Merchant accounts are a means for businesses to take credit and debit cards. Only having the ability to process cash can be detrimental to companies that offer large amounts of purchasing. However, if your merchant services are not giving you what you need and are charging you fees, it might be time to change merchant accounts. Knowing when you should change merchant accounts will keep your business overhead low and your fees at a minimum. Here are a few things to look out for when you are thinking about changing merchant accounts.
Percentage Rates
When a customer uses a credit or debit card at your business, you are charged a percentage fee. You should have been informed of the percentage fee when you first signed up for your merchant account. Go back in your statements to find out what that percentage was. If the fee has gone up, call your merchant account and ask them why the fee went up. If they are simply raising costs, ask them to lower the percentage. If they will not, consider going with a different service.
Credit Card Processing Equipment
Does your merchant account charge you for renting their equipment? A lot of merchant services do charge their customers to rent processing equipment. However, if the fees are high, you might want to consider going with a different service. High fees lead to overhead. You shouldn’t be paying too much to rent their equipment. Ask them to lower the fee or go with another service.
Transactions With Your Bank
A great way to streamline funds is to integrate transactions from your merchants account to your bank account. If your merchant account does not allow you to integrate your bank account with their processors, you should change companies. If you do not change companies, you could be looking at a fee for the transactions to your bank.
Monthly Fees
All merchant services accounts will have monthly fees. Whether this is to rent their equipment or processing fees, these fees should stay the same. If you look at your statement and you don’t know what the fees are for, you should probably call your merchant account and find out. Some merchant account services will raise monthly fees to cover dips in their revenue. If you have an established relationship with the company, they should lower the fees for you. If they do not, it’s probably time to move onto a different company.
Reports
Would you like to see how your business has improved over the year? A report of your revenue is a great way to see the trends. But if your merchant services account does not offer this, you should definitely consider a different service. Merchant accounts should offer you a way to see your business statistics. Some will even offer a way for you to export your reports into Quickbooks or other accounting software.
Cutting ties with your merchant accounts can be scary. If you’re familiar with their systems and have been with the company for a long time, you might put up with the fees. But knowing when enough is enough can save you money and even improve your business. Taking a proactive attitude toward your merchant account is the best way to deliver great service to your customers and your business. Follow these guidelines and you will find a merchant account that treats your business better while lowering your monthly fees.
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