As a small business owner, keeping your customers happy is normally your top concern. Simply put, a happy customer tends to make for a happy business owner.
One of the ways to go about this is by making sure you have the right merchant services in place, meaning your customers can easily do business with you, be it through cash transactions, credit card purchases or even mobile payments.
For the small business owner who is just starting out, there are several means to go about finding the right merchant card services provider, meaning you get off on the right foot with your customers.
Ways to go about this include:
* A thorough search - Just like the time you would spend on anything else important to your business or personal life, make sure you invest the time in finding the right provider. This means going online (along with searching offline through friends, business associates, referrals etc.) and getting at minimum a handful of proposals. Compare and contrast the offers so that you can see who has the best financial options, who offers the best customer service (see below), and who has a track record of solid financial backing. Just because the first provider you come across may sound great doesn’t mean you do not need to continue searching;
* Understand the fees - Likely of the utmost concern to you will be the fees involved with any merchant account you set up. As a result, analyze each offer to see what you will in fact be spending over time. You want to know such things as the minimums and annual fees, rates for rewards, and any chargeback costs (this involves a customer dispute over a transaction). Lastly, make sure the provider can tell you exactly when you can expect to receive your funds.;
* Make sure you are in compliance - One of the most important factors is making sure everyone is in compliance with the Payment Card Industry (PCI). While the PCI Security Standards Council does not manage compliance programs and does not impose any consequences for noncompliance, individual payment brands, however, may have their own compliance initiatives. Such initiatives can include financial or operational consequences to some businesses that are not compliant, so make sure you check with providers (vendors) to see how they will assist you with this matter;
* Don’t slouch on customer service - Just as you want to provide your customers with sound customer service, you should expect the same from a merchant card provider. Make sure the provider you select is there for you to answer any and all questions, returns your calls and emails in a prompt manner, and keeps you up to speed on any changes to your agreement and changes in the industry that can impact your merchant account. While a provider will likely tell you that their service is second to none, look for unbiased opinions from some clients already using the provider;
* Avoid a long-term nightmare - Finally, it is important that you have the ability to move stored credit card information. It is not unusual for a number of providers to keep your stored credit card data in their possession, meaning a major hassle should want to change providers. If you have thousands and thousands of credit cards kept with a sole provider and want to transfer to another one, you are tasked with having all those customers re-submit their data, meaning financial costs to you.
When all is said and done, having the right merchant card service provider in your corner is a credit to your small business.