a community of practitioners

Accepting Credit/debit Cards?

I'm considering this. Any recommendations? Do you find it a profitable addition to your business, or do you find it best to only receive cash and checks?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sanna Miller on February 6, 2010 at 11:13pm

Hearing it called a knuckle buster makes me hesitate a bit about buying one... but once I do it will go by no other name! :)

Erica Olson said:

You have no idea how much this makes me snicker. *grin*

Misty Van Staaveren said:
I did a google search for knuckle buster and there are a lot of sites that sell them.

Permalink Reply by Erica Olson on February 6, 2010 at 11:13pm

So you just gonna leave us in the carbon-smudgy dark, or do I have to try and read your mind (and/or cache history) from here? ;P

Sanna Miller said:

I found this site that has them new starting from about $13 plus s/h. I also found a place that sells carbonless imprint slips, though they cost about 2x as much as the carbon copies. But it may be worth it to not fight off black smudges before the next client and probably better for the environment too!

Permalink Reply by Sanna Miller on February 6, 2010 at 11:20pm

oh yeah, um... if you search for "carbonless credit card slips" a number of sites come up. Buy.com has them at: http://www.buy.com/prod/sales-slip-7-7-8-x-3-1-4-carbonless-triplic....
That same discountcreditmachine site I linked earlier sells a carbonless form, but from it's description it looks like it may still require carbon paper inserted? I'm not sure what the copy technology is if it's not carbon...

Erica Olson said:

So you just gonna leave us in the carbon-smudgy dark, or do I have to try and read your mind (and/or cache history) from here? ;P

Sanna Miller said:
I found this site that has them new starting from about $13 plus s/h. I also found a place that sells carbonless imprint slips, though they cost about 2x as much as the carbon copies. But it may be worth it to not fight off black smudges before the next client and probably better for the environment too!

Permalink Reply by Erica Olson on February 6, 2010 at 11:28pm

Hmmm. Well, a lot of receipt-type books do copies without an actual carbon slip. Perhaps it's the same sort of thing?

Sanna Miller said:

I'm not sure what the copy technology is if it's not carbon...

Permalink Reply by Sanna Miller on February 7, 2010 at 5:36pm

For those of you accepting credit cards not using a terminal on site, have you had many issues with inputing car info later on and having it declined? I guess that is one of my concerns about doing it that way, though it is much more cost-effective. But I know it can be a real hassle to collect on payments that didn't go through, esp. once you've already handed the customer a receipt!

Permalink Reply by Misty Van Staaveren on February 7, 2010 at 6:53pm

I personally have not had any problems, knock on wood.

Sanna Miller said:

For those of you accepting credit cards not using a terminal on site, have you had many issues with inputing car info later on and having it declined? I guess that is one of my concerns about doing it that way, though it is much more cost-effective. But I know it can be a real hassle to collect on payments that didn't go through, esp. once you've already handed the customer a receipt!

Permalink Reply by Laurie Weber on February 8, 2010 at 4:08pm

If you are considering taking credit cards, ChargeAmerica is a company that offers the lowest price EVER for accepting credit cards, by just using your own phone. No expensive machines to buy, no contracts to sign ever. There is a one time sign up fee of about $90 and a $5 + 20% fee for total services sold ONLY ON THE MONTHS that you do business. This is especially helpful for those just starting out in their practice.
ChargeAmerica states that they are listed in the BBB with an A+ rating. I have checked on the validity to their claims and have found it to be true. I will be using them for my practice soon as I have checked other credit card companies and none of them come close to what these guys offer.
For more information. Visit, http://www.chargeamerica.com
Hope this helps you.

Permalink Reply by Sanna Miller on February 8, 2010 at 8:34pm

20% of the total services sold is the monthly fee when you make sales? That's way too much! I'm seeing that it starts at about 3% plus 40cents for each transaction. It's about the same rate as propay overall, I think. Do you know if ChargeAmerica accepts discover and Amexpress? Propay allows that for an extra $25/yr which is pretty cool.

Laurie Weber said:

If you are considering taking credit cards, ChargeAmerica is a company that offers the lowest price EVER for accepting credit cards, by just using your own phone. No expensive machines to buy, no contracts to sign ever. There is a one time sign up fee of about $90 and a $5 + 20% fee for total services sold ONLY ON THE MONTHS that you do business. This is especially helpful for those just starting out in their practice.
ChargeAmerica states that they are listed in the BBB with an A+ rating. I have checked on the validity to their claims and have found it to be true. I will be using them for my practice soon as I have checked other credit card companies and none of them come close to what these guys offer.
For more information. Visit, http://www.chargeamerica.com
Hope this helps you.

Permalink Reply by Laurie Weber on February 8, 2010 at 9:39pm

OOPS! MY BAD!...It's NOT that much....Here's the info straight from the website...
5.95 Monthly Access Fee ONLY WHEN YOU USE IT: For every month you don't use the service, you pay nothing! No other company lets you pay nothing for each month you don't accept credit cards.
No Other Fees: No monthly minimum, no monthly statement fee, no leasing fee, no other fees. Period. Committing to a monthly minimum is like putting money down the drain. Why do it when you have a better alternative?
No long-term commitment: Quit anytime without any cancellation penalty. No surprises. We keep you as a client with our great value and top-quality service - not with long term contracts.
2.99% Discount Rate plus $0.40 per transaction. For example, on a hundred dollar client bill, you are debited $2.99 plus $0.40. It's not the rate alone that determines the value you get - it's the total cost. Since you only pay an access fee when you use the service, and no other monthly fees, you pay less overall.
Free Online Reporting: Review your account 24/7 in real time, at no extra cost. Plus, you get a statement in the mail every month.
For more extensive info, visit http://www.chargeamerica.com/

Sanna Miller said:

20% of the total services sold is the monthly fee when you make sales? That's way too much! I'm seeing that it starts at about 3% plus 40cents for each transaction. It's about the same rate as propay overall, I think. Do you know if ChargeAmerica accepts discover and Amexpress? Propay allows that for an extra $25/yr which is pretty cool.

Laurie Weber said:
If you are considering taking credit cards, ChargeAmerica is a company that offers the lowest price EVER for accepting credit cards, by just using your own phone. No expensive machines to buy, no contracts to sign ever. There is a one time sign up fee of about $90 and a $5 + 20% fee for total services sold ONLY ON THE MONTHS that you do business. This is especially helpful for those just starting out in their practice.
ChargeAmerica states that they are listed in the BBB with an A+ rating. I have checked on the validity to their claims and have found it to be true. I will be using them for my practice soon as I have checked other credit card companies and none of them come close to what these guys offer.
For more information. Visit, http://www.chargeamerica.com
Hope this helps you.

Permalink Reply by Cheyenne Stallings on March 31, 2010 at 1:45pm

The key is keeping your Clientele up to pay your monthly minimum fees. I have increased my revenue over 20% by accepting credit cards. It is a way to get people to add on services and it has been proven that people are more likely to spend more if they can charge it. I was a cash only business for 5 years prior but there was an ATM in the store next to me that clients could access. Having the ability to accept Visa and MasterCard has increased any gift certificate promotion I have done. With that being said though I have worked out a deal with the co-op I belong to that I only pay a 2% fee per charge to them for running it through the co-op machine. There is no monthly fee or equipment for me to pay for. I only pay as I use it. The Co-op pays me out at the end of the month minus there 2%fee. Shop around. ABMP offers discounts so does Costco. If I did not have this deal I would still be a cash only business. That has been very successful too. Giving loyalty rewards to current clients (10$ off paid referrals) and a promo special to new clients is a way to keep them coming. I have been using client feed back surveys too. Ask if the service was available if they would prefer it? See what percentage would purchase multiple packages or gift certificates to help you decide if it is viable for your business. Wishing you lots of success!!

Permalink Reply by Cheyenne Stallings on March 31, 2010 at 1:48pm

Sounds like Laurie found a gold mine, I'll check them out too just in case my situation changes and I need to go it alone. THANKS SO MUCH

Laurie Weber said:

OOPS! MY BAD!...It's NOT that much....Here's the info straight from the website...
5.95 Monthly Access Fee ONLY WHEN YOU USE IT: For every month you don't use the service, you pay nothing! No other company lets you pay nothing for each month you don't accept credit cards.
No Other Fees: No monthly minimum, no monthly statement fee, no leasing fee, no other fees. Period. Committing to a monthly minimum is like putting money down the drain. Why do it when you have a better alternative?
No long-term commitment: Quit anytime without any cancellation penalty. No surprises. We keep you as a client with our great value and top-quality service - not with long term contracts.
2.99% Discount Rate plus $0.40 per transaction. For example, on a hundred dollar client bill, you are debited $2.99 plus $0.40. It's not the rate alone that determines the value you get - it's the total cost. Since you only pay an access fee when you use the service, and no other monthly fees, you pay less overall.
Free Online Reporting: Review your account 24/7 in real time, at no extra cost. Plus, you get a statement in the mail every month.
For more extensive info, visit http://www.chargeamerica.com/

Sanna Miller said:
20% of the total services sold is the monthly fee when you make sales? That's way too much! I'm seeing that it starts at about 3% plus 40cents for each transaction. It's about the same rate as propay overall, I think. Do you know if ChargeAmerica accepts discover and Amexpress? Propay allows that for an extra $25/yr which is pretty cool.

Laurie Weber said:
If you are considering taking credit cards, ChargeAmerica is a company that offers the lowest price EVER for accepting credit cards, by just using your own phone. No expensive machines to buy, no contracts to sign ever. There is a one time sign up fee of about $90 and a $5 + 20% fee for total services sold ONLY ON THE MONTHS that you do business. This is especially helpful for those just starting out in their practice.
ChargeAmerica states that they are listed in the BBB with an A+ rating. I have checked on the validity to their claims and have found it to be true. I will be using them for my practice soon as I have checked other credit card companies and none of them come close to what these guys offer.
For more information. Visit, http://www.chargeamerica.com
Hope this helps you.

Permalink Reply by Sue Rexford on April 14, 2010 at 4:55pm

Finally decided to take the plunge and accept credit cards. 3/4 of my clients pull a card out and expect to be able to use it. Haven't yet decided whether to go with chargeamerica or my bank yet.