Credit Cards

Why would you not want your client to pay you in a convenient method?

You could always do PayPal to test it out. Then just send the client an electronic PayPal invoice and let them pay with a credit card online. They do charge you something per transaction though, so you may want to include a fee for using the credit card.

:good: :good:

Accepting them costs you a little bit but not nearly as much as trying to collect on a bad debt.

I accept credit cards. I use PayPal and Square, depending on the situation. I don't have too many cc transactions and when I do, it is usually on a small lot job or elevation certificate so you're looking at a $700-$1000 transaction. The fee for using the service on a small charge like that isn't much and well worth the hassle it saves, especially for absentee land-owners who may live hundreds of miles away. My typical clients (large acreage boundary surveys) usually pay with cash or check and I deal with them face to face.

> You could always do PayPal to test it out. Then just send the client an electronic PayPal invoice and let them pay with a credit card online. They do charge you something per transaction though, so you may want to include a fee for using the credit card.

Last I heard charging extra for the use of a credit card was illegal. Well, except for the government. The way gas stations commonly get around this is to give a cash discount instead of charging more for using a CC.

Larry P

My wife uses square for her business and is happy with it. It is ideal for people who don't use cards a lot as there are no monthly fees (but the transaction fees are higher) I think their charges are reasonable for what they provide.

YES!! was on the fence for a long time. Use Square and love it. It helps to filter out price shoppers too, since I require CC information before they even get on my schedule. DO IT!

Merchant Surcharging

I have been in business for coming up on 2 years and I am already tired of dealing with AR. Been using it more and more. Especially on real estate transactions. Too many people out there that think that if the real estate deal falls through, they don't have to pay for the survey.

> Why would you not want your client to pay you in a convenient method?

Oh... I will take their money any way it comes. Just thinking of adding another funding source.

That's a great idea. I don't know why it has never occured to me.

> Merchant Surcharging

Thanks for the link. 3 of the states that don't allow a surcharge are on that list. There are ways around that too.

Here in Maryland, I have come across something called a "convenience fee" or some such thing. For instance, if I choose to pay my water bill by credit card, the process is apparently contracted out to a 3rd party who (last time I checked) charged something like $3-$4 for the convenience of paying by credit card.

Upon seeing such a high charge, I quickly decided I can afford a check, stamp and envelope (and the time to write the check) more than some high "convenience" type fee. :'(

Here in New Zealand the law has just been changed to let business pass on the fees charged by credit card companies (usually 3-4%)

The credit card companies did their best to block its introduction, and to date not many companies seem to be doing so.

AR will kill your schedule. not to mention if you have to pay someone else to do the legwork. so you're paying twice, at least, in time and effort to get paid. if you're lucky. screw that.

get a square (or similar) account and try it out. I love it, money goes right into my bank account. If it's a survey needed for a closing, I just tell the closing agent that I was Paid out of Closing. they usually need to know the total for the HUD documents.

Square has a nice web page to, you can log in and see how much has been charged and when. for a retail store, I can see where that would be very valuable for scheduling help and setting store hours.

Andy

Takes away an excuse. If a credit card company want give them credit, why should you?