Uncategorized | Retriever, Advantage Merchant Services

Simplifying Your Merchant Processing

Part of being an entrepreneur or business owner is that you must become knowledgeable about topics that may not be that closely connected to what your business does. For example, if you opened a restaurant, it’s probably because you have experience in the industry and enjoy providing quality food to your guests. Or, you’re an independent plumber or electrician, you’re an expert at that, and you enjoy it.

However, it doesn’t take long before you realize that, in addition to your specific line of work, you’re now required to become an expert in a bunch of other things, too. Like computers. Very few businesses can stay up and running if the computers go down. Or advertising and marketing? There are so many ways to get the word out about your business, but how do you know which ones work best?

The same is true with merchant services – the processing of credit and debit cards. And as with all these other services you need, the best way to maintain your sanity is to simplify the process as much as possible, while making sure you understand what you’re paying for.

That said, here are a few recommendations that will help you simplify and better understand how your merchant service system works for you.

1. Develop a strong relationship with your merchant services representative.

You’re probably busy, without a lot of free time on your hands, so it may be tempting to forget about your rep… unless there’s a problem, that is. However, if you can find the time to reach out every month or so for a five-minute conversation, it gives both of you a chance to talk about what’s going on in your business and, possibly, head off any minor issues before they become major issues. Plus, there may be new products or services you may not know about. If your rep has a regular pulse on your business, he or she will be better able to keep you informed of these opportunities.

2. Learn how to read your monthly statement.

The first thing you must do is open the statement when it arrives in the mail (or email). You’ll notice that there’s usually a LOT of data in there and if you’re the kind of person who really enjoys crunching numbers, then you’ll find hours of fun in that statement! For everyone else, though, there are two really important figures: total sales and total fees. If you can’t figure out where those numbers are, call your rep and ask. Once you have them, grab your calculator and divide the total fees by the total sales, then multiply by 100 to get the percentage of fees paid. Like this:

(Total fees) ÷ (Total Sales) x 100 = % of fees paid

So if your total sales on a statement is $20,000 and the fees are $400, it would look like this:

400 ÷ 20,000 x 100 = 2%

Do this every time you receive your statement and keep an eye open for unusual fluctuations. For example, if your fees have been coming out to between 2% and 2.3% for a long time, then suddenly jump to 3%, you should contact your rep and find out why.

3. Know who to call if you have an emergency.

In fact, it’s best to write that number on a slip of paper and tape it to your machine. Or, save it to your contacts on your cell phone. This is especially important if a high volume of your sales happens in the evenings or on weekends, like at a restaurant. Ask your rep what you’re supposed to do if a machine goes down on a Saturday night. Know who to call at your Internet service provider, too, because sometimes that’s where the problem is. In any event, have an emergency plan in place.

4. Be careful switching processors for deals that sound “too good to be true.”

For most merchant processing providers, the processing fees and the cost of equipment are similar, not counting overhead for office space, marketing costs, and a few other things. So, if the offer doesn’t make sense, it’s wise to be a little skeptical.
Accepting credit and debit cards shouldn’t be a source of stress for you, even though it can be a little confusing at times. If you can simplify it and understand it, you’ll be able to spend more time focusing on what you really want to do: build and grow your business!

Protecting Yourself from Credit and Debit Card Fraud

With all the enthusiastic shopping that takes place during the holiday season, there is no shortage of thieves who want to steal your hard-earned money from you. While a lot of the problem involves packages that are stolen from people’s porches, you also have to be very careful about protecting yourself from credit and debit card fraud. It’s a terrible feeling to check your balance on a credit card and discover hundreds or thousands of dollars in charges that you had nothing to do with. It’s even worse to check your bank account balance and find that money is missing, along with the bank’s fees for insufficient funds.

Many people mistakenly think that their cards are secure now, thanks to the industry’s conversion to chip-based cards a few years ago. However, the fraud continues at an accelerating pace. So, you might be wondering, what can the typical consumer do to protect themselves? Fortunately, there are steps you can take to reduce your risk.

For starters, using a credit card is much safer than a debit card. And while many people try to avoid running up credit card debt, the bottom line is that, when you charge a purchase, the money doesn’t come straight out of your account. Instead, you get a bill that you pay later. With debit card purchases, however, the money comes straight out of your account and you may have to wait for your bank to resolve the issue and replace the funds

Other steps you can take to protect yourself include:

Keeping your credit and debit cards secure.

The best practice is to always keep them in your wallet or purse unless you have it out for a purchase. At restaurants, this can be tricky if the server takes your card to the back to be processed, so check your statements frequently.

Protect your self from gas pump skimmers.

Before you run a card at the pump, make sure that the card reader is securely attached to the pump by giving it a light tug. Also, try to use the pumps closest to the store, which crooks usually avoid. Of course, the best way to protect yourself is to pay for your gas inside at the counter.

Be cautious with online purchases.

This is especially important if you’re using a lesser-known site. First, check to see if the URL starts with “https.” That “s” at the end stands for “secure” and if it’s missing, it could be a problem. On a secure site, you should also see a small padlock icon in front of the URL. And if you want to take it a step further, right click anywhere on the site, scroll down to “Inspect,” then click on “Security,” and you’ll see details about the website’s security status. Also, never send bank account or credit card info by email or text, whether it’s for online shopping or any other reason.

Avoid shopping when connected to public Wi-Fi.

It’s just too easy for a crook to read your signal and steel your personal information.

Use technology to stay informed.

Most banks and credit card companies allow you to check your balances and recent transactions from a smart phone. So if you have any doubts, check it immediately. You may also be able to set up an alert so that, every time a transaction is made, on either your credit or debit card, you’ll know so you can address it immediately.

It may sound like a lot, but once you get into the habit of staying safe, it doesn’t take that much time to stay on top of it. And it’s definitely worth the effort. Ask anyone who’s ever been through it before. It’s much more of a pain to clean up this kind of mess than it is to prevent it in the first place.

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