Being a business owner means that you’ve always got at least three things on your mind at all times:

1. Making more money

2. Decreasing expenses

3. Increasing effeciency

Of course there are myriad ways of accomplishing these things, but of the methods that come to mind none are as easy or as cost effective as the thoughtful implementation of a gift card program.  You may already offer gift certificates, and that’s a good start, but lets take a quick look at the benefits of offering gift cards:

Increased Revenue

• Gift cards outsell paper gift certificates 4 to 1
• 56% of customers spend more than the value on the card
• Gift cards encourage return visits

Operational Savings

• Reduced administrative costs
• Reduced theft and fraud
• Simplified reporting

More Convenient

• Faster checkouts
• Easier to carry than gift cards
• Consumers prefer plastic over paper and are more inclined to purchase

If you would like to offer your customers gift cards, contact us today. One of our associates will be happy to walk you through the process.

 

Do you own a restaurant? Have you ever been contacted by customers complaining that they were overcharged at your establishment? If so, you may want to read on.  

There was a time in the long and illustrious history of credit card processing when restaurant merchants were required to over-authorize credit and debit card transactions by 20% to insure that there were enough funds available to cover a tip. Unfortunately for the customer, this meant that if he tipped in cash—or was exceedingly cheap and did not tip at all—his bank would none-the-less place a hold on his funds of 20% over the purchase amount. Visa and MasterCard have since changed this policy. 

Despite this change in policy, many merchant service providers still have the 20% over- authorization feature active on their terminal and POS software files.  This is bad news for you, the business owner, because you may have to deal with disgruntled customers. In this day and age, with up-to-the-minute bank and credit card balances available online, customers are very aware of their purchases, especially on their debit cards, so any over-authorization will be noticed long before the over authorized amount is returned to available funds. Another disadvantage is that you may be charged a surcharge of 1% or more when these over authorizations occur. 

If you get calls from concerned customers, of if you’ve noticed that 20% over-authorization is active on your account, call your merchant service provider and have them deactivate that feature immediately. Or, better yet, contact us and we will take care of it for you, and save you money too!

 

If you’re like me then you don’t enjoy paying more than you should for anything. You’re a bit of a bargain hunter. You’re thrifty. You want to pay a fair price for the products and services you use and you don’t want to be swindled out of your hard earned money. I think it’s safe to say that we all have these traits in common.

With that in mind, I would like to alert you to a scam that is becoming rampant in the credit card processing industry. It’s a little maneuver I like to call the "lease bait and switch" Here’s a play by play:

A sales representative from a credit card processing company approaches you and promises you savings that seem unrealistic, but understandably catches your attention. During their sales presentation the conversation invariably turns to your processing equipment. At this point they claim that your equipment is out of date, out of compliance, or simply won’t work on their platform, which means that you’ll need new equipment if you want those "savings" that they promised you. Conveniently they have the equipment you’ll need, and all for the low-low price of a non-cancellable lease.

This is where it gets really interesting. You see, the monthly lease on equipment could be anywhere from $60 to $100 per month and typically extends from 36 to 48 months. ($4,800 for a terminal, what a bargain!). Not only that, you may not even have the option to own the equipment at the end of the lease! Add to this the fact that you will most likely not save any money on your processing program and, as reports have indicated, your sales rep may pull a disappearing act leaving you in the lurch. All of this adds up to an incredible amount of money, time and energy being thrown away on equipment that you probably did not need to begin with. This, my friends, is not consistent with your spendthrift nature.

As we mentioned in a previous post (see To Rent, Lease or Buy), leasing is not an inherently bad option, so long as the terms of the lease are reasonable and fully disclosed. To avoid being scammed into a harmful lease and the unfavorable processing agreement that goes with it, here are a few tips:

• Be wary of savings estimates that seem unrealistic. Demand a detailed, side by side cost comparison.
• Contact your current vendor and investigate any claims concerning your equipment and the validity of any quote you receive.
• Avoid signing anything until the terms have been thoroughly explained. If you are presented with a one page application there are likely several other pages of fine print that go with it.
• Investigate the company that they represent - both for processing and equipment leasing. You can even check them out on the ripoff report.

Sales reps using this tactic are out there, so be prepared. Don’t get caught paying thousands for equipment you don’t need or get stuck in a processing agreement you don’t want. If you would like to investigate improvements to your credit card processing program with a company that you can trust, contact us. We are always happy to help.