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Free Credit Card Processing! (Not April Fools :))

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Free Credit Card Processing!
It’s All in the Spin: Cash Discounts

In January 2019, New York State passed a law allowing merchants to add a surcharge to customers’ credit card payments. The surcharge covers the fee the merchant pays for the privilege of accepting credit/debit cards for purchases.

Whether they call it a convenience fee, a non-cash adjustment, a courtesy fee or a surcharge, it amounts to the same thing: when a customer pays with a credit card, the merchant can add a fee to their bill. The extra fee is to cover the merchant’s cost of accepting credit cards. This practice is currently more prevalent in New York City than in upstate businesses.
 
So if a customer pays for a meal or products with a credit card, their bill could be anywhere from 2.5% to 3.99% higher.  
 
Meal                                             $20.00
8% Tax                                             1.60
2.75% Non-Cash Adjustment        0.55
               Total                              $22.15
 
The merchant cannot add a non-cash adjustment that is higher than what they are charged. In other words, the convenience fee added to the check can’t be 3.99% if they are only charged 2.75%. The fee is passed along to unburden the merchant from the charge but is not a way to add profit to the business. 
 
Some merchant processing vendors are touting this fee pass-along as a “Cash Discount,” attempting to make the practice more palatable to merchants. Using the same example, here’s how a receipt might look, one paid with cash and the other paid with a credit card.
 
              Cash Discount                                       
Meal                                        $20.00       
8% Tax                                        1.60       
2.75% Non-Cash Adjustment     0.55       
Cash Discount                          – 0.55
Customer Pays                       $21.60       
 
          Credit Card Payment
Meal                                         $20.00
8% Tax                                        1.60
2.75% Non-Cash Adjustment      0.55
Customer Pays                        $22.15
 

Find Out What You’re Actually Paying

Credit card processing fees are seemingly endless and intentionally difficult to decipher. Financial institutions pass numerous credit card fees along to your business every month. Do you know what you’re paying and why? Contact Mike Krause at Sales Sense Payments for a free, objective analysis of your credit card processing fees. We know we can save you money.

 

Online Ordering Benefits and a Limited Time Offer

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Online Ordering Benefits and a Limited Time Offer

Stay home. Shelter in place. Social distancing. Self quarantine. Out of an abundance of caution. Wash your hands. Pandemic. Flatten the curve. The New Normal.

These phrases color our conversations, thoughts, newspapers, email, internet content, television and radio broadcast these days. We’re all doing our part to prevent contamination. Here is one more way you can stay safe and help local merchants.

My recommendation for online ordering:
1. Order directly from the merchant
2. Pick up your order from their location 

Avoid delivery services such as Door Dash, Grub Hub and others (did you know they charge merchants from 25% to 32% to deliver your order?) to reduce the number of people handling your order. And 30% of delivery drivers admit they eat some of the food before delivering. Picking your food up yourself lets you enjoy a meal someone else cooks, comply with public health mandates and support local businesses struggling to stay afloat.

Merchant Benefits of Online Ordering & Pickup

  • Eliminating delivery service fees with customer drive up helps the restaurant/merchant survive and lets them keep employees on the payroll. 
  • Keeps people working rather than laying them off or terminating their employment.
  • Lets the merchant spend more time helping online customers rather than increasing cleaning protocols. 
  • Fewer people in their facility touching items and otherwise contaminating the area.
  • Gain new customers with easy-to-use online ordering; once the quarantine is over, the new online ordering habit remains.

Additional Online Ordering Benefits for Merchants

  • 30% of diners have ordered food from a restaurant’s website using phones or tablets.
  • Online ordering is real and growing, accounting for 5-18% of overall restaurant sales.
  • People prefer online ordering compared to calling because it’s easier, more accurate and more convenient.
  • Restaurants offering online ordering see their customers order more often.
  • Online ordering drives more revenue. 60% of people order takeout food at least once a week.

An Offer From Sales Sense Payments for Merchants
For a limited time, Sales Sense Payments is waiving its $499 set up fee for credit card processing. This gets you set up to take credit cards and enable your businesses’ online ordering. 
Contact us TODAY for more information and help your business weather this crisis.

Customer Benefits of Online Ordering & Pickup

  • Your order (take out food, lawn fertilizer, kids’ clothes, whatever) is touched by fewer people. For take out food orders, the food is prepped and boxed by the kitchen staff and handed to you. One or two people touch your order between cooking and pick up.
  • Most store workers are now wearing nitrile gloves to minimize their exposure, also reducing your exposure. 
  • Ordering online from stores, such as Home Depot, Target, Costco and many others, keeps you out of the store itself (less exposure to crowds) and your goods (and credit cards) are handled by fewer people.
  • Picking up from a restaurant saves the merchant money (25% to 32%), helping local businesses survive the pandemic.
  • Some restaurants deliver the food themselves without delivery services, such as pizza eateries – a different business model but still important to patronize in the current environment.
  • Credit cards and point-of-sale card readers are hotbeds of germs and bacteria. Order online and only you handle your card.

Stay healthy and safe!

Mike Krause
Sales Sense Payments
585-704-6453
mike@salessensepayments.com
Please visit SalesSensePayments.com for more information.

Cleaning Your Credit Card Transaction Devices

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Some of the busiest (and dirtiest) electronics in our lives are point of sale terminals, cash registers, touchscreen displays, keyboards, keypads, credit/debit cards and the like. These days when you’re in a store – as a merchant or customer – you’re preoccupied with getting through your experience and going home. It’s essential that the point of sale devices we all touch are as germ-free as possible. Here’s how:

Step-by-Step Cleaning

So how should you disinfect a card terminal? Or did you realize that credit cards themselves are full of germs? During this crisis, it’s imperative that we minimize transmission of germs. To reduce the possibility of spreading bacteria, disinfecting the surfaces of point of sale machines and the cards themselves is more necessary than ever.

First: If possible, unplug the device to protect yourself and the equipment. If it cannot be disconnected (such as a swipe terminal mounted on a stand), exercise great caution.

Here’s how:

Wear: disposable or reusable nitrile, rubber or latex gloves

Disinfecting: Use single-use disinfectant wipes made for electronic devices, or spray a soft cloth with a disinfectant cleaning spray that’s safe for electronics. Cleaning a push-button terminal may require different wipes or spray cleaner than you would use on a touchscreen smart terminal. Touchscreens have a protective coating on the display that could be affected by alcohol-based solutions. Get into small spaces with Q-tips dipped in the disinfectant.

Cleaning the card slot: Order and use a cleaning card made specifically for card readers. Staples and other office supply stores carry them inexpensive ones.

Beware: Only use an alcohol or other solvent-based solution if you know your terminal model can take it as some manufacturers clearly state not to use strong solvents or alcohol products.

Do NOT:

Do not spray any liquid directly on the device. Spray on a soft cloth, then wipe the machine with the cloth.

Whether it’s a throwaway wipe or reusable soft cloth, don’t get it so wet that it leaves liquid droplets on the machine’s surface. The cloth should be moist, but wring it out first if it is dripping.

Protect openings, such as the card slot or gaps around buttons, so moisture doesn’t seep into the internal machinery and damage it.

What to do:

Before you start, check the manufacturer’s instructions and recommendations for types of cleaning products. Using the wrong cleaning products or procedure could void the device warranty.

Carefully rub the exterior of the device with the wipe or cloth. Concentrate on areas around the buttons, slot and sides where people touch the terminal. If an area gets too wet, immediately wipe it with a dry cloth or paper towel.

Use the cleaning card (for chip and swipe slots) according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Dispose of single-use gloves and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.

Plug the device back in and turn it on if you were able to switch it off before cleaning it.

Clean your card machine and all POS equipment as often as possible; ideally after each customer transaction if possible

 

Germy credit cards need cleaning too!

You are probably not surprised to learn that credit/debit cards are every bit as dirty as the bills and coins in your pocket or wallet. And they spread bacteria too. Clean your cards regularly and for goodness sake, never put them in your mouth or allow your children to teethe on them either!

Wipe both sides of the card with a disinfectant wipe, then let it dry.

Use an eraser to remove grime build-up especially on the magnetic stripe, though this probably will not remove all bacteria.

Expose the cards to a UV light sanitizer. These are a bit pricey but kill 99.9% of all bacteria and can be used for all your devices.

All any of us can do at this point is to follow the “ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” motto and do what we can to keep ourselves and our customers healthy and safe. We will continue to need to be merchants as well as customers. Practicing safe habits will protect us all.

If you have other suggestions or questions, please reach out and let us know! 

Be safe and stay healthy!

Mike Krause

Sales Sense Payments

www.SalesSensePayments.com

585-704-6453

 

mike@salessensepayments.com

 

 

So how are you doing with New Year’s resolutions for your business?

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So how are you doing with New Year’s resolutions for your business? Even if your personal resolutions are already by the wayside, you should develop and stick with a few simple organization tips for your business. Resolutions build clear, measurable objectives and goals into your business plan for 2020 and help you get on – and stay on – track – this year. When you make resolutions a part of your business operations and work on them with your staff, you’re much more likely to attain them. Even one person shops should write down (not typing into a computer, mind you) their goals and tell your partner, your parakeet or the office kitty cat.

As you might expect, most work-related resolutions focus on getting better organized – a sore point for businesses of any size. Remember that time you had to find that hard copy of that letter or your meeting notes? It happens to me more frequently than I care to admit: the receipt for the one item that cannot be returned without it, disappears forever. And I swear I just had it in my wallet. If you can set up a simple asset tracking and management system, and stick to it, you will save yourself huge headaches this year and every year.

So where do you start to write up a couple New Year’s resolutions for your business before? Here are a few suggestions. Start with a couple and get started with those. Let them jumpstart your year, give you a sense of direction and accomplishment. You can always add additional points each quarter.

Declutter Your Desk
A messy desk is the sign of an active mind, right? Sorry but no. Getting and keeping your desk organized saves you a significant chunk of time in hunting through documents, sticky notes, phone messages and pens that don’t write any more. Set up a system where every item has a place, including labels, folders, bins and trays. Adopt a “touch it once” discipline and become the role model. Pick up a document or project, act on it (delegate if appropriate), and then move on. Same with emails and appointments. Act on something immediately and then it’s off your desk and back into the process flow. It also takes a huge burden off your shoulders.

Check Your Assets
If you haven’t done an inventory of what you own and where those items are located in the last year, now is a great time to do that as well. Split the task among staff members, if possible, so the whole thing is not one person’s responsibility. Maybe knock off early one afternoon, order pizza and beverages, turn up the music and get everyone working on it together. You also need to know the condition of what you own and what you lease or rent. Look online for easy asset management and inventory worksheets to get you started. Knowing what you have (and what might need to be replaced or upgraded) gives you a feeling of control over your business. There are also a number of maintenance tracking software packages available that can help you track maintenance schedules, plan for equipment failures or obsolescence and keep your technology up to date so your business runs efficiently.

Plan Now for Year End
Setting these controls up now helps you when next December rolls around and you want to look back at the year. Work with your accounting person, CPA or department head to review your budget frequently and update staff on decisions and process changes. What got you here won’t keep you here, so you must keep your eye out for changes in the business environment, customer industries and your industry. Your business is only as adaptable as your ability to sense change and flex as necessary. Also encourage your staff to alert you to changes in the business as they experience them. 

Walk Away
Make a list of what didn’t work for you and your company last year and give those up as soon as possible. What projects or distractions kept you and your staff from accomplishing greater things last year? Not everything you or they try is a home run. Do a quick inventory and as objectively as possible, check to see if you are delegating enough? Are you empowering your employees or are they feeling micromanaged? Just as in prior years, not everything will be a wild success. Keep notes, keep your cool and give yourself and your company points for trying. The main thing is to keep trying and figuring out what works and takes your business to the next level. 

While reflecting on your business should happen more than once a year, it is especially important now as we all take a collective breath and tackle a new year and a new decade. Make the coming year the very best it can be for your business!

Build Momentum
Start with the easiest things and tasks to organize and allow yourself to feel the personal satisfaction that brings. On your To Do list, include something each week that moves your organization just one more small step forward. With those small efforts, you’ll find more efficiency and productivity for yourself and your team. Give it a try this year and see how much easier your personal and professional operations move forward.

20 Ways to Recognize Your Star Clients

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There are numerous benefits for identifying the top 20 percent of your clients. Taking care of them ensures their loyalty and return business. Read more to learn how to recognize and reward your best clients.

You know what makes your organization unique. You’ve identified why your customers value your products or services over the competition. With those fundamental but critical items in place you’re ready to focus on you customers. Are you clear on who your best customers are? Crystal clear?

As a general rule you want to spend about 80 percent of your time on your clients who are the most profitable and embrace your reason for existence. This usually works out to be the top 20 percent of your customers. These are the people who will give you the largest profit margin for your efforts.

There are other benefits for identifying your top 20 percent. You can confidently implement strategies that:

• eliminate spending too much time on those who give you the least amount of return for your efforts.

• create targeted marketing campaigns for specific customer categories.

• establish incentive programs to move less active customers into your top range.

• develop a relationship package to secure relations with your valued customer groups (such as a bronze, silver, gold or platinum level).

You can also assign specialists to focus on specific aspects of your customer segments. These can include someone dedicated to the large accounts and strategic alliances, a relationship manager responsible for managing current clients and up selling, and a hunter who looks for new business where no current relationship exists between a customer and your organization.

To choose the top 20 percent of your customers, you have to segment your customers into niche categories. It’s quite possible to have multiple categories each with their own top 20 percent. Here are twenty questions to help you accomplish the task.

1. Where is the revenue coming from?
2. What are your customers passionate about?
3. Who gives you the greatest profit margins?
4. How do they purchase? (Credit, cash, corporate account, checks, PayPal.)
5. Where do they purchase (Brick and mortar, online, catalog.)
6. What do they purchase? (Which services? Which products?)
7. What are their purchasing patterns? (Once a year, many small items, a few larger items.)
8. Where do they live? (In an apartment, condo, city, suburb, development, out-of-state.)
9. Where do they work? (In a home office, downtown, office park, mom & pop store.)
10. What attributes do they possess (Consistent, fickle, committed, particular, loyal.)
11. What types of people, places or things do they like?
12. What do they value?
13. What do they read?
14. When do they read it?
15. Where do they read?
16. What types of meetings, groups or classes do they attend?
17. What do they value? (Education, money, service, philanthropy.)
18. Who complains the most?
19. What else do they purchase?

And most important,

20. What type of people are you attracting to your business?

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