Anybody accept card payments from customers?

[Gavin John Hyde]

Had a phone call today from a company called iZettle, they make a little card reader that connects to your phone so you can take card payments from customers there and then on the spot.
it has it advantages in that you don't have to chase up payment after a job and saves the risk of dodgy cheques or customer having no cash. I hesitated about the cost of the card chip and pin reader so they will let you have it for £25 quid if you play hard ball.
They charge 2.75% per transaction below around £1.5k per month. Above this the rates come down quite a bit. Its an added expense but at least you have instant payment and no chasing up invoices. so it s a time / cost balance really. could the time spent chasing invoices be better spent earning the money you pay for the card platform and making further profit on top?

Anybody else out there take card payments from customers?

If so can you recommend a good solution or provider? I am waiting to hear back from PayPal as well but it seems the fees are pretty standard across the board.

I feel especially, with domestic customers a lot of them would happily pull out a debit card and pay on the spot, that way its done. no logging into online banking entering passwords and stuff or me having to out invoices.

 

[MerlinGremlin]

Ask them to have the cash ready for you once the job is complete. A good example of this was from a book I was reading about Pimlico Plumbers, they used to invoice for works and would have thousands of pounds outstanding, then you've got the hassle to chase it up etc. They changed there payment terms to full payment on completion by cash, so the cash flow was always there and no chasing up customers who owe money, suppliers can be paid etc. Cash payment is the future.

 

[MerlinGremlin]

Most people have smart phones with mobile banking, it only takes 5 mins to make a payment and there's no charges.

 

[Octopus]

No .......... because most of my clients pay me via BACs

 

[buzzlightyear]

No .......... because most of my clients pay me via BACs

me to, but cash is king .

 

[telectrix]

me to, but cash is king .

thought star command dealt in cosmic credits.

 

[buzzlightyear]

thought star command dealt in cosmic credits.

and bit coins has well.

 

[stevethesparks]

I use Sum-Up when necessary, it only takes a few days to clear into my account with a minimal charge for the transaction. One large building company I have done work for prefer to pay with a credit card??? but was fine with me. My preference is BACS, some are cash and a few are cheque, I would prefer the card reader to a cheque.

 

[PEG]

You lot are space-age...i have customers who have paid me in meat,days brick laying,logs,Swedish axes and event tickets

 

[sparkdog]

Got an XLN terminal as my phone is with them but not used it too much so far. It is a proper terminal like you get in shops and is fully mobile.

 

[dmxtothemax]

In Australia more than half of all transactions are done cashless with cards.
Its the way it seems to be going
want to lose half your customers ?
Get a machine and just charge a fee to cover the costs involved.
most people don't mind.

 

[Midwest]

I can't see how this would functionally work. If its a large job, that's been quoted but has extras, I've got to go away and work out an invoice. So BACS, cheque possibly cash. If I can come up with a costing there & then, its only gonna be small job = small money, so having a card reader isn't going to be cost effective, unless your the likes of Pimlico Plumbers, and have (high) set prices.

 

[andyb]

It is cost efective on small jobs.
If I do a call out and it comes to say £50 and they give me a cheque, I have to go to town, pay to park, queue at the bank etc. I'd much rather pay the 2.5% - 3% or whatever it is, say £1.50 to £2.00 for it to be paid straight into my account.
I get about 1 cheque a month and it normally stays in the van for a week or so until get to the bank.

 

[Octopus]

^^ I normally go to the bank once a month.... unless a large cheque arrives.

I'm lucky, I can walk to my bank if i want to

 

[Midwest]

Most of my payments are BACS, so the odd cheque/cash wouldn't make it pay for me.

 

[andyb]

Most of my payments are BACS, so the odd cheque/cash wouldn't make it pay for me.

Most of my payments are bank transfers or cash Murdoch, which is the reason that it does pay for me.

If I had a dozen or so cheques to pay in each week then I'd be quite happy to go to the bank once a week, but because I get so few cheques I'm happy to pay a couple of quid for a card payment. It's extremely cost effective when you factor in your time. Once you have the card reader there's nothing to pay other than transaction charges. no monthly outlay, if I don't recieve a cheque for a month or so I pay nothing.
I don't advertise that I take cards or tell the client unless they don't do internet banking or don't have the cash. Even then I still end up with the odd cheque.
I've not long had my reader so early days.

 

[sparkdog]

Lucky you can walk with legs Murdoch, most peoples has wheels these days.

 

[sparkdog]

Lucky you can walk with legs Murdoch, most peoples has wheels these days.

 

[sparkdog]

Sorry didn't mean that twice.

 

[dansk]

we use izettle, it's perfect for payment on the spot, it even catch the odd customer out who think they will get an invoice in the post.

probably one of the best things I've done, perfect when working for someone you don't know also, random call outs etc.

cash is a pain in the arse, and costs money to bank, cheques are the same, bacs is good but customers often don't have logon details to hand etc.

 

[dansk]

b2b transactions are different, I'm only speaking domestic here.

 

[p=iv]

Speaking as a customer (of other trades and shops) a C&P card reader makes life a lot easier (for me anyway!). I'd rather hoik out the old Visa, type in the magic numbers and have everything paid without having to drive to the bank and back with a guesstimated amount of dosh that may not be enough should the job's cost overrun.

Paying by Paypal or mobile (Android Pay/Apple Pay) would be a nice option to have too, but again everything has a price. I don't know what the costs are for e-payments so can't really comment specifically.

From the other side of the fence, card's aren't free to process like cash or cheques (if you don't factor in parking, petrol going to the bank, etc that is). There are ongoing as well as initial costs. It really depends on whether it's worth it to your business or not. If you have a lot of people that ask "can I pay by card?" and it's a pain in the jacksie to get to the bank (i.e. you live in the Highlands like me!) then it'd probably be worthwhile to take cards.

The benefits have to outweigh the costs (not just financial costs but other costs like the time and effort required to get to a bank).

I don't see cash going anywhere anytime soon though and it'll probably remain the preferred payment method for many years to come.

 

[123]

I have a card reader, rarely used and tbh not even sure where it is!

Card Reader charges a fee to get paid!
Cash put in the bank charges a fee to get paid + time at the bank
Cheques cost time at the bank (no fee on my business account)
BACS has no charges or time at the bank for me.

Typically I'm primarily paid in Cash and Cheque.

 

[Andy C]

I have a paypal card reader and have used it a lot. 2.75% on the amount taken on a monthly basis, which i list as a business expense. Easy to use and quick for those little jobs below £500. Over £500 I intend asking for BACS.