Credit Cards
- Thread starter rogue
- Start date
- Status
77401
Banned
Credit cards?
Where do you think I'm going to swipe it?
In my *!S?
"from the boy selling girl scout cookies on the Man show"
Where do you think I'm going to swipe it?
In my *!S?
"from the boy selling girl scout cookies on the Man show"
bikeindy
Senior Member
- Location
- Indianapolis IN
77401 said:
Had a guy call try to tell me they have this moble swiper thingy. I said yeah I take checks and in Indiana write a bad one and I get the amount plus 3 times that in damages in small claims. works for me. no bad checks yet.
jeff43222
Senior Member
- Location
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
I don't take them, but I had someone ask me today. When I consider how few people ask me if I take them, I don't think they are worth the monthly charge, the per transaction charge, and the percentage charge.
But one question came up I thought was worth looking into: What about those checks the credit card companies send out from time to time to encourage spending? How do they work? Could I accept the check like a normal check, but it gets charged against the homeowner's credit card?
But one question came up I thought was worth looking into: What about those checks the credit card companies send out from time to time to encourage spending? How do they work? Could I accept the check like a normal check, but it gets charged against the homeowner's credit card?
Minuteman
Senior Member
- Location
- The Sooner Nation
Yeah, we take them. We have about 3-4 want to charge to a credit card a month. Usually it's a hot tub, a major repair, or a remodel. I have been meaning to put Visa & Master Card stickers on the truck.
Last edited:
larryl
Senior Member
- Location
- wrentham ma.
no cards
no cards
no i dont take them,
i've had one person ask me if i accept them a few years ago,
can someone please advise me to were the spell check has gone,,,,?
tanks,,
no cards
no i dont take them,
i've had one person ask me if i accept them a few years ago,
can someone please advise me to were the spell check has gone,,,,?
tanks,,
hardworkingstiff
Senior Member
- Location
- Wilmington, NC
larryl said:
I miss it too, but I purchased a laptop for when I'm out of town (like now) and low and behold, it has spell check on the tool bar of my IE browser. WOW that is cooooollll.
Pierre C Belarge
Senior Member
- Location
- Westchester County, New York
I believe that taking credit cards will be the way to do business in a few years. There are areas of the country that this may not be so, but it is inevitable.
Credit cards are a great way of doing business. You will need to do a little research to make sure of the company you use. There are multiple ways to swipe in the field, or you can have the customer call your office and process it that way. People will spend more money if they can use their credit card as a payment form.
If you are concerned about the 2-4 percent the credit card company charges, add it to the total cost... just like the companies you use your credit card for do
Don't complain about how business is changing, try to use it to your advantage.
In Japan, where technology is far advanced of the good ole USA, they use their phones to pass by sensors paying for any kind of merchandise they may want to purchase. Cash is becoming a "black market" there.
The government here is very much in favor of a "cashless" society, and in the coming years we will be heading that way... you can see it now.
Credit cards are a great way of doing business. You will need to do a little research to make sure of the company you use. There are multiple ways to swipe in the field, or you can have the customer call your office and process it that way. People will spend more money if they can use their credit card as a payment form.
If you are concerned about the 2-4 percent the credit card company charges, add it to the total cost... just like the companies you use your credit card for do
Don't complain about how business is changing, try to use it to your advantage.
In Japan, where technology is far advanced of the good ole USA, they use their phones to pass by sensors paying for any kind of merchandise they may want to purchase. Cash is becoming a "black market" there.
The government here is very much in favor of a "cashless" society, and in the coming years we will be heading that way... you can see it now.
petersonra
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern illinois
- Occupation
- engineer
credit cards
credit cards
Most small businessmen focus on the small fee they pay for allowing customers to use CC for payment.
There is a reason why virtually all large retail chains allow them. Profit margins in many segments of the retail business are not much more then the CC fee so one might think "why would stores take them"?
The answer is not all that obvious but here are a few.
1. Customer demand to use them.
2. It costs stores a substantial amount of money to actually accept cash. This is not all that obvious, but the time spent counting money, the mistakes made, pilferage, the back office costs to count it again, the cost for the armored truck to haul it to the bank, etc., all add up.
3. Despite what you might think from standing in line, the transaction time for a CC transaction on the whole is supposedly less than for a cash or check transaction. Checkout operator time is expensive.
4. Checks require additional handling and require either acceptance of risk that they are bad or payment to a third party guarantor.
Most larger service businesses around here have found it useful to accept credit cards for payment. Most will only accept visa/mc/discover.
credit cards
Most small businessmen focus on the small fee they pay for allowing customers to use CC for payment.
There is a reason why virtually all large retail chains allow them. Profit margins in many segments of the retail business are not much more then the CC fee so one might think "why would stores take them"?
The answer is not all that obvious but here are a few.
1. Customer demand to use them.
2. It costs stores a substantial amount of money to actually accept cash. This is not all that obvious, but the time spent counting money, the mistakes made, pilferage, the back office costs to count it again, the cost for the armored truck to haul it to the bank, etc., all add up.
3. Despite what you might think from standing in line, the transaction time for a CC transaction on the whole is supposedly less than for a cash or check transaction. Checkout operator time is expensive.
4. Checks require additional handling and require either acceptance of risk that they are bad or payment to a third party guarantor.
Most larger service businesses around here have found it useful to accept credit cards for payment. Most will only accept visa/mc/discover.
Last edited:
jeff43222
Senior Member
- Location
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
Things are a little different around here. We have a fairly strong check culture, but it is eroding. It's still common for people to write checks for small amounts in stores, but more and more stores are refusing to take checks because they are getting burned.
Just about every customer I've had has paid me with a check. I've had a handful (fewer than five) pay me with cash, and they were all small jobs. I've been asked if I take credit cards maybe five times. And only one check I've received has bounced, and I know it was an honest mistake because the homeowner called me before the bank did. He sent me a good check with an extra $10 for the bank charge within a couple of days.
Personally, I prefer to be paid with a check. Accepting credit cards seems like it would be a hassle and a needless expense on my end. Then again, if it increases business, I imagine I'd be in favor of it. If that's the way things go, I'll adapt, but so far it doesn't seem worth it.
Just about every customer I've had has paid me with a check. I've had a handful (fewer than five) pay me with cash, and they were all small jobs. I've been asked if I take credit cards maybe five times. And only one check I've received has bounced, and I know it was an honest mistake because the homeowner called me before the bank did. He sent me a good check with an extra $10 for the bank charge within a couple of days.
Personally, I prefer to be paid with a check. Accepting credit cards seems like it would be a hassle and a needless expense on my end. Then again, if it increases business, I imagine I'd be in favor of it. If that's the way things go, I'll adapt, but so far it doesn't seem worth it.
JohnE
Senior Member
- Location
- Milford, MA
We take credit cards. We process them through quickbooks. We need usual credit card info plus hous number of billing address. I've had several customers use them for fairly expensive home theater packages. I do little service, but I'd think that many customers would want to pay with a credit card.
We take cards because our customers ask for it.
It is really quite simple. You don't need a swiper or even a machine to run the card.
The service provider gives you all the info you need.
You write the customers card number on the invoice, call it it in per instructions and you get instant autorization or rejection.
It does cost up to 3% per transaction but I build in the % on all jobs for this possability, 3% will never cost you a job.
I had one guy put a $20K generator on a card. I told him that I would take the card but it would cost an addition 2% ( my fee), No problem. Instant credit to my account no worry about a bad check.
It is really quite simple. You don't need a swiper or even a machine to run the card.
The service provider gives you all the info you need.
You write the customers card number on the invoice, call it it in per instructions and you get instant autorization or rejection.
It does cost up to 3% per transaction but I build in the % on all jobs for this possability, 3% will never cost you a job.
I had one guy put a $20K generator on a card. I told him that I would take the card but it would cost an addition 2% ( my fee), No problem. Instant credit to my account no worry about a bad check.
77401
Banned
petersonra said:
Yea!! My armored truck problems LOL
I agree with the banking time/cashier time .. I had to close out my account @ Bank of America as there drive up teller time was taking 5-10 minutes a day. I found a small new bank just starting out that everyone knows me, no lines,and save me 20 minutes a week now.
But I can honestly say I might loose one call a year by not taking credit cards. People who can't afford cash or checks always ask first if you take credit cards.
- Location
- Lockport, IL
- Occupation
- Semi-Retired Electrical Engineer
Yes, that is how that would work.jeff43222 said:
We accept cards at our shop. We happen to do quite a bit of work for government agencies (USDA, US forest Service, FBI, Post Office, etc,). The facilities staff at these locations simply cannot hire you to do a service call if you can't accept the gov't issued card as payment.
We picked up a lot of new business, both service, and installations, and they were good sized jobs, thanks to the credit card, no problem processing them, and we can check the customers credit, before we start the job, also great for service work, we have the service call on the card, no more i don't have the check book, i will send you the payment, i don't know how you can operate a business today, without them.
- Status