go.
But if you didn't subscribe, you wind up paying by the mile....
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
It's unfair, inefficient, and inherently subject to cheating.
LoL! That's something the "Let's go back to tarrifs & fees" crowd tends to forget, that most taxing systems will beget a certain amount of cheating, inefficiency, and unfairness. <G>
I propose government service by voluntary subscription. Get the form, check off the services you want, and mail 'em a check. Just like Triple-A, you get a subscriber card back in the mail, and when you need one of those services, you pull it out and away you go.
But if you didn't subscribe, you wind up paying by the mile...
Which is a most intersting idea.
Dovetails into our next election in Texas too. There's a bit of on-going debate about how we've increased the ability/authority of the Texas Turnpike Authority to make, create, and, per the critics, usurp the public roads of Texas, and infect upon them tolls.
TTA actually did pay for, and stop collecting tolls on precisely one highway, I-30 from Dallas to Ft Worth. Said stretch of interstate has the most convoluted exit ramps imaginable, too.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
I propose government service by voluntary subscription. Get the form, check off the services you want, and mail 'em a check.
Which is a most intersting idea.
One of the most interesting aspects of it, I think, is that it takes the coercive element out of the governing process to a large degree. This is something that's high on my personal list of "things to do"....
Another advantage of this kind of system would be that the government would find out right quick which of its services the people really wanted it to provide...and could drop those nobody cared about.
There would probably have to be a 'basic subscription list', sort of like the channels you have to take with your cable subscription, for the kinds of things that can't really be offered on an individual subscriber basis--like protecting the whole country from invaders.
But most of the rest of it could be offered as 'upgrades' or options. You want unemployment insurance? Fine, pay the premium. You want garbage pick-up? Here's a flat rate for the year. Also available by the ton or cubic yard if you don't subscribe. You don't need a SSA pension? No problem; make contributions to the private pension fund of your choice, or keep bangin' nails till they nail ya into a box....
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
A story re: Docs accepting cash:
Coupla years ago we were on vacation in the Black Hills with our boy (age 2) and he came down with some ugly cough. Took him to the doctor, who was (as we live in Omaha) off our insurance plan. Waiting area at the clinic was pretty full - the place was busy.
When we told the gal at the desk we'd be paying cash and filing our own insurance claim, it was like Magic. We sat for just a short bit, saw the doc, got our scrip and were on our way. It was wonderful, and revealed a lot. Fronting that $80 hurt, though. :)
Jason
It was wonderful, and revealed a lot. Fronting that $80 hurt, though
Yeah, can be a bit like going to the mechanic. In more ways than one <g>.
Had to explain it to HR one time in very small words. Our HR person was surprised to see that I had paid for every thing--why, I could have gotten $20 off the office visit. Took a calculator to show that the "under insurance" increase was more than the $20 back before I was believed (and that's skipping the three unecessary, but required by insurance tests I would have had to pay for, too--learned long ago not to argue about charges not on a form with HR . . . )Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
I had a similar experience recently. I went to the doc for a consult not covered by insurance and told the person at the desk that I would be paying myself. She said fine. After I got home, the office called and told me that I could pay either $65 by check before tomorrow at noon, or $80 thereafter. Not sure if that's a cash flow thing for them, just a way of keeping bills from piling up in the collection pile. If the latter then that's one helluva problem they have.
What if you were told you had to pay the 2-3% on top of the bill in order to use your card?
Just something that we're struggling with, I think we could sell more if we accepted plastic, on the other hand, boss doesn't want to lose that percentage, and I can understand that as well.
What if you were told you had to pay the 2-3% on top of the bill in order to use your card?
1) Given my current circumstances, answer is easy: I'd "take a pass, and just pay cash".
2) if my circumstances were such that I needed to extend payments, then I'd either figure out if I was better off using my credit card with that added "passed along fee surcharge" tacked on...or if I was better off taking a loan, or credit, elsewhere and bringing cash to the table for that particular transaction.
But your point, I think is theoretical. I.E. should those who are offering payment by CC pass along the costs to the customer who is benefitting from being able to pay via CC versus via check/cash.
I suppose one could simply factor in those costs to your invoice...and then offer NO added cost for the CC payment, if customer goes that route...and then offer 2-3% off to those who don't use CC to effect payment.
Hmmmmm - do you might think that that is what some merchants have already done???? ;-)
DUM SPIRO SPERO: "While I breathe I hope"
I'm sure they have, and I suggested the very same, tack the added percent on to every proposal, and we'd make 2-3% more on most of them who paid in cash.
On the other hand, that 2-3% additional would make us even more expensive to most customers who pay with checks.
I don't think we have lost many jobs because we do not accept CC's but I know there have been a few, mostly little piddly stuff that amounts to "busy" work that I can schedule in when we have time.
but work is work, and turning it down b/c we can't accept plastic isn't all that appealing.
and there are some people who may find that extra 2ish% percent worth it for air miles or what have you.
read your last sentence and also thought: air miles...what have you...and TAX deductible home improvements (perhaps applicable!)?!?!?
LOL!
Sorry - I just got taxes on my brain. Or to be more specific, tax DEDUCTIBLE items/areas, on my brain...
DUM SPIRO SPERO: "While I breathe I hope"
" mostly piddly little stuff that amounts to" busy work"".
this is ,perhaps, EXACTLY the sort of work you SHOULD consider turning down
and instead devote the time to giving EVEN BETTER service to the customers who actually pay their way
or----figuring how to make that " piddly little stuff" exceptionally profitable.
Think it through carefully----do you REALLY want to attract more " busy" work
Or---do you want to attract more of another class of work.
There is no virtue in being "busy"---if you are not also profitable
a lot of times that "busy" work is sapping the profit right out of a company.
Very best wishes to you,
Stephen
I wouldn't go out an actively solicate "busy" work however I get enough calls for small projects that we could knock out in a day or less. Sometime's it's past customers where is almost an obligation to take care of it other's it's a strong referal and occasionaly it's just someone out of the blue.
When we do put a number together for those type of jobs, they are usually more profitable in percentage then the other jobs, double cost is the lowest we shoot for on tiny jobs.
If it is something the customer can wait to have taken care of, I don't mind it, I can usually find at least a day or two a month where I'm wondering what to do with so-and-so for the day.
I think I noted this earlier in this thread: Several years ago, I realized certain customers were waiting about 30 days to pay me, while others paid immediately. I instituted a 2%/10 net 30 policy and raised my prices 2%. The 2%/10 doesn't apply to credit card users.Birth, school, work, death.....................
Why not just net 10, or net 3 like I do?
Why not just net 10, or net 3 like I do?
Do you get paid in 3 days? Birth, school, work, death.....................
Bingo!
(still...am looking 4ward to seeing your response to Meiland also)DUM SPIRO SPERO: "While I breathe I hope"
Those sliding manual machines are pretty much phased out around here. A device similar to a cell phone in operation can be had now. Enter the amount, slide the card and the information is sent. Very much like the 'pads' you see at the checkout. It has a screen like the one you use to sign for packages now with UPS.
I'm not sure what the card companies charge because I'm not set up for this sort of service work.
Another very good option is to set up a Paypal account for your business. Your customer can pay you for your services with their computer and you can invoice them through Paypal so that there is a record of request for payment.
I used Paypal for one (repeat, ONE) transaction and would recommend that you look into their charges before you sign up. IIRC, they got around 4%.
There are also lots of stories about bank accounts being gutted. I've never seen any actual evidence, but the stories keep flying around.
I don't take CC and don't plan to any time soon as 90% of my work is as a subcontractor. But that is some good information to know, regarding PayPal. Thanks.
I guess I don't feel comfortable standing in the customer's home and writing down the name on the card, card number, expiration date, etc and then going home or to the office to enter the transaction on the computer.Isn't there some way of doing this on the spot at the customer's home so that both parties have a written receipt of the amount submitted to Visa or Discovercard?
The dude who did my home inspection, had one of those CC machines where ya load the card, the sales ticket (paper), swipe the imprint bridge across, and then fill it all in.
Best of my current knowledge, that's still a viable and working option. But ya gotta be set up as a merchant (can't think of other word to use...) for the CC company to have one of those gizmos, I think.
Since you're not the one paying the immediate interest on cash advance on a CC check, you could bypass the above and ask homeowner to utilize one of the CC checks that virtually all with a credit card, get with their monthly statements.DUM SPIRO SPERO: "While I breathe I hope"
writing down the name on the card, card number, expiration date, etc
Don't forget the confirmation number on the back (needed for some online charges/systems for card verification).
Yeah, more than a tad tricky standing there. Using the customer's PC would not be much better, come to think of it.
The HVAC people around here, just press down hard on the multi-part carbonless copy forms and get the card info, though, come to think of it.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Miz has a differeent take on this than I had been thinking of.
If a HO really needs to use credit to pay for this, I know that I get some blank checks every month from my vaarious CC companies which get torn up and thrown in the trash, but supposing that the HO gets the same, why not ask to be paid with a check, from the CC agency if necesssary.
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Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
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why not ask to be paid with a check, from the CC agency if necesssary.
Those CC checks are like a cash advance. They accrue interest as soon as you use them. I take VISA & MC thru my Quickbooks. Costs me 2% and $19.95/mo. I don't have a scanner, I just enter the # over the internet and get approval. Shows up in my checking account the next day. I seldom get handed a check anyway. They usually come thru the mail, so the times I've taken credit cards, I just write down the number off the card and enter it when I get back to the office or take the number over the phone.
Doesn't really cost me anything, since I get paid quicker and I give a 2%/10 discount anyway. I don't give that with CCs.Birth, school, work, death.....................
I hate those CC cks. It's just as you say. And as Piffin noted, I get those darn things included with EVERY statement. I shred them immediately; and have asked the CC company to STOP sending them - so far, to no avail.DUM SPIRO SPERO: "While I breathe I hope"
have asked the CC company to STOP sending them - so far, to no avail.
Well, they are not going to change their mass mailing lash-up just because we are the only two people (it seems) who actually have read the fine print with the checks <g> . . .
No money in stopping sending a tempting cash cow out to the too-busy-for-details types . . .
Same reason telemarketing & spam still exists, somewhere at some point it makes more money than it costs.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
I don't really care if it costs the HO something to use those checks. if they agreed to have me do the work and still NEED the credit to pay me, they darm well better find a way to get me paid.Though I am surre that for most - the CC is for the convenience. Like, we have one that is strictly for medical stuff. That way we have full record of costs for the tax man and those months when the drug bill is high, we can slide it to a month when it's lower to average it out.
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I don't really care if it costs the HO something to use those checks. if they agreed to have me do the work and still NEED the credit to pay me, they darm well better find a way to get me paid.
I agree 100%. I just prefer to give them another option. By giving the credit card option, I think in some cases, I get my money and don't have to worry about whether VISA gets paid or not.
I've got a VISA that pays like a Discover card. I pay it off every month and at the end of the year I get a check for $500-$600. I use it as often as possible. There are a lot of people like me.
I pretty much qualify everyone by insisting on a 10% prepayment before I even let them on the schedule ( we're talking large jobs ). The only people I've had payment trouble with are ones I let skate on this. Birth, school, work, death.....................
I have a Quicken Merchant Account for credit cards. I use a manual imprinter which stays in my truck. Wireless card reader/swipers are available, but they're really expensive. Credit cards work for me as I can take their cc number over the phone for a deposit. Then I order/buy parts, go and complete the job then get final payment. It speeds up the process.I use credit cards for everything and can't remember the last time I wrote a check. I think my customer's appreciate the convienence.View Image
Same here - on prequalify
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why not ask to be paid with a check, from the CC agency if necesssary
Well, most banks (around here, at least) put a 10 "hold" on CC checks, mostly to make sure the acount is valid and will be backed by the CC. (There are those miserable, low, creatures that use those checks with no intention of opening the account--we pay for them, too <grrrr>).
"Merchant" CC accounts can be a right pain. There's a "break-even" minimum charge (about $32 w/ MC/Visa; about $36 for AmEx/Discover). Then, there's usually an acount charge from the banking institution that "clears" the cash for you (worst case there, is a volume charge--more CC charges, more billing, so twice the accounting). It's both some better and some worse than back when I went through the rigarmarole of a merchant account.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
I didn't really think about the hold. My bank officially holds for a week to ten days on any out of state check deposited, but I have been doing business with them for so long with never a burp, that it is nola contendre
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When I pay, I ask people what they prefer and comply with their wishes.
When I collect, I get cash.
I don't ask for discounts. I don't give them.
I have an account with a company whose thing it is to do the whole thing through your mobile phone. You enter all the numbers into a text message, send it and get an OK back in about 10 seconds. You can also do it online. This is in the UK BTW, don't know if they have the same thing over there
I'm surprisd that no one yet (unless I missed it) has mentioned the big drawback with taking payment by credit card. That is, if the customer tells their CC compnay that they didn't get the service, or that the service was sub-standard, then the CC company can simply take their money back from your bank account and leave you to sort it out with the customer. Apparently there was an Amex advert in the States recently on this theme, showing a designer who had an argument with a cabinet maker getting her money back by complaining to Amex
Certainly something to think about
JohnIf my baby don't love me no more, I know her sister will.
Yes, I do accept credit card payments, 'tho only a small percentage of my customers opt to pay that way. I don't swipe the card, I give the number to my wife, and she processes payment with a machine that plugs into the phone jack. She first got the service when she had a bookstore, and after she went internet only, she kept it because an occasional customer wants to pay that way (the majority of her business is PayPal or Amazon payments).
You should be careful accepting credit cards for a merchant account that is set up for a different business type then yours. Your customers will see 'Name of your wife's company' on their credit card statement; a basis for refusing payment. The credit card company is extending credit to the company that has the merchant account, not your company.I originally tried to set it up for both my wife's and my business, one fee, but I found that's not a good idea.View Image
Edited 10/24/2005 6:21 am ET by jocobe
Yeah, I warn them about that, and it hasn't been a problem.
mrfixit,
I no longer accept credit cards----and would advise against doing so.
not too long after getting a Yellow Pages ad----I started getting quite a few calls" do You accept credit cards?"
Most of those calls were from credit card companies trying to sell me on their service----but " some "were from " prospective customers"
I thought about it a while( couple of years actually) and I remembered that my dad used to accept credit cards at art and craft shows when i was a kid----credit cards are great for impulse purchases.
Sooooooo, eventually I set up to accept credit cards---maybe 5 years ago.
It cost me about $30/month to maintain the ability to accept credit cards---plus, I believe ,3% of the sale.
In 14 months exactly 2 people paid by credit card----and BOTH transactions were fouled up at the credit card company/bank level.
In my dads day---you could just swipe the card through one of those carbon paper imprinting things---the customer got a copy----you kept a copy---and you submitted a 3rd copy to your bank---really just depositing it like a check. In fact that was the system I signed up for.
but within a few months---and before a actual credit card customer ever surfaced----the bank changed their policy----and would no longer accept those slips. I had to CALL in for approval---punch in an impossibly long series of numbers etc.----just a nightmare.
One customer paid for an entire roof---then left for vacation. A few days later I got a statement from the bank with WAAAYYYYY to much money in my account. the customer had been debited TWICE for the roof. I was frantic----picturing the customer stranded---credit card over limmit---unable to rent cars, buy plane tickets etc. Took me 2 solid days to straighten that out. that was the" straw that broke the camels back"
2 actual customers in 14 months-----well over $300 in basic fees---plus the 3% cut-----all in all a big mistake.
BTW---I am in the roofing business----actively interested in roof repairs. Ability to accept credit cards had ZERO impact on the roof repair part of my business.
IF---I was a small resteraunt, or shoe store, or bookstore----handling dozens of transactions a day----credit cards would be great
But sitting at your customers kitchen table trying to punch about 20 digits into a phone with an allotted time span---it's a nightmare.
Remember---you can't be all things to all people.
If a prospective customer has a leaking roof----and no money to pay for repairs or replacement-----that is THEIR problem not MY problem.
I am MORE than happy to handle---say a $400 roof repair. On the other hand-----do I really want to market my services to people who can't come up with $400?
In short---no.
Best wishes,
Stephen