Credit Cards

[Marie]

I would definitely rather take a card that a check (unless it is a check from a long time customer). I like the idea of giving a discount if paying with cash instead of charging more for using a card.

 

[Stacey K]

There is certainly a cost in collecting payment. Going to the bank, dealing with returned checks, chasing down checks, mailing invoices. In the end, in some cases, it might actually be a little cheaper just to take the card.

As we grow in size, and we hire people to do things that I used to do "When I had a second" you start to realize there is a real cost in the administrative tasks a business needs to perform.

Purchasing, for example. I used to handle most of it, but with all the supply chain issues, vendor errors (I'm looking at you Canon and Midwest Sign/Grimco) and just the huge amount of inventory we need to keep on our floor, it has become nearly a full time job for us. It's not a cost you really account for, until your business has to really start paying someone to do just that.

Because we pretty much only accept credit cards, accounts receivable is mostly just a function of bookkeeping, and not something we need a specialist for.

You are exactly right about this!!!

In fact, I was becoming more and more concerned about the time I was spending invoicing, ordering, etc. A few months ago I made a spreadsheet "work order/estimate" sheet. I've been adding boxes for things like Invoicing, Ordering, Unboxing, even "Excel fie prep" - and I tracked every minute! It caused me to really sit back and look at my pricing. These things all need to be considered much more than a person thinks. 3 separate 2-5 minutes things you do prepping for a job adds up very quickly and large orders...much more time! And when you have an apparel order for 200 shirts, different colors, sizes, styles, etc. you can expect to be "prepping" for 30-60 minutes. Needless to say, I now autofill X minutes for these things so when I do the estimate, it's all included and I HAVE to think about it...and I've raised my prices on many things!

 

[Notarealsignguy]

You are exactly right about this!!!

In fact, I was becoming more and more concerned about the time I was spending invoicing, ordering, etc. A few months ago I made a spreadsheet "work order/estimate" sheet. I've been adding boxes for things like Invoicing, Ordering, Unboxing, even "Excel fie prep" - and I tracked every minute! It caused me to really sit back and look at my pricing. These things all need to be considered much more than a person thinks. 3 separate 2-5 minutes things you do prepping for a job adds up very quickly and large orders...much more time! And when you have an apparel order for 200 shirts, different colors, sizes, styles, etc. you can expect to be "prepping" for 30-60 minutes. Needless to say, I now autofill X minutes for these things so when I do the estimate, it's all included and I HAVE to think about it...and I've raised my prices on many things!

We get a lot of drop offs in our business and I started adding in handling time to unload, load, move around etc after I noticed our foreman was spending about 1/2 of his day on the forklift. This is also why I hate small transactions unless theyre cash. Invoicing by itself burns up a lot more time than people think. Tracking time is the best thing I ever did for my business.

 

[karst41]

Does anyone charge an additional fee to a customer who is paying by credit card? If you do charge a processing fee, have you had customers question it? It is definitely the trend at a lot of other businesses in our area, but we haven't gone that route yet. Credit card processing does add up each month!

%99.7 of my business is paid with CC. My money is always there in LESS than 72 Hours.
I know that back in the 70's and 80's it was against the law to charge for CC Fees and Rates.

Do this please.
Increase your rates, these fees should not be bothering you at all.
Get the Sign Craft Sign Pricing Guide. Dont argue,, just get the 2021 version and Read it and
do your calculations. If you are simply using a Multiplier 10x do not drop below 8.5s
If Sign boards, do the math per Sq Inch. and the only swinging Richards that get a good ol boy rate are the guys
who I been working with for 30 years or more.

Some guys will say,, "I can do it myself for less than that. Yeah, I betcha they are on a corporate payroll
knocking dow $120 K per year with full bennies and retirement options and you name it. and Bonuses.

But they begrudge you that to which they enjoy,,,,,,,, ?

CC Processing Fees.
The Banks are the worst pirates of the southern side of a Northbound Donkey.
Sun Trust charged me $400 per year for PCI Compliance..... No No and HeII NO

Go to Intuit and get Quick Books Pro and get out of the dark ages I am now at %.041
total. its actually 4% plus $0.25 per transaction. Checks are a flat $0.50 per.

Oh the %4? yeah that is Corporate card rates Non Qualifying Discount.

On Quickbooks from the home page I generate an invoice, click the homepage and Receive Payments
Sub memos pop up for Client and then Invoice, then payment method Select CC . Finish up
Go back to invoice and email that puppy out,,,,,,,,Thats it

By Law you need to send invoice copy.......Nobody collects paper anymore. it goes out as a PDF

If you are a small shop and a working slob like the rest of us. Quick Books is The Light!

Now then, get the following.
Linksys VPN Prosafe ethernet switch. $50.00. Hard Wire it, Do NOT use Wireless at your business.
21"iMac NEW $950.00
Quickboks Pro $250.00

Yeah yeah yeah,, I thought and said the same dang thing!
Then I the inner voice screams at me ARE YOU KIDDING THIS IS YOUR MONEY ! and it is.
That is the ONLY thing I do on that iMac, is Billing and process payments. and shut it down.
Customer loses invoice copy. no biggie just email it again.

If you do this on a PC you are simply begging for trouble of the worst kind.
I do Nothing else on that iMac Just Accounting.

Your RIP Computer for Printing and plotting. You do nothing else on that, You do not Surf net on these
puters, they are your life blood. I downloaded a font from one of the top sites I can not delete that file.
My RIP computer has a turd in it and I will go buy a new PC as the result.

Go to Microcenter and get the iMac and pro safe firewall (Linksys EtherSwitch)
When it arrives Call Intuit and get QB Pro

Later on you will want to say thanks,, but hopefully I will be gone fishing permanently.
May 30 1981 is when I started in Graphics making Decals for television commercials.

Its time to retire, but Macs and QB Pro make life easier.
Latex Printers make life easier.
Graphtec FC Cutters is all I have ever used for a reason too.
Royal Soverigb RBH Laminator laminates a full roll in about 8 minutes
FelxiSign Pro Subscription, Love it and Hate it. Easy as pie to use.

Tudo Bem!

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

%99.7 of my business is paid with CC. My money is always there in LESS than 72 Hours.
I know that back in the 70's and 80's it was against the law to charge for CC Fees and Rates.

Do this please.
Increase your rates, these fees should not be bothering you at all.
Get the Sign Craft Sign Pricing Guide. Dont argue,, just get the 2021 version and Read it and
do your calculations. If you are simply using a Multiplier 10x do not drop below 8.5s
If Sign boards, do the math per Sq Inch. and the only swinging Richards that get a good ol boy rate are the guys
who I been working with for 30 years or more.

Some guys will say,, "I can do it myself for less than that. Yeah, I betcha they are on a corporate payroll
knocking dow $120 K per year with full bennies and retirement options and you name it. and Bonuses.

But they begrudge you that to which they enjoy,,,,,,,, ?

CC Processing Fees.
The Banks are the worst pirates of the southern side of a Northbound Donkey.
Sun Trust charged me $400 per year for PCI Compliance..... No No and HeII NO

Go to Intuit and get Quick Books Pro and get out of the dark ages I am now at %.041
total. its actually 4% plus $0.25 per transaction. Checks are a flat $0.50 per.

Oh the %4? yeah that is Corporate card rates Non Qualifying Discount.

On Quickbooks from the home page I generate an invoice, click the homepage and Receive Payments
Sub memos pop up for Client and then Invoice, then payment method Select CC . Finish up
Go back to invoice and email that puppy out,,,,,,,,Thats it

By Law you need to send invoice copy.......Nobody collects paper anymore. it goes out as a PDF

If you are a small shop and a working slob like the rest of us. Quick Books is The Light!

Now then, get the following.
Linksys VPN Prosafe ethernet switch. $50.00. Hard Wire it, Do NOT use Wireless at your business.
21"iMac NEW $950.00
Quickboks Pro $250.00

Yeah yeah yeah,, I thought and said the same dang thing!
Then I the inner voice screams at me ARE YOU KIDDING THIS IS YOUR MONEY ! and it is.
That is the ONLY thing I do on that iMac, is Billing and process payments. and shut it down.
Customer loses invoice copy. no biggie just email it again.

If you do this on a PC you are simply begging for trouble of the worst kind.
I do Nothing else on that iMac Just Accounting.

Your RIP Computer for Printing and plotting. You do nothing else on that, You do not Surf net on these
puters, they are your life blood. I downloaded a font from one of the top sites I can not delete that file.
My RIP computer has a turd in it and I will go buy a new PC as the result.

Go to Microcenter and get the iMac and pro safe firewall (Linksys EtherSwitch)
When it arrives Call Intuit and get QB Pro

Later on you will want to say thanks,, but hopefully I will be gone fishing permanently.
May 30 1981 is when I started in Graphics making Decals for television commercials.

Its time to retire, but Macs and QB Pro make life easier.
Latex Printers make life easier.
Graphtec FC Cutters is all I have ever used for a reason too.
Royal Soverigb RBH Laminator laminates a full roll in about 8 minutes
FelxiSign Pro Subscription, Love it and Hate it. Easy as pie to use.

Tudo Bem!

Next time you go into SunTrust and they tell you to pay for PCI compliance ...grab your groin and say "comply with this"

 

[White Haus]

I have never heard about shops charging an additional fee for paying with a credit card. Wasn’t it illegal?
I thought the commission fee was somehow processed by the bank and the shop. But now, when I look into it deeper, it turns out it’s not always like that. I’d never paid attention to the topic before I decided to open my own small shop. Thank you, guys, for the advice on how to deal with that. I will try to devise a solution that will be appropriate for my clients and me.
But what is the situation with cashback credit cards? They are popular because of the benefits they give. According to https://www.youngandthrifty.ca/best-cash-back-credit-card-in-canada/, the cashback size might be significant. Does it affect the shop in any way?

Are you a bot?

 

[Gino]

Are you a bot?

Just check out the profile and you'll have your answer.

In almost any case, when I don't recognize someone, I check the profile immediately and most of the time, these kinda questions are answered.

 

[Boudica]

Ha, today I learned that the thumbs down button generates a negative reaction score! I'd say c'mon everybody, downvote them into oblivion, but alas, it would be between 8 and 13 downvotes at best...

recently I've been trying to do this to all the SEO spam posts I see. I also click the report button, but that doesn't seem to do anything.

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

If you read the small fine print on your credit card processing companys contract it has in there saying it's illegal to charge your processing fees unto the customers. Things might have changed from 5 years ago but I doubt it.

 

[binki]

If you read the small fine print on your credit card processing companys contract it has in there saying it's illegal to charge your processing fees unto the customers. Things might have changed from 5 years ago but I doubt it.

I believe that might must be retail, not commercial customers.

 

[Gino]

It changed I think back in 2015 for the whole country, but it started in 2005. You must however, explain in full what's taking place, or they can refuse it later on.

 

[FireSprint.com]

Meh. I see everyone nowadays charging to use a CC. If you feel like you need to, then go ahead. You'll be fine.

Also, if you go with someone like PayPal, Square or Stripe for CC processing, they will cover all the PCI compliance fees for you. For a small business, I strongly recommend just going with one of those guys and being done with it. Work with a big name that publishes their rates publicly. Then you know exactly what your fees will be.

 

[rjssigns]

Meh. I see everyone nowadays charging to use a CC. If you feel like you need to, then go ahead. You'll be fine.

Also, if you go with someone like PayPal, Square or Stripe for CC processing, they will cover all the PCI compliance fees for you. For a small business, I strongly recommend just going with one of those guys and being done with it. Work with a big name that publishes their rates publicly. Then you know exactly what your fees will be.

This^^^^

I use Square. Are there cheaper alternatives sure, but I don't have to deal with or worry about PCI compliance. Love being able to take my mobile reader with me. Nothing like completing a job and getting paid right away.

 

[caribmike]

Does anyone charge an additional fee to a customer who is paying by credit card? If you do charge a processing fee, have you had customers question it? It is definitely the trend at a lot of other businesses in our area, but we haven't gone that route yet. Credit card processing does add up each month!

Once it was legal to do so, we quietly added 2.5% to all our prices to cover credit card fees since the vast majority of our customers pay by credit cards. As a business owner, I use my AAdvantage credit card for almost every business purchase. The other day, I used my AA card for a $29K purchase with 5X points and have hundreds of thousands of AA miles in my account. We have been Executive Platinum Pro level with AA for a few years and it really nice to get the priority boarding, seat upgrades, lounge access and free baggage. We have kids living in Australia and Canada so the points are very valuable for us as we travel a lot. I love credit cards!

 

[Stacey K]

I sell a lot of shirts for groups on my WIX site where I create a link and then each person can order and pay for their shirt individually vs. one person taking orders and handing it to me. I increase the price by quite a bit to cover fees and extra labor. It's nice to get paid upfront for some of the larger orders as it's pretty difficult to get a deposit from 80 people for a $15 tshirt.

 

[bob]

It's a cost of doing business that is reflected in our prices already. If you want to pay for a $30k printer with a card though, we have to charge a fee if we don't want to lose our hat.

If your margins are that thin perhaps you should rethink your pricing model.

 

[binki]

Meh. I see everyone nowadays charging to use a CC. If you feel like you need to, then go ahead. You'll be fine.

Also, if you go with someone like PayPal, Square or Stripe for CC processing, they will cover all the PCI compliance fees for you. For a small business, I strongly recommend just going with one of those guys and being done with it. Work with a big name that publishes their rates publicly. Then you know exactly what your fees will be.

All of these processors are unregulated. I wouldn't go with them at all. If you have a problem there is nobody to talk to.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

All of these processors are unregulated. I wouldn't go with them at all. If you have a problem there is nobody to talk to.

Word on the street is, your fucked if you have an issue with anyone, regulated, not regulated, contract, no contract, terms conditions yadda yadda yadda. As a small guy, you have to focus on the easy button and accept that you may get some BS that's out of your control. You don't have to take credit cards, we rarely take them and have done fine.

 

[ADVANCED DISPLAY]

just my two cents, I know the guy who used to run Dr. Pepper and he put it a great way: business owners who tack on a fee for CC's or even ones that, creatively I think, post a sign at the register totaling the outrageous fee's they paid just last year, come off as whiney. Like they're making their problems yours and it's not a good look.

I think you'd be better off all around just factoring CC fee's into your pricing, and giving cash discounts maybe.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Some are using as another income stream. Charging 4,5 or 6% even. At most you're paying 3% and if it's more than you're getting shafted. I don't charge any kind of fee. Most of my big repeat clients pay by check. The new or one off clients usually do credit card. The fee is tacky and that small amount leaves a bad impression.