Business Talk: Customer Purchases and Payments
It is important to have good payment processing systems in place. Poorly structured Point of Sale (POS) systems can cause businesses to suffer and even fail. In processing customer payments, certain things need to be kept in mind.
Use an Efficient POS system
Many POS service providers offer various packages which suit businesses according to their particular size, type, and needs. A good POS system allows for easy processing of orders and payments. Good systems are able to boost company sales, as well as allow for efficient tracking of orders, sales, inventory, and customer records. Efficient POS software not only assists and eases your daily transactions with customers; it also provides needful and relevant data that helps companies like yours assess business operations, enabling you to make decisions and changes accordingly.
Depending on the services you choose, sales data can be tracked and computed easily, with simple adjustments applied for store promotions and discounts as well as sales taxes and other deductions. As for management resources, sales reports can be pulled up, showing data on cost, price, and profit analytics. Summaries on best and least selling products are immediately available. POS systems can greatly reduce time delays in data collection, enabling decision makers to act quickly to steer business operations and policy in the right direction. A properly efficient POS system should enable you to assess various possibilities and limits on price increases as well as limits on price reductions. Software ought to generate data by a number of parameters such as by day and by price. With information like these, management can avoid emotional pricing, a factor which Techopedia cites to be responsible for the doom of 46 percent of business start-ups in the United States. With quick and accurate generation of data, companies can avoid joining the 56 percent of manufacturers who lag on sales forecasts by two weeks and more.
As for inventory tracking, POS services can help provide real-time information on remaining inventory on hand, determining low stock quantities and providing info about available stock on hand. Never run out of stock again and meet customer demands each time.
Allow Multiple Payment Methods
The ability to offer various modes of payment is a crucial ingredient to successful business operations. Limitations in this area definitely limit the number of customers and sales your business can accept. Businessbee cites a study released by ComScore, stating that there are already more than 75 million online shoppers. The goal of any business should be to accommodate as many of them as possible. It’s critical to learn about all payment methods available and work on adopting them for your business.
A 2013 Federal Reserve Payments Study disclosed payment trends in the U.S. from the years 2003 to 2012. The summary report states that shares of noncash payments made via card increased from 60 percent in 2009 to 67 percent in 2012. Card payments also increased by $17.8 billion from 2009 to 2012. The summary recognizes that payments are becoming increasingly card-based and that debit card payments had the greatest increase in usage from 2009 to 2012. Still, cash and paper checks remain commonly used payment options as well.
Businesses ought to have all these payment types available for customers upon check-out. Depending on the structure and host provider, processing credit cards and other payment methods is doable. Most POS Vendors like Shopify offer online shopping cart solutions for e-transactions. In addition to that, it is a must to incorporate merchant account features.
Common Payment Processing tools are as follows.
Online Shopping Carts
Shopping carts display merchandise particulars, making it quick and easy for costumers to choose items for purchase. Good shopping carts provide clear product images, details, and even review, and are able to provide real-time inventory counts. Navigation ought to be easy and the check-out page should be clear and simple.
Merchant Accounts
Credit card payment processing involves fund transfers to a merchant account. The merchant is the business and the account is held directly with a bank. As a merchant, you assume responsibility for transactions occurring with your account and are bound to service terms and agreements with the bank of your choice. If you prefer to not open your own merchant account, third-party payment processors are available.
Third Party Payment Processors
These companies process credit card payments for you. Choose a host provider that offers multiple payment gateways. Paypal is mostly a basic payment option. Other payment channels include; Citrus Payments, Authorize.net, Dwolla, Braintree, Securepay, Stripe, and 2Checkout. Depending on the gateway you choose, fees may include any of the following; Set-up fees, Monthly fees, Per-transaction fees, and Flat rate fees or Percentage of transaction fees.
Those that have both in-store and an online business presence should be able to process payments online and offline. Offline processing is where physical payments are made and where a card can be physically swiped during product checkout. Invest in proper devices that allow you to process payments on-site and even on the go.
