Small business owners have to face challenges entrepreneurs in charge of large enterprises or corporations rarely have to even think about. The first is keeping up with the competition, often coming in the form of fierce competition from larger companies. Indeed, it is often difficult for smaller businesses to stay afloat, and expanding to increase profits can sometimes be a considerable challenge. One of the best ways to ensure your small enterprise works well is to ensure that everything is as efficient as it can be.
An area of business that should be as efficient as possible is payments. Receiving cash is the most obvious choice, but it’s essential that small businesses have the ability to accept multiple payment options. The world is constantly changing, and customers have different needs and requirements. Limiting yourself to only one or two payment options means you risk losing a considerable portion of your clients. For instance, when prospective customer discovers that you only accept cash payments, but they have no cash on themselves, they’re more likely to shop from one of your competitors than return to make a purchase with you later.
Here are the options you must be sure to include in your business payment plan.
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Credit and debit
This one is perhaps the most obvious option out there. Nowadays, only a small percentage of customers still carry cash, with the number being somewhere around 36%. You don’t want to risk reducing your sales to such a low, so you must ensure your clients can pay with their cards when they step into your store. Nearly 80% say they’re more comfortable making payments using a card. And even though the process is notoriously straightforward, you must have a few things in mind.
Apart from what bank details are needed to receive money, you must also decide on the best tools to use when you accept payments. There are several options you can consider, including:
- POS: the point-of-sale software operates as a system that not only charges the customer but can also track purchases, manage receipts, and even provides an option to add a gratuity. When working with myPOS, you can use efficient mobile payment terminals and discover new online solutions. Point-of-sale technology is also frequently equipped with payment gateways, a protected way for customers to pay for products or services. When you’re looking to expand your payment options to include credit and debit, a POS device is your best bet due to the wide range of services it offers.
- Card reader: A card reader can be easily attached to a smartphone, making it a fast and accessible option for small businesses.
- Virtual terminal: This option works well if you don’t want to purchase a card reader, as a virtual terminal can be used to process the bank credentials of your customers. Their bank details are filtered through a computer or mobile device during checkout.
ACH transfers
Many small businesses accept Automated Clearing House processing. This method works by sending the payment money from one account to another via the means of a specialized network. While it may not seem like a widely popular option, many institutions and organizations actually use this type of money transfer. Some of the benefits include:
- A quick and straightforward way of accepting payments, as the transactions are usually processed rapidly
- Convenience
- More secure than some other forms of payment, such as paper cheques
- Relatively easy setup
However, there are some potential drawbacks as well. Some banks have a transaction limit, meaning there’s only a certain number of transfers you can perform in a day, week, or month. Also, while transaction fees are typically low nowadays, frequent transfers can result in additional penalties. To discover what the procedures are, you should talk to your bank to find out if this method works for you. You might decide that it is a good option for a particular group of transactions, not for all of them.
Online payments
Over the last few years, online shopping has risen to previously unseen heights. While before, most buyers would have been sure to say that they preferred shopping in the physical store rather than online as it provided them with a better knowledge of the quality of the products they were getting, the undeniable ease and convenience of shopping over the internet has won most clients over since then.
There are several ways you can support online payments. While most customers would have traditionally used the same debit or credit cards they use in brick-and-mortar locations, financial technology companies have also begun gaining popularity among the public, particularly among members of the younger demographic. Using this software is an overall straightforward process. One of their main advantages is that they usually don’t come with additional monthly fees.
There are typically not many disadvantages coming with using these apps. However, you should be mindful of complying with the user policies at all points. The platforms have something of a reputation for freezing accounts that fail to keep up with the requirements, and there’s no way to access the money or perform any transaction until you can prove your innocence.
Contactless
Contactless payments are becoming increasingly popular among customers. They are easy to use and fast, and all you need is the right software to enable the transaction. The technology this system is based on is NFC, near-field communication technology. It allows your clients to get their smartwatches or smartphones close to a payment device, and the payment is complete. Many shoppers are confident that this method of buying is safer than many others. The transaction fees are typically low as well, so you don’t have to worry about incredibly high costs.
The more payment options you use within your business, the more customers you are likely to see. In order to keep your business healthy and encourage progress, you must adapt to the requirements of your clientele. There are several options available, and you should be able to provide as many of them as possible.
