A Step by Step Guide: The 8 Simple Steps To Get Your Business Ready to Start Accepting Payments
So you’re ready to enhance your existing business with the new industry standard of cutting-edge payment technology solutions?
Or maybe you’ve just started your business and you’re ready to start accepting payments?
Well you’re in luck! Today, we’re setting out to make sure that you have everything you need to start accepting transactions and take this next exciting step in your business’s growth!
It might seem like we’re going to cover a lot of ground today, but I can assure you that this process is much less daunting than it looks. A skilled processor, who takes into account your business’s needs and best interests, will be your guide through this process. With their seasoned expertise, much of this setup will be handled for you, making the entire experience straightforward and smooth.
Below, I’ve broken down the 8 most important steps to get your business paid and running smoothly.
Solidify Your Business Structure & Bank Account
Before we dive in, you’ll need to first make sure that you have established your business structure and a dedicated business bank account with the bank of your choice. You may have this step completed but it’s important to solidify now before you move forward. If you know that you’d like to change the entity of your business, now is the time to make that switch. Otherwise, you will have to restart these steps under the new entity later. Once your business structure is confirmed, be sure that your business’s bank account is set up and matches this. A dedicated bank account specifically for your business ensures that all money going in or out of your business is separated from your personal banking or any unassociated transactions, giving your business operations the professional upgrade that it now requires.
2. Choosing a Payment Processor
Select a payment processing partner that complements your chosen POS system or gateway. You’ll want to consider factors like transaction fees, customer support, and integration capabilities when making your choice. Some Payment Gateway services require that you integrate with their chosen processing partner but by finding a gateway or POS provider that is “agnostic” you can enjoy the freedom of selecting the processor of your choice. Many POS systems aren’t fully “agnostic” but can work with either several processors or several gateways which a processor can connect to. So, before you sign up with your processor your chosen POS system suggests, ask your favorite processor if they can connect as well! Once you have selected the payment processor you will use, they will help guide you through the rest of this process making the set-up nearly effortless for you.
3. Determine Where & How You’ll Receive Payments
So now that you’ve decided on a processor, let’s talk about how you’ll be running your business. Together with your processor, you’ll want to determine important details like where and how your business receives payments. Whether it’s in a brick-and-mortar storefront, online through your website, at a job site, in office or over the phone– nailing down these details will point you to what types of terminals and software are best for you.
Ok, you’ve done the “where” now let’s look at “how” you’ll run your business and what payment features you will need. Will you need to send invoices? Do your customers pay in-person at your storefront? Do you offer products or services that require monthly billing? Features like mobile payments, invoicing, reporting, tokenization, and auto-batching can make all of your business needs possible. Talk with your processor or a gateway provider like Cardnetix to guarantee that you get all of the capabilities you need!
4. Choosing the Right Terminals
Now that we’ve covered how you will be running your business and accepting payments, let’s chat about what you’ll need to accomplish that. A crucial step in configuring your payment acceptance is determining what type(s) of terminals you’ll need to use. With the guidance of your processor, you’ll need to determine whether your business will use physical terminals, a virtual terminal or both. Partnering with a company like Cardnetix can help you to decide the perfect configuration for your business needs.
5. Estimate Your Monthly Revenue
Do you have an idea of what your business’s monthly revenue looks like? This estimate will help you in determining what solutions make sense for your budget. If you already have these numbers forecasted or have past accounting data to make an informed estimation– great! If you’re just getting started in your business and have no idea what your monthly revenue might look like, talk to your payment processor to decide on a number that appropriately fits your business.
6. So You’ve Been Approved For Processing– Now What?
You’re approved! Now that everything is in order, let’s talk about how you get the actual software or terminals for seamless transactions. Your processor will either get you set up with a terminal and/or create a VAR (Value Added Reseller) for you. A VAR is a simple, single page of technical information used to get your business set up with a virtual terminal, also known as a payment gateway. Don’t worry, your processor will create your VAR and will take care of all the details so that you don’t have to.
7. On-boarding & Training
Depending on the solutions that you’ve chosen for your business, there may be different on-boarding timelines and procedures. There will often be some form of training provided for any employees or staff using the new terminals and/or software to ensure that they’re understood and run properly. As a word of advice, make sure to run a handful of “test” transactions to practice the processes and confirm that your system is running properly before you charge your first customer. This not only confirms that the system is operational at your business or office, but also helps keep your staff from human error on a brand new system.
8. Start Accepting Payments
Congratulations! Your business is now ready to take on the world.
You’ve worked diligently to prepare your business with everything it needs to safely and properly accept payment from your customers. Depending on what services you opted in for, you may now be able to send high quality invoices directly to your customers that are automatically organized and easier than ever for your customers to pay.
Conclusion
You did it! By following these steps, you will have built a rock solid foundation for your business’s payment processing capabilities. With the help of your processor, these simple steps can be completed in no time giving your business the payment technology upgrade you’ve been looking for!
If you’ve made it this far and are ready to get started, here at Cardnetix we’d be happy to help get you the right solutions for your business’s unique needs.
By working with the best integrations we could find, we can provide your business with exactly what it needs alongside our dedicated customer support every step of the way. Never worry again about solutions in your business that are complicated and inefficient.
At Cardnetix, we’re here to make receiving payments easier than ever before.
