When (and Why) Should Your Business Start Accepting Credit Cards?
You recently started a small business — a little mom-and-pop shop in your local area. So far you’re content accepting cash and cheques, but some customers are asking you to start accepting credit cards. You’re turned off by the idea of things like merchant fees cutting into your profits, and you’re not sure if accepting credit cards would be worth the bother.
Let’s talk about when you might want to consider accepting credit cards, and more importantly why you should.
When to Accept Credit Cards
Chances are good that the answer is “right now.” If you’re not accepting credit card payments for your business, you’re very likely missing out on sales. Now sure, there are exceptions to every rule and perhaps a micro-business really could do well on a cash-only basis. But if you’re looking to grow, accepting credit cards sooner rather than later could help you do that.
Why Your Business Should Accept Credit Cards
Yes, there are fees involved with getting and using a merchant account to accept credit card payments. Yes, you may have to put aside a security deposit to cover things like chargebacks. And yes, there may be equipment to buy. But even though accepting credit cards can cost you money, credit cards can also help you make more of it — enough to justify those costs and then some.
Here are some of the biggest reasons even the smallest of small businesses should consider accepting credit card payments:
1. Credit cards increase a customer’s spending power when they’re in your store, giving them access to more funds than they might have if they relied only on cash they have on-hand.
2. If your store is destined to grow with an online presence, you’ll need to be able to accept credit cards and debit cards (generally processed through Visa or MasterCard) for payments. The same applies if you want to allow telephone orders and you don’t want to wait on invoicing and payment.
3. In this day and age many consumers prefer not to carry cash with them at all. So not only does accepting credit cards give customers more spending power beyond their cash, but it can be the difference between a customer making a purchase or simply walking out of your store and going to the competition.
4. Credit cards might be able to help you simplify the bookkeeping for your business with automatic tracking and recordkeeping for each transaction.
Even if you have your concerns about accepting credit card payments for your business you have to admit that if they can help you increase sales and save time, then the benefits are at least worth considering. Decide where you are in your business. If you’re ready to grow, then grow into a merchant account and start accepting credit card payments to give customers more options.
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