# Credit Cards: To Accept or Not To Accept...



## EcoArboristBill

Thinking about setting up to accept CC's and wondering how many of you have or do accept them. If so, what type of equipment do you use and how has it affected your biz? that is to say, has it increased the number of big jobs you get, or the number of jobs you get period, has it opened the door on any specific types of contracts such as commercial or government? And what company do you use for processing? I am aware of services like PayPal but I'm not sure that would go over too well in my area, not a really techno savvy population (The YP ad is still king around here). 
Any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated


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## NetreeLady

We took them for a couple of years; Lots of expense, for very little return. Not worth the hassle, IMHO.


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## MillerTreeMN

i dont. 

cash, or check. i only get 1-2 calls max per year asking if i take credit cards. i dont think ive lost any more than 1 job by not accepting them, i usually just explain that i dont accept CC and then the customer writes a check. 

doesnt seem worth the headache.


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## Daddy M Dawg

If it's a must have them pay with Paypal. It's free to them to signup and may help you close sales. I wouldn't advertise VISA/MC though because their fees will cost you.


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## Kansas

Best thing I ever did for my business (auto repair shop) in many ways, even with the monthly costs involved you are better off than with payment by check, as the money gets put in your account faster. 

Since you dont know if the check is good at the point of sale w/o calling the bank like you do with a CC. 

If the CC isnt good you will see it at the terminal it will have xxx's across the dollar amount and you refuse the sale unless they can produce a suitable alternative payment. hth

Kansas


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## coolbrze

A person can cancel both a check & CC! I wouldn't worry about that much. I'd worry about CC fees, although a few of my buddies have gone to CC payment pages on their websites & said the fees are negligable. I've been meaning to check that out...


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## loadthestove

I accept credit/debit cards in my business and have never regretted it.A lot of company mechanics/parts chaser carry a company cc so I'm usually paid on the spot.
I purchased my own machine on ebay for less than $300 new.
After talking with several card companies and flatly telling them"If you cant set it up to where it doesn't cost me anything if I don't use it don't waste your time calling ".
The company I'm currently with only charges me a $7.00 dollar a month statement fee plus the usual 1.59 percent on each transaction.
With this setup if I don't use it for a month I;m not out a great deal of money
several companies wanted around $40 per month just to have their services
regardless if I used them or not.


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## ozarktreeman

MillerTreeMN said:


> i dont.
> 
> cash, or check. i only get 1-2 calls max per year asking if i take credit cards. i dont think ive lost any more than 1 job by not accepting them, i usually just explain that i dont accept CC and then the customer writes a check.
> 
> doesnt seem worth the headache.



:agree2:


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## lawnmowertech37

im in the process of cancelling my merchant acct do not get enough business anyhow to cover the costs of transaction fees associated with the small orders that i do get when i get 

only use paypal as the visa card accepter and amex and discover 

i save more in the process by using standard paypal anyhow 

what i dont understand is this past march i was doing ok but today its a blessing if i even make $ 50.00 a week 

thats how slow it is on my site and that is the only job i have is online store sales 

so you know how i feel dont you


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## oscar4883

Anyone have any experience with a service called First Data? Recently switched banks and this is a CC service they offer. Apparently it is an outside vendor of some sort and I don not think that any hardware is involved. Waiting to hear from the representative to go over the particulars.


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## lawnmowertech37

oscar4883 said:


> Anyone have any experience with a service called First Data? Recently switched banks and this is a CC service they offer. Apparently it is an outside vendor of some sort and I don not think that any hardware is involved. Waiting to hear from the representative to go over the particulars.



i was with them for 8 years when i was doing locksmith work but i stopped doing business with them due to the high charges they were starting to charge
Quickbooks merchant services are much cheaper rates


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## oscar4883

lawnmowertech37 said:


> i was with them for 8 years when i was doing locksmith work but i stopped doing business with them due to the high charges they were starting to charge
> Quickbooks merchant services are much cheaper rates



Thank you for the info.


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## ArborSmithNw

Seriously, 2 words:

Airline Miles.

2 more words:

Can't afford.

If you are dealing with client contracts worth more than $500 or so, a lot of time they may not have the cash at hand to cover the costs, being able to pay it off monthly helps to lock in more deals, vs. not accepting may cut you out of their loop.

The people who hire arborists to enhance properties as a "luxury" rather than an emergency removal type, is more apt to travel due to disposable income. Those who fly regularly, earning those miles even if they have the cash is very important to them.

And like mentioned by others, you get the money quicker, the payment doesn't get returned etc etc. No such thing as the check's in the mail! 

Anytime I am trying to track down a payment from somebody & they give me the ol' I will send out a check tomorrow, I always counter with: Well I can go ahead and just take a CC over the phone and earn you more rewards & save you a stamp!!


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## ArborSmithNw

oh, and if you do go that way, make sure you shop around. it's a very competitive business that anybody can get into, so you can really beat them up on their fees! Check with your local corner market & ask them who they use, usually they are set up on the cheap!


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## EcoArboristBill

Good point Arbor Smith. Reward Points could be one more selling point. And you reinforced my thought that accepting CCs could help land larger contracts. However I can see the point others are making that if you don't generate enough sales through CCs you will be loosing money. So I guess the only way to know how it will work is to try it out and see if there's an associated increase.
Any more thoughts...bring 'em on


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## argueta

During spring, about 60% of our customers pay with credit cards. Like someone mentioned, it is very convenient for the customer to be able to pay in payments rather than the whole amount at once, specially when its a bigger project. Our CC fees are I believe 1.59% of the charging amount. Its one of the lowest rates available. We have a wireless CC terminal that lets us take CC at the spot, that way we can see the CC went threw. Also, customers feel more comfortable seeing the CC swiped rather than giving it over the phone.


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## BuddhaKat

There is so much to know about merchant services. Firstly, the fees today are very low and make taking CC's very practical. Secondly, more than half of all transactions are now done with debit cards rather than credit or check. There's a ton of advantages to that for everyone. From the merchants perspective, the fees are lower and there's no chargeback risk.

And lastly, DON'T sign a long term contract or agree to any monthly minimums. They're nothing but BS! 

Merchant services is actually my primary business. If someone wants to know more about how the industry works, PM me and I'll be glad to explain it in detail or answer any questions. No sales pitch. If you have questions I'm more than happy to help.


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## Oly's Stump

I have been taking credit cards the past 6 years through PayPal. Best thing I ever did. Customers pay right on my website. I don't pay any monthly fees and don't have to buy any equipment. I pay a small fee when someone pays me. I have been told numerous times by customers that its great. I never see the customers credit card and they trust PayPal is secure.


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## MillerTreeMN

Oly's Stump said:


> I have been taking credit cards the past 6 years through PayPal. Best thing I ever did. Customers pay right on my website. I don't pay any monthly fees and don't have to buy any equipment. I pay a small fee when someone pays me. I have been told numerous times by customers that its great. I never see the customers credit card and they trust PayPal is secure.





Do you ever have problems transferring the money from your paypal account, to your bank account ? 

what about the waiting period? does that ever bother you ?

i think my paypal account only lets me run a $500 per month limit


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## RAG66

I do not accept CC's. As someone said before, I only run into a very small number of customers per year that ask, and out of 3-6 maybe 1 has ever said they can not use my services. I would much rather deal in cash and checks. The question of a bounced check has not occured one time in 15 years. Most of my customers are usualy home to watch and full of compliment when they see what we do for a living. This being said I think it is the type of customer you are looking for or the volume of business you wish to achieve.:greenchainsaw:


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## Oly's Stump

MillerTreeMN said:


> Do you ever have problems transferring the money from your paypal account, to your bank account ?
> 
> what about the waiting period? does that ever bother you ?
> 
> i think my paypal account only lets me run a $500 per month limit



Once the customer does the transaction with PayPal, it will show up on your account and you can immediately make the transferr request to your checking or bank account minus their fee. It takes a day to clear with your bank.


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## hrmanagement

most of us aren't born knowing how to use credit cards.... Still, it’s important to learn the rules of the CC game... if u want to do online purchases with ur CC then be careful about frauds it is better to have a credit card of very low Cr. limit so that min. damage id caused if misused. also remember not to default on the payment whatever the amount since this data is fed to a secret database and is made available or sold to banks and loan companies as your credit record and you may be denied a future loan based on this info... thank you


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## StephanieD

If the credit/debit card charges are a concern, check out Costco. My coupon flyer from them had some information about their merchant services. 

It says their rate is 1.48% plus $.20 per transaction for cards swiped and 1.99% and $.27 per transaction for mail, phone, internet orders. 

Also says when you open a new account you recieve the 12month of processing fees free(upto $300). Call 1-800-616-4249 Promo Code: 83446
deal available July 15th through August 8th, 2010

Not sure if this is available in all areas. I'm in Western Washington.


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## outonalimbts

*Seven years with paypal*

We have been processing cc orders for years- there are pluses and minuses to everything- on the positive side we usually are released funds within minutes- on the other hand if a client pays using their debit card it can take a week to clear the bank-.

If people are going to utilize their credit card, it processes in minutes unless they pay with a buy it now button- the buttons tend to go through increased security scrutiny- People often get an email that says "payment under review"
This process can take up to 24 hours.

Paypal.com is considered the safest manner to pay online- This is good for our business- I don't want to be exposed to anyones credit card info, as this could allow for abuse, or even to be accused of abuse if the number were ever to be compromised, and fraudulently used. I am protected by accepting cc orders through Paypal.

As far as the fee, 2.9% isn't too bad, considering I don't pay for equipment, there aren't any service fees, they provide me with a Master Card that is linked with my account, and I have a daily limit of 3 K. A cash machine limit of $400 a day as well.

Credit card processing is a great thing for our business! Credit Cards are used 35% of the time. Which accounts for around $15 K a month.

Emergency tree work is the number one reason to accept credit cards as there is a paper trail that is left for proof to the insurance companies that the payment was made and processed.

:chainsawguy:


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## outonalimbts

*follow up posting...*

Today- I did 2 smallish projects- both paid via credit cards- for a total of $2100.

If I didn't accept CC's I wouldn't have gotten paid with immediateness as I did.

FYI


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## BuddhaKat

StephanieD said:


> If the credit/debit card charges are a concern, check out Costco. My coupon flyer from them had some information about their merchant services.
> 
> It says their rate is 1.48% plus $.20 per transaction for cards swiped and 1.99% and $.27 per transaction for mail, phone, internet orders.
> 
> Also says when you open a new account you recieve the 12month of processing fees free(upto $300). Call 1-800-616-4249 Promo Code: 83446
> deal available July 15th through August 8th, 2010
> 
> Not sure if this is available in all areas. I'm in Western Washington.


Read the fine print on that deal. They're not giving you that rate for a credit card transaction. It's for debit card transactions. That rate is below interchange and there is no company in the world that gets anything off of interchange. It flat out does not happen. The company represent does over $4 billion a year in CC processing and we don't get a break. We're the largest in the nation too.

You want to know how credit cards work, send me a PM. I'll be happy to explain it. In most cases, most merchant service companies are about as trustworthy as a used car salesman.


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## BuddhaKat

outonalimbts said:


> Today- I did 2 smallish projects- both paid via credit cards- for a total of $2100.
> 
> If I didn't accept CC's I wouldn't have gotten paid with immediateness as I did.
> 
> FYI


We now have a free program in our merchant services product lineup that runs off your smartphone that lets you swipe a credit card and run the transaction over your cell at much better rates than punching in the numbers by hand. For transactions like that it would save you quite a bit. PM me if you want info.


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## Darin

Here is where I think I can save you some money. For the most part nobody has to take a credit card. This is what I do and it has worked for me for years. I pay my bills at the end of the month with credit card to my suppliers. I used to be a supplier and I know this isn't the coolest thing to do to one but on the other side, they are just happy to have a customer that actually pays their bills on time. I get a credit card authorization form and tell the client that I can bill their credit card out at the supply house as I don't have a machine. The credit card just goes against what I owe for the month and I don't get charged credit card fees!!!! They were expecting a credit card payment at the end of the month anyway from me so it doesn't bother them. I am not saying all will do it, but I have major suppliers in my area that give me no problems doing it. I bet I have ran over $200,000 worth of other peoples credit cards just this year. I also tell them it protects them anyway cause they can prove the supplies were paid for at the supplier and it protects their lien rights. I know not all of you have a $500 bill at the supplier, but if you do spraying or have a large number of repairs/parts for the month, this could be an easy way to pay your bill and take a credit card when you need to. Like most say, the majority of the time you don't need to, but sometimes it's the only way you are getting your $$$. Just an idea, it works great for me.


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## randalicious

*Accepting Credit Cards*

I'll take 30 seconds and tell you all I learned from accepting Credit Cards 10 years ago.  I used a company with the word "First" in it, but I don't remember if it was First American, though.

They will act like you HAVE to have one of those electronic credit card terminals, which are expensive if you buy them from them, but you can also just use a Touchtone phone to input your credit card sales. It's like using a phone to check your bank balance--it's a hassle. The drawback is that you have to give the customer a receipt, so that would probably be manual.

The sign-up fee and the percentage they take out of your sales aren't too bad, but they make you sign up for a certain period, similar to how the cell phone companies make you sign up for 2 years if they give you a free phone. If you decide that taking credit cards isn't for you after signing up, they bill you for the amount it would take to finish your contract with them, or an early withdrawal penalty, whichever is greater.

Somebody here might have some more up to date info or a company that offers a better deal, though.


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## BlueRidgeMark

ArborSmithNw said:


> Seriously, 2 words:
> 
> ...
> 
> The people who hire arborists to enhance properties as a "luxury" rather than an emergency removal type, ...






RAG66 said:


> ... I only run into a very small number of customers per year that ask,
> 
> ...I think *it is the type of customer you are looking for* or the volume of business you wish to achieve.:greenchainsaw:





Bingo. 


Two words: *TARGET MARKET*.


If you are targeting people with money, you are crazy if you do not take credit cards. You WILL lose business.


If you are targeting lower income people, you can probably do just fine without taking CCs.


But then, WHY would you *NOT* target the people with money???? 

Remember what the man said when he was asked why he kept robbing banks?


"That's where the money is."


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## cassandrasdaddy

*paypal*

since 2004
lots of absentee landlords in the military i get my money right away and never have access to their number. i can run it through from my house and transfer the money literally within mins. or withdraw cash. no monthly fees and i just factor in 3 % and offer a 3 % discount for cash


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## sgreanbeans

I take them thru Quick Books, however, super expensive, canceling and switching to my bank. 
Plus QB is slow in depositing, took a week on time, don't use it!


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## sgreanbeans

cassandrasdaddy said:


> since 2004
> lots of absentee landlords in the military i get my money right away and never have access to their number. i can run it through from my house and transfer the money literally within mins. or withdraw cash. no monthly fees and i just factor in 3 % and offer a 3 % discount for cash




Good ol Fredricksburg, Have bunch of Jarheads living there, I lived in Stafford by the back gate of Quan-tic-o. Very nice place to live in, many retire there.


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## cassandrasdaddy

*no joke*

i joke about the number of marines in the hood. we call the area behind me the federal ghetto


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## TreeClimber57

We offer it.. not a huge cost.. about $10 a month I think.. plus the surchage when used.

We do not use their machines, as there is a $30/mth fee (or somewhere thereabouts for machines). We use a web portal only. 

It is a nice offering, although we likely only put around $15K or so through it in a year.


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## DeAvilaTree

I take them I ad a processing fee to cover the cost, most of the companies around here take them and I was losing business because I didn't , best thing I've done. And mine is set up to call right from the front seat of my truck.


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## TreeClimber57

sgreanbeans said:


> I take them thru Quick Books, however, super expensive, canceling and switching to my bank.
> Plus QB is slow in depositing, took a week on time, don't use it!


 
When you say super expensive; what do you mean for pricing? They are advertising in Canada for something like $10/mth. And they say they have in bank in 2 business days maximum here. I know a couple of guys using, and they seem to have no issues here, so was trying to figure out what differences were.


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## surfspc

*Yes....*

Yes I think it is a must to have a cc processor. It is a little expensive but how much money are you loosing ffrom people who do not have cash? I never carry cash on me


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