How To Accept Credit Card Payments Online For Your Business

Accept Credit Card Payments For Your Business

How can I accept credit card payments online for my business? It’s one of the simplest questions a business owner can ask. The answer should be just as simple. But the answer depends on a few factors, from how you run your business to how you handle financials. Here’s how to figure out the best payment processing system for your business.

#1. Are You Swiping Credit Cards?

If you’re swiping physical credit cards in a business, one of the simplest ways to handle that is a mobile card reader like those you can get from Square or Stripe. These days, card readers can be as small as a one-inch strip reader you plug into your phone, or even better — an app on your phone or a physical card reader for your office.

The thing to look for in card reader payment processing options is options for your customer. Does the payment processing company accept multiple types of credit cards online? You also will want a backup payment option like cash or check for customers who don’t have a credit card or don’t want to pay the typical 3% credit card processing fee.

#2. Are You Trying to Accept Credit Card Payments Online?

Many businesses schedule ahead and pay with a credit card on file. If you want to handle your appointments this way, you might do best with an online payment processing system. This is basically an e-commerce or online payment processing service that accepts payments just like a website when you purchase goods online.

If you’re processing payments online, one of the best options out there is Stripe because of its simple fee structure for business owners and easy integrations. Lately, many e-commerce services have integrated Stripe and similar payment processing services into their website offerings so you don’t even have to think about how you’re accepting payments. Yottled integrates Stripe into a full-service scheduling CRM, which means you can have customers schedule their appointments, handle payments online, and you free up your time to serve them.

Just be aware that with online payment processing services, there can be extra fees for storing credit card information from customers.

#3. What Kind of Financial Records Work Best For Your Business?

When you choose a credit card payment processing tool for your business, be sure to look at how they report the transactions at the end of the month and year. This can make or break the deal on which payment processing system is best, because you’ll need something that plays well with your accounting and financial reporting system. This decision is up to you, but worth taking a look.

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Laura Cowan

Laura Cowan

Laura K. Cowan is a tech editor and journalist whose work has focused on promoting sustainability initiatives for automotive, green tech and conscious living media outlets. A deep study of narrative journalism, storytelling and sustainable technology allows Ms. Cowan to draw out the meaningful stories of best practices from diverse professionals in an exploration of the culture and trends in emerging industries. She is currently Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Midwest tech news blog, Cronicle Press. Ms. Cowan’s writing and speaking have appeared with Automobile Quarterly, Writer Unboxed, Inhabitat, CNBC, The Ann Arbor Observer and The National Society of Newspaper Columnists.

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