Taking plastic from customers involves much more than hanging up a “credit cards accepted” sign and swiping them through an electronic machine or mobile device. You have to manage your merchant account and transactions every business day. Here are 3 merchant services credit card processing tips for small business owners to keep in mind.
Read All of Your Credit Card Acceptance Agreements
The credit card companies (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover) all have different rules and terms for card acceptance. Your merchant services provider should provide you with this information. Before you start taking credit cards, take a minute to review each agreement to ensure that your business stays consistent with those terms. Businesses can have their merchant processing privileges revoked indefinitely for violating the conditions of their agreements.
Check Your Statements Each Night
After processing payments during the business day with your credit card merchant account, it’s important that you take some time out to sit down and review your transactions. Make sure that you have a signed receipt for each transaction (if you run a physical store or kiosk) and that the status of each transaction is approved and pending. Contact your merchant services provider immediately if there are any inconsistencies.
Link Your Processing Unit with Your Accounting Software
When you start to get dozens, hundreds or even thousands of credit card purchases in a month, you may feel a little bit overwhelmed when trying to account for each transaction. Set up your merchant services credit card account to link directly to your business accounting software. Look for the option to “link payment service” so that credit card transactions automatically load into your software program.
When you start accepting credit cards, keep these 3 merchant services credit card processing tips in mind to ensure that all of your business accounts remain in good standing.
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