Accepting Credit/Debit Cards

[Gene Hintze]

In the past I have only accepted cash and checks for sales and have lost some business because of it. We live in a debit/credit card world these days. I noticed in another thread that Bernie Westphal uses Intuit Go Payment because it syncs with Quickboos which could be an advantage. A small business person I know uses SQUARE. Both have a 2.75% transaction fee, provide a free card reader and have no monthly fees. If you are accepting credit cards and have found a processor that you really like please share so that I and other can gain some insight before the Summer selling season is upon us. Thanks in advance for your input.

[Mark Detrick]

I have used the SQUARE reader several times with no problems. I don't use Quickbooks so syncing with it was not a issue.

[Alan Trout]

I take credit cards with square for my regular business. (I typically sell through galleries for my art work) I use Quickbooks as well. My square reader has been flawless. In reality it is cheaper in the long run compared to my old merchant account. Most of my transactions are $250+. When I started with my Square there was no Go Payment. I really like the size of the Square. The Go Payment is quit large in comparison. For me the sync is not that big of a deal. My wife does most of my bookkeeping and has never really cared that much for Quickbooks.

Alan

[Keith Christopher]

There is square and intuit, it's up to you which you choose.I use the intuit one because I use quick books.

[Thom Sturgill]

There is square and intuit, it's up to you which you choose.I use the intuit one because I use quick books.

While I do not use any of these as I do not sell, there is also the paypal app/reader. Looks to be a little cheaper than GoPayment, and you can accept paypal transfers in addition to credit/debit/check. Also provides a debit card that lets you access the payment in minutes.

Just something to look at.

[Richard Coers]

Just started using square. Love it. I sell some jewelry items and you can build a cash register based on pictures if you want to. Tap the picture, the transaction is calculated with tax included. You feel just like a fast food employee!

[Steve Busey]

Our craft show sales year-over-year jumped about 30-40% after we started using Square, I think because more folks were inclined to charge $50-90 for a pen than to pay cash. And the money's in the bank within a couple of days.

If you do a moderate sales level, I don't think you'll go broke choosing Square over Intuit or whoever, or the other way around - you're probably talking a buck or two in fees difference, unless you're doing thousands of dollars in sales, in which case a merchant account through your bank might be a better deal for you.

[Lee Koepke]

I too have been using the Square for a couple of years now. Its nice because its portable, you can sell anywhere you are! My wife has a retail store and she uses SQUARE for her business as well. No problems so far!

[Mark Levitski]

Gene,

My wife an I have been using Intuit GoPayment for few years and really like it. The card reader is quite small, so I don't know what that comment is about? There have been no issues at all, and it is prompt for payment. All the shows so far have had great cell service (Verizon), even in the middle of the Adirondacks. You can't go wrong with it, though I've heard a lot of good things about Square too. Good luck this summer!

Mark

[Bernie Weishapl]

Ditto what Mark said. My reader was free and it works with my quickbooks.

[Pat Scott]

I got both the Intuit GoPayment reader and a Square reader last year (wasn't sure I'd get one of them in time so ordered the other as a backup). A friend of mine said that he had less problems reading cards with GoPayment than with Square. He said with Square since it's a smaller reader if you don't have the card just right as you slide it through it won't read. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but having to swipe every card several times to get it to read was a pain for him so he switched and hasn't had that problem with the GoPayment reader. The original GoPayment readers were a 1/2 circle shape, the latest one that I have is tube shaped and is a couple inches long.

If I remember right GoPayment charges 1.70% per sale and Square charges 1.75% for MC and Visa. Both readers process Amex cards at 2.5% (or some higher percentage). With GoPayment when you set up your Account you are asked if you want to accept Amex cards or not. I recommend YES just so you don't limit yourself and potentially lose out on sales. I think Square automatically accepts Amex as part of their setup.

I used GoPayment last year for my sales and found it easy to use. Monies were in my account within a few days. Be aware that the fee is taken out up front (which is nice - you get the net amount after processing fees are taken out). But also a month later I was charged another fee for maintenance or something. It only happened once as I only used the reader for that one month (for a big annual craft show). I know there are suppose to be no monthly fees, but what do you call that?

[Richard Jones]

I use SquareUp, works great, like the online tools, etc. I also have the PayPal version, but haven't used it. I believe it's a bit cheaper.

Monies are in my account the next day, viewable almost immediately.

I believe SquareUp is 2.75% for anything. Am thinking of trying to change it at my store, as I pay more than that now to a processing place.

[Michael Schneider]

Costco has a deal with elavon

http://www.costco.com/merchant-account.html

Just another option to look at,
Michael