Should you accept Visa credit card payments? Why not? More and more often, merchants are coming to appreciate the ease with which a credit card payment system can be implemented in their business through a merchant services account. Customers love the convenience of paying by credit, especially when cash flow is low or temporarily restricted. Letting them pay with plastic will allow your clients to enjoy greater flexibility in shopping for goods at your company and paying on their own terms.
If you decide to accept Visa credit card transactions, you will first need to secure a merchant services account. This is not hard to do. Just check with any of several merchant account providers, usually banks or lenders of some sort, to inquire about terms and costs. When you find a plan that suits your business and your customers' needs, you are ready to apply for the account. Most lenders want to be sure that you have a good credit history and are capable of making monthly payments to the account. They typically do not want to deal with a company that is involved with unethical or unsavory business operations.
When you receive a merchant services account, you are ready to accept Visa credit card payments. You will want to implement a system that will best fit your company's system. For example, if you handle a high volume of telephone sales, you may want to install a digital phone ordering system, with or without the support of a customer service representative who will be on call during hours of operation. But if you do a lot of traveling with your business, such as pizza delivery or consulting work, you may be more interested in securing a wireless credit processor that can go with you for point-of-sale credit processing. Perhaps a pager would be a better way to transfer credit transactions. You also may be interested in an e-check or debit processor. The possibilities are exciting, so choose carefully to avoid overextending your business and decreasing profit margins.
Another way to accept Visa credit card transactions is by establishing a Website. You can hire a Web consultant to put up a site for you, or you can learn to do it yourself. Your merchant services account will provide the means of letting the site accept credit card payments from customers anywhere in the world. Customers from any time zone can browse your site at any time, entering credit card payment through your secure Website. Your revenues can increase substantially when you add this credit card option to your marketing strategies. Your Website can include color photos of products, price lists, testimonials, product reviews, and other features that will bring customers back again and again to sample your wares. Then when they are ready to buy, your online credit processor is ready to accommodate them.
Don't wait to implement e-commerce in your business. Start browsing the possibilities today to find out how much they cost with a merchant services account. Before long you can accept Visa credit card transactions that will make your customers happy and your profits jump.
Shane Penrod is the founder of http://www.merchant-account-quotes.com Specializing in allowing merchants the ability to shop and compare multiple quotes from national merchant account providers. Accept Visa Credit Card Payments
Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shane_Penrod
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Wooing Small Business With Business Credit Cards
A few weeks ago (April 18, 2007), Discover Financial Services launched a new business credit card that offers frequent flier miles to small business owners. Among the credit card brands, Discover was one of the last to start offering business credit cards to the small business sector. Reportedly, this is only the latest in a virtual avalanche of business credit cards designed for small business.
One cannot but wonder at the sudden interest.
Perhaps a glance at recent research material will offer some clues. Data shows that in 2006, the small business sector spent $4.9 trillion; but only one-twentieth (5%) of that money was paid through business credit cards in any form (credit or debit card). The credit card companies now want in on that huge market, and believe they can induce small business owners to not only make use of their business credit cards but also to spend more on their cards.
To achieve this, the credit card companies will have to convince the small business owners to use business credit cards in less traditional ways. Traditionally, business credit cards have largely been used to cover travel and entertainment expenses. What card companies want is for businesses to use their business credit cards for everyday spend.
This is the reason behind the new cash back rewards business credit cards. These cards offer 5% discounts on purchases of office supplies, gasoline, courier services and other essential business needs. MasterCard even went as far as launching a business credit card targeted at a specific industry: contractors and construction companies. MasterCard was also the first card company to provide zero-liability protection to small business credit card holders.
Discover's recently launched business credit cards offer small business the chance to purchase checkbooks. This enables small business owners to pay for purchases from vendors that don't accept business credit cards. These checkbooks tap into the spending limit on their Discover business credit cards. Visa offers a directly competing program.
American Express sponsors various networking events for small business credit card holders. It also features one of the most extensive business resource databases to help users of its business credit cards to address and resolve their everyday business management problems and concerns.
How big is the potential market for business credit cards, you may ask? If you take the $4.9 trillion small business spending in 2006 and double the current business credit card spend from 5% ($245 billion) to 10%, you have $490 billion. If you charge 15% interest on that, you have a $74 billion potential contribution to profits. In fact, market research companies forecast double-digit growth in small business credit cards between now and 2010, and total charges are projected to reach $740.2 billion by that year. That is a lot of profit.
It has been an uphill climb to get small business owners to subscribe to an expanded use of business credit cards. It takes time, but eventually business owners will respond. One issue that business credit card issuers will have to address is the marked preference of small businesses to pay their full balance for the month as and when it falls due. Card companies do not earn from such transactions. That should be food enough for thought.
Richard Gilliland Provides Expert opinions and reviews to help you Compare and Apply for a Credit Card
- Compare Credit Card Offers with Credit-Wisdom.com
- Unraveling the best in Personal and Business Credit Cards [http://www.credit-wisdom.com/creditcards/business-credit-cards.php].
Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Gilliland
One cannot but wonder at the sudden interest.
Perhaps a glance at recent research material will offer some clues. Data shows that in 2006, the small business sector spent $4.9 trillion; but only one-twentieth (5%) of that money was paid through business credit cards in any form (credit or debit card). The credit card companies now want in on that huge market, and believe they can induce small business owners to not only make use of their business credit cards but also to spend more on their cards.
To achieve this, the credit card companies will have to convince the small business owners to use business credit cards in less traditional ways. Traditionally, business credit cards have largely been used to cover travel and entertainment expenses. What card companies want is for businesses to use their business credit cards for everyday spend.
This is the reason behind the new cash back rewards business credit cards. These cards offer 5% discounts on purchases of office supplies, gasoline, courier services and other essential business needs. MasterCard even went as far as launching a business credit card targeted at a specific industry: contractors and construction companies. MasterCard was also the first card company to provide zero-liability protection to small business credit card holders.
Discover's recently launched business credit cards offer small business the chance to purchase checkbooks. This enables small business owners to pay for purchases from vendors that don't accept business credit cards. These checkbooks tap into the spending limit on their Discover business credit cards. Visa offers a directly competing program.
American Express sponsors various networking events for small business credit card holders. It also features one of the most extensive business resource databases to help users of its business credit cards to address and resolve their everyday business management problems and concerns.
How big is the potential market for business credit cards, you may ask? If you take the $4.9 trillion small business spending in 2006 and double the current business credit card spend from 5% ($245 billion) to 10%, you have $490 billion. If you charge 15% interest on that, you have a $74 billion potential contribution to profits. In fact, market research companies forecast double-digit growth in small business credit cards between now and 2010, and total charges are projected to reach $740.2 billion by that year. That is a lot of profit.
It has been an uphill climb to get small business owners to subscribe to an expanded use of business credit cards. It takes time, but eventually business owners will respond. One issue that business credit card issuers will have to address is the marked preference of small businesses to pay their full balance for the month as and when it falls due. Card companies do not earn from such transactions. That should be food enough for thought.
Richard Gilliland Provides Expert opinions and reviews to help you Compare and Apply for a Credit Card
- Compare Credit Card Offers with Credit-Wisdom.com
- Unraveling the best in Personal and Business Credit Cards [http://www.credit-wisdom.com/creditcards/business-credit-cards.php].
Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Gilliland
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Make Your Customers Happy - Allow Them to Pay With Business Credit Cards
Small business service contractors, like plumbing services, computer technician services, cleaning services and the like, are not usually given to accepting business credit cards from their small business customers. The jobs performed normally require the payment of fairly large sums of cash or issuing of large checks; something the customer may well not be in favor of doing. Everything would be much more convenient - and lucrative - if you allowed your customers to pay for these services with their business credit cards.
Using business credit cards benefits both parties. Naturally the customers are the most important part of the equation, and here is how they (and you) stand to benefit:
Power of Convenience - If these were not convenient, business credit cards would never have become as popular as they are today. One of the attractions of paying with business credit cards is that your customer does not need to have cash on hand. Accepting their business credit cards means that the job can proceed - there is no need to wait until they have withdrawn the necessary amount of cash to fund the repair. This also means that they are not inconvenienced by having to put up with time delays and you are likely to end up being viewed as efficient. The power of convenience afforded by business credit cards makes them appealing to customers, and this is why business credit cards should - in real terms - also appeal to you.
Purchasing Power - The other obvious benefit to your customers is that business credit cards afford them the ability to have the needed work done immediately. We all know that repairs have the insufferable tendency to become urgent at the most inopportune times. It could come when your customer does not exactly have enough cash to immediately pay for the repair. When you accept their business credit cards, you give the client the power to immediately purchase those goods and services that they need.
Who knows, by affording them the opportunity to use their business credit cards, you could well end up doing some extra business with the client by being given additional incidental repair or maintenance work during the same service visit. For the client, having everything done at the same time, normally works out cheaper. If you do not accept business credit cards, the incidental repairs or maintenance work may have to be left for another day. This could represent a lost opportunity to you in the long run.
Flexibility - When you allow customers to pay with business credit cards, you give them the power of flexibility. They can choose whether to pay the full amount on their business credit card statement when it falls due, or whether to pay in installments instead.
Bonuses - Business credit cards offer all kinds of incentives to business credit card users. Some business credit cards offer frequent flier miles, others rewards points, and others still cash back. Customers may want to use their business credit cards to earn these incentives. If you deny their business credit cards, you also deny them the chance to receive that bonus.
Accepting business credit cards empowers your customers. Eventually, you'll realize that accepting business credit cards empowers you too: It enhances your ability to do more business with the same client; it supports your efforts to hold on to your existing clients; it also improves your ability to effectively compete for additional business against rivaling businesses in your sector.
All of this makes accepting business credit cards, a worthwhile consideration.
Richard Gilliland Provides Expert opinions and reviews to help you Compare and Apply for a Credit Card - Compare Credit Card Offers with Credit-Wisdom.com - Unraveling the best in Personal and Business Credit Cards [http://www.credit-wisdom.com/creditcards/business-credit-cards.php].
Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Gilliland
Using business credit cards benefits both parties. Naturally the customers are the most important part of the equation, and here is how they (and you) stand to benefit:
Power of Convenience - If these were not convenient, business credit cards would never have become as popular as they are today. One of the attractions of paying with business credit cards is that your customer does not need to have cash on hand. Accepting their business credit cards means that the job can proceed - there is no need to wait until they have withdrawn the necessary amount of cash to fund the repair. This also means that they are not inconvenienced by having to put up with time delays and you are likely to end up being viewed as efficient. The power of convenience afforded by business credit cards makes them appealing to customers, and this is why business credit cards should - in real terms - also appeal to you.
Purchasing Power - The other obvious benefit to your customers is that business credit cards afford them the ability to have the needed work done immediately. We all know that repairs have the insufferable tendency to become urgent at the most inopportune times. It could come when your customer does not exactly have enough cash to immediately pay for the repair. When you accept their business credit cards, you give the client the power to immediately purchase those goods and services that they need.
Who knows, by affording them the opportunity to use their business credit cards, you could well end up doing some extra business with the client by being given additional incidental repair or maintenance work during the same service visit. For the client, having everything done at the same time, normally works out cheaper. If you do not accept business credit cards, the incidental repairs or maintenance work may have to be left for another day. This could represent a lost opportunity to you in the long run.
Flexibility - When you allow customers to pay with business credit cards, you give them the power of flexibility. They can choose whether to pay the full amount on their business credit card statement when it falls due, or whether to pay in installments instead.
Bonuses - Business credit cards offer all kinds of incentives to business credit card users. Some business credit cards offer frequent flier miles, others rewards points, and others still cash back. Customers may want to use their business credit cards to earn these incentives. If you deny their business credit cards, you also deny them the chance to receive that bonus.
Accepting business credit cards empowers your customers. Eventually, you'll realize that accepting business credit cards empowers you too: It enhances your ability to do more business with the same client; it supports your efforts to hold on to your existing clients; it also improves your ability to effectively compete for additional business against rivaling businesses in your sector.
All of this makes accepting business credit cards, a worthwhile consideration.
Richard Gilliland Provides Expert opinions and reviews to help you Compare and Apply for a Credit Card - Compare Credit Card Offers with Credit-Wisdom.com - Unraveling the best in Personal and Business Credit Cards [http://www.credit-wisdom.com/creditcards/business-credit-cards.php].
Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Gilliland
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Discover Card's Business Credit Cards
Discover Card now offers its own version of business credit cards. Discover Card has been known for their customer service, and this dedication for service continues in their business credit cards product. Whenever you need to contact them, Discover Card assures you that business credit card specialists will always be on hand, that they will take your telephone calls quickly and that your queries will be attended to promptly. Discover does not treat this availability as a benefit, but rather view it as a service commitment to their Discover Card business customers. There is a wide range of benefits to be had on your Discover business credit cards though. Here follows a few of these:
Cash Back Bonus Business Credit Cards
Using your Discover Rewards business credit card, will entitle you to 5% discounts on office supply purchases, 2% on gas, and 1% on other miscellaneous purchases. This could translate into significant savings for your business, especially because this business credit card also enables you to earn valuable Rewards points
If you opt to redeem your business credit cards cash back bonus in the form of gift cards or e-certificates from their participating 70 brand-name partners, you will have the opportunity of doubling your points. This means that you can get gift cards or certificates to use for a variety of different items - and should that be your choice, even a Cruise.
If, on the other hand, you elect to redeem in cash, you can nominate how the payment should be issued and into which account it should go. This could be in the form of a check, an electronic deposit to the bank account of your choice, or as a credit on your business credit card account.
Travel Miles Business Credit Cards
If your business requires frequent travel, the Discover Miles Business Credit Cards will come in useful. Your business credit card account earns up to one mile for every dollar in usual purchases, double miles on your gas (at the pump or in the station) and double miles for travel purchases (plane tickets, car rentals, hotels). There is a limit of $5,000 imposed in terms of the amount you can accumulate on the business credit cards' double miles feature, but when all is said and done, that is still a substantial amount.
You won't have to wait long before you can start redeeming the miles on your business credit cards. You can redeem the miles as gift cards from 50 brand-name participating partners in a graduated manner: $5 for 1,000 miles, $25 for 3,500 miles and $50 for 6,000 miles. Once you reach 5,000 miles, you can start redeeming these miles as cash back rewards.
Other Benefits
There are also other, standard benefits for business credit cards. You will get quarterly and annual statements that summarize all expenses charged against your business credit cards; the summaries are already categorized to make your bookkeeping simpler, and you can receive statements online ready for download into popular accounting software applications.
You can customize your employees' spending limits on their business credit cards online, and when you use your business credit card to pay for travel, you're automatically covered for accident insurance and car rental insurance. A new benefit is that you can purchase checkbooks with your Discover business credit card, thereby enabling payments to those companies that don't accept business credit cards yet.
Richard Gilliland Provides Expert opinions and reviews to help you Compare and Apply for a Credit Card - Compare Credit Card Offers with Credit-Wisdom.com - Unraveling the best in Personal and Business Credit Cards [http://www.credit-wisdom.com/creditcards/business-credit-cards.php].
Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Gilliland
Cash Back Bonus Business Credit Cards
Using your Discover Rewards business credit card, will entitle you to 5% discounts on office supply purchases, 2% on gas, and 1% on other miscellaneous purchases. This could translate into significant savings for your business, especially because this business credit card also enables you to earn valuable Rewards points
If you opt to redeem your business credit cards cash back bonus in the form of gift cards or e-certificates from their participating 70 brand-name partners, you will have the opportunity of doubling your points. This means that you can get gift cards or certificates to use for a variety of different items - and should that be your choice, even a Cruise.
If, on the other hand, you elect to redeem in cash, you can nominate how the payment should be issued and into which account it should go. This could be in the form of a check, an electronic deposit to the bank account of your choice, or as a credit on your business credit card account.
Travel Miles Business Credit Cards
If your business requires frequent travel, the Discover Miles Business Credit Cards will come in useful. Your business credit card account earns up to one mile for every dollar in usual purchases, double miles on your gas (at the pump or in the station) and double miles for travel purchases (plane tickets, car rentals, hotels). There is a limit of $5,000 imposed in terms of the amount you can accumulate on the business credit cards' double miles feature, but when all is said and done, that is still a substantial amount.
You won't have to wait long before you can start redeeming the miles on your business credit cards. You can redeem the miles as gift cards from 50 brand-name participating partners in a graduated manner: $5 for 1,000 miles, $25 for 3,500 miles and $50 for 6,000 miles. Once you reach 5,000 miles, you can start redeeming these miles as cash back rewards.
Other Benefits
There are also other, standard benefits for business credit cards. You will get quarterly and annual statements that summarize all expenses charged against your business credit cards; the summaries are already categorized to make your bookkeeping simpler, and you can receive statements online ready for download into popular accounting software applications.
You can customize your employees' spending limits on their business credit cards online, and when you use your business credit card to pay for travel, you're automatically covered for accident insurance and car rental insurance. A new benefit is that you can purchase checkbooks with your Discover business credit card, thereby enabling payments to those companies that don't accept business credit cards yet.
Richard Gilliland Provides Expert opinions and reviews to help you Compare and Apply for a Credit Card - Compare Credit Card Offers with Credit-Wisdom.com - Unraveling the best in Personal and Business Credit Cards [http://www.credit-wisdom.com/creditcards/business-credit-cards.php].
Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Gilliland
Accept Business Credit Cards - Empower Your Business and Your Clients
Businesses today are increasingly making use of business credit cards to transact, both as vendors and as buyers. This trend in spite, there are still a number of vendors who do not accept business credit cards from their business clientele. The truth of the matter is that if such a vendor wishes to achieve higher trading volumes and increase its client base, accepting business credit cards changes from being an optional, to a must.
Accounts receivable is not only a nasty trap, but also creates a vicious cycle. Vendors that do not accept business credit cards, often agree to extending credit to their clients in order to retain their custom. Although this may be a necessary business practice, it does place unnecessary strain on the business' finances: Unnecessary, because by accepting business credit cards, you can retain your clients and mitigate your cash flow risk at the same time.
The benefits of accepting business credit cards are numerous and include:
Boost Your Sales: When your clients are in a position to purchase what they want immediately, most of them will. When they make that immediate purchase, your sales are boosted. A simple browse - either in your store or on your web site - may turn into a profitable visit if you enable your clients to make payments with their business credit cards.
Bolster Your Cash Flow: Many merchants who do not have sufficient cash flow with which to support growth, may be victims of high accounts receivables. One of the quickest ways to free your business from this trap is to start accepting business credit cards. Stop billing your clients and start billing their banks instead! When you accept business credit cards, the revenue from the sale will reach your bottom line much sooner than accounts receivables would.
Put Smiles on Your Clients' Faces: Clients obtained their business credit cards for a variety of good business reasons and will want to use these. Don't allow your clients to find alternative suppliers purely because your business is not able to process business credit card transactions. When business clients are searching for a supplier, and they want to pay by means of their business credit cards, they will search until they find a supplier who does. Accepting business credit cards places you in the running for their business - and that is a good place to be!
Put Smiles on Your Financial staff's Faces: Your accounting department will be very happy when you decide to accept business credit cards as payment for purchases. They will be freed from the hassles of paperwork and the headaches of collecting all your accounts receivables on time. If one compares the collection of outstanding accounts from many of different clients to collecting from the relatively few merchant services that issue business credit cards, the latter is a walk in the park.
Accepting business credit cards may be necessary to enhance and grow the business relationship you enjoy with your clients. It affords your clients the opportunity to make use of their preferred method of payment and liberates you from the accounts receivable trap at the same time.
Richard Gilliland Provides Expert opinions and reviews to help you Compare and Apply for a Credit Card - Compare Credit Card Offers with Credit-Wisdom.com - Unraveling the best in Personal and Business Credit Cards [http://www.credit-wisdom.com/creditcards/business-credit-cards.php].
Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Gilliland
Accounts receivable is not only a nasty trap, but also creates a vicious cycle. Vendors that do not accept business credit cards, often agree to extending credit to their clients in order to retain their custom. Although this may be a necessary business practice, it does place unnecessary strain on the business' finances: Unnecessary, because by accepting business credit cards, you can retain your clients and mitigate your cash flow risk at the same time.
The benefits of accepting business credit cards are numerous and include:
Boost Your Sales: When your clients are in a position to purchase what they want immediately, most of them will. When they make that immediate purchase, your sales are boosted. A simple browse - either in your store or on your web site - may turn into a profitable visit if you enable your clients to make payments with their business credit cards.
Bolster Your Cash Flow: Many merchants who do not have sufficient cash flow with which to support growth, may be victims of high accounts receivables. One of the quickest ways to free your business from this trap is to start accepting business credit cards. Stop billing your clients and start billing their banks instead! When you accept business credit cards, the revenue from the sale will reach your bottom line much sooner than accounts receivables would.
Put Smiles on Your Clients' Faces: Clients obtained their business credit cards for a variety of good business reasons and will want to use these. Don't allow your clients to find alternative suppliers purely because your business is not able to process business credit card transactions. When business clients are searching for a supplier, and they want to pay by means of their business credit cards, they will search until they find a supplier who does. Accepting business credit cards places you in the running for their business - and that is a good place to be!
Put Smiles on Your Financial staff's Faces: Your accounting department will be very happy when you decide to accept business credit cards as payment for purchases. They will be freed from the hassles of paperwork and the headaches of collecting all your accounts receivables on time. If one compares the collection of outstanding accounts from many of different clients to collecting from the relatively few merchant services that issue business credit cards, the latter is a walk in the park.
Accepting business credit cards may be necessary to enhance and grow the business relationship you enjoy with your clients. It affords your clients the opportunity to make use of their preferred method of payment and liberates you from the accounts receivable trap at the same time.
Richard Gilliland Provides Expert opinions and reviews to help you Compare and Apply for a Credit Card - Compare Credit Card Offers with Credit-Wisdom.com - Unraveling the best in Personal and Business Credit Cards [http://www.credit-wisdom.com/creditcards/business-credit-cards.php].
Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Gilliland
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