It’s an exciting day when you can finally put up a colorful sign that says “credit cards accepted” at your small business. It might actually be a life changing day for your company. Here’s a few things that you can expect when you start taking credit cards from your customers.

Your Sales Will Increase

You may be surprised at how your sales will increase when you start taking credit cards from customers. A lot of businesses still only accept cash, which means they are leaving a LOT of money on the table. People aren’t carrying as much cash as they did in past years. As of 2012 there were 1.5 billion credit cards in use in the United States and people use them often for everything from gas to groceries. That statistic doesn’t include the number of debit cards, which can be processed as credit card purchases as well. So basically, get ready to see an increase in cash flow very soon after accepting credit cards at your small business.

Transaction Fees

Credit card acceptance is a service like any other and someone has to get paid for providing it. Expect to pay a transaction fee to the service provider that you select for processing your credit card payments. You’ll pay anywhere between 2 to 3.5 percent on average plus a per transaction fee. Some credit card merchant services providers offer you the option for a (slightly higher) flat rate and no transaction fee. That is an ideal option if you sell low-ticket items. For instance, say you have a choice between a 3 percent flat rate or a 2.5 percent rate plus .30 per transaction fee. If you sell a product for $3 the fee will be $0.09 in the first case and $0.375 in the other case.

A Dispute Here and There

When you start taking credit cards, you should be prepared for the occasional dispute (also called a “chargeback”) from purchasers. You can reduce the chance of getting disputes though by enforcing smart and strict regulations about accepting cards from customers. In face-to-face sales scenarios, always check identification and compare signatures to ensure that the person making the purchase is the actual owner of the card. For online transactions, get signature confirmation for anything shipped and match the shipping address with the billing address for extra security (this might not work if a lot of your customers order items as gifts to be drop shipped). Keep track of people who successfully file chargebacks so that you can properly handle their orders in the future and avoid any further losses.

When it comes right down to it, despite the potential downsides there aren’t many good reasons not to have a “credit card accepted” sign hanging at your business. Most of what you can expect will likely be a positive step forward for your new small business.