How do you determine the REAL cost of credit card processing? With so many different fees, charges, pass-throughs, interchange, flat rate, etc., it is nearly impossible for a business owner to understand what they are REALLY paying for processing.
We get asked all the time “what fees do you charge- what is the COST?” And while the fee structure is a critical component- the actual COST of a merchant account goes much deeper.
When you select the right Partner rather than the one size fit’s all” scenarios, that can be GOOD for your bottom line.
Here are a few things to consider when evaluating your current solution or a new processing partner.
OVERALL EFFECTIVE RATE:
When you divide the fees paid by the volume processed - you get your overall effective rate. (i.e., $300.00 fees divided by $8,000 processed = 3.8%) This is a MUCH MORE accurate way of determining what your fees are with any processing company. This is also a very rapid way to make sure you do not have any pricing weirdness happening on your monthly statement and YES- we advise our merchants to look at their statement every single month (TRUST but verify).
Lots of salespeople will lure you in with the promise of LOW rates/fees. Knowing your overall effective rate and checking it each month will help you verify that you have got a major component of the processing puzzle in place.
EDUCATION STATION:
Another MAJOR component of making sure you have the right partner is the education piece. When you have the RIGHT partner, you still get the commoditized product- but you ALSO get the education that is so vital in an ever-changing industry. These rare companies also take the time to explain things like statements, pricing tiers and new methods of processing to you so you will never have to toss your hands in the air and go price shopping again- they take care of you AND your bottom line.
CUSTOMER SERVICE: (YES! It still exists!!!!)
They say customer service is only important when you NEED IT and in the processing industry EVERYONE talks a good game regarding service. Delivering on that promise is an altogether different story. It takes TIME and MONEY to switch credit card processing companies (when you find that the poor company needs to be flushed) and SMART business owners do not change their providers like they change their clothing! In order to be in that enviable position (having a processor that has the best combination of pricing/education & service)- you’ve got to make the service level part of the bottom-line conversation.
Zig Ziglar once said he would rather explain price once than apologize for poor service or faulty products forever. In other words, you will get what you pay for in the service department.
- We do not know very many business owners who have the time to spend hours of their day combing through their merchant statements, trying to figure out their fees.
- We do not know very many business owners who cannot benefit from an education-minded processing partner.
- We do not know ANY business owners who can afford to let the poor service in the credit card processing business eat away at their TIME and their BOTTOM LINE!
Our team is here to help you REDUCE FRUSTRATION, INCREASE YOUR BOTTOM LINE & ENHANCE YOUR PASSION FOR BEING IN BUSINESS (Oh- and we sell that commoditized product of Merchant Services too).
When you know the basics of the credit card processing industry and align yourself with a strong partner, you bypass all of the pitfalls and negative issues associated with credit card processing and you are free to focus on the things that will truly make your business grow. Let us know if we can help, give our team a call
@888-249-9919
