How to Set up Credit Card Processing for Small Businesses

Customers use cash to pay for around 26% of the things they buy, which means they use credit or debit cards for the remaining 74%. If you're a small business owner, you'll need to ensure you have a way to accept credit cards, otherwise, you could lose a lot of sales.

If you want to start your own business or expand your current one, you'll need to consider credit card processing for small businesses.

You'll need a way to accept credit, though, which means you'll have to choose a credit card processing company. How do you choose one? What steps must you take?

Here is a guide to help you choose the best credit card processing company for your small business.

Learn the Benefits of Accepting Credit Cards

As a business owner, you can choose the payment methods you accept. If you choose only to accept cash, you'll probably miss out on a lot of sales, though.

Many people don't carry cash anymore in their wallets or purses. Instead, they pay for everything with their debit or credit cards. Therefore, you should consider accepting credit card payments as a form of payment.

The main benefit you'll reap from this is an increase in sales. If customers enter your business and see that you only accept cash, many might walkout, as they might not have any cash with them.

If they see that you accept credit cards, they might stay and make a purchase.

It's also important to realize that most businesses today accept credit cards. According to one source, 93% of businesses accept Visa cards. As a result, people expect that all businesses will accept them.

Determine What Types of Credit Cards You Want to Accept

After learning the benefits of accepting credit, you might want to think about what types of credit cards you'd like to accept.

The most common cards are Visa and Mastercard. Accepting these types is a usual industry standard. If a business accepts credit cards, they accept these two types.

You can accept other types, too, though. For example, would you like to accept Discover cards or American Express?

You can accept those types if you'd like. However, many businesses don't accept American Express because they require paying higher fees.

Additionally, while some people only use American Express, most people have Visa cards or Mastercards they can use for payment. So, you don't have to accept American Express if you'd rather not.

Consider the Types of Payments You'll Process

Before choosing a credit card processing company, you might need to consider a few basic business fundamentals. The main one to consider is the types of payments your business processes.

Will your business mainly process payments from in-person customers? For example, in-person customers shop in stores and pay for their goods with a credit card.

Will your business accept credit payments over the phone? If this is the case, you'll need to manually enter the credit card information into the credit card processor.

An example of a business like this is a pizza delivery company. If they require upfront payment to process delivery orders, they'll have to input the customer's credit information into the processor.

The other type of payment you might need to process is online payments. If you have a website that accepts orders and payments, you'll need a system that processes online orders.

Narrowing down the methods you'll use can help you move on to the next few steps in the process of setting up credit card processing services.

Learn What Credit Card Processing for Small Business Is

If you've never accepted credit cards before, you might have some questions about how this process works. You might wonder why you need a credit card processing company and what this service involves.

Payment processors provide a way for your business to accept credit cards from people. A payment processor works as a middleman, in a sense, between you and the customer and the person's credit card company.

When someone uses a credit card to pay for something, they swipe or insert the card into the reader. As soon as that happens, the information goes to the processing company.

The processing company verifies the information with the credit card company and sends a message, almost instantly, to the merchant. The message is either an approval or a decline.

Compare Credit Card Processing Companies

The final step is considering several credit card processing companies and comparing their features and fees. One option is to consider Treati. We pride ourselves on being transparent with our costs.

In fact, you can learn how much your fees are before you even start using this service.

As you consider your options, you'll need to keep the features in mind that you need as described above. Here is a summary of the features to consider:

• The types of cards you want to accept
• The types of payments you'll accept
• The fees

When you select the company you want to use, you'll have to sign an agreement with them. Before signing it, make sure you read it over thoroughly.

Next, they'll send you the hardware you need. The main hardware needed is the credit card processor. You'll need this device to accept cards, and you'll need to set it up.

You'll also have to link your merchant account to your business banking account. As you accept credit card payments, the processor you choose will deposit the funds into your account.

You can ask them how long it takes for the funds to appear. You can also discuss how they handle the fees you must pay.

In conclusion, once you do these things, your business will be ready to accept credit card payments.

Choose the Company

Choosing the right company for your credit card processing for small businesses might take some time and work, it's a vital step for every small business owner.

If you would like to learn more about our credit card processing services, contact us. We can help your business start accepting credit cards within just a few days. You can learn more by visiting our website and get approved today!