Credit cards

If you have an iPhone, check out Square. You download the app and they send you a card reader that plugs into the headphone jack of the phone. slide the card, put in the amount and voila.

Check out Paypal?

> If you have an iPhone, check out Square. You download the app and they send you a card reader that plugs into the headphone jack of the phone. slide the card, put in the amount and voila.

I think it's "squareup"

> I am considering accepting credit cards. Anyone have any ideas about the best way to go about it?

I did paypal for a transaction, It's not awful. you have to have them validate that you are a business by providing a bank account number, a tax ID number and 1 or 2 other things. They take a percentage, but I forget how much. I think someone else discussed that you can't "add on" the amount that they charge, per se. But, there would be nothing against adding an administrative time amount that would offset the amount taken (I think that's right).

Carl

do you have one? Just was wondering how often people will let you swipe their cards with all the fraud you hear about these days. After seeing this I sent a link to the site to my boss to see if we could get one, would be great if were out on a site and a surveyor wants to buy a bundle or two of stakes or box of nails but does not have an account with us or check book. Thanks

> do you have one?

I do not as my smartphone is a blackberry. I think it only works with Driod and iPhone systems. I think Wendell has one, and maybe Andy Johnson, hopefully they'll chime it.

Carl

I have square up...

For my Droid 2...

Very easy to use and since it attaches to your cell phone very portable, which is nice if your out in the field and the client wants to pay by credit card.

They deposit money right into your checking account within in 2 days, so you get access to cash fairly quickly, and they accept all major credit cards.

Checkout the website for fees.

People like to pay by credit card for the rewards the get, which is fine by me 😉

I have used PayPal for over ten years on e-bay. I don't deal in high end stuff, rarely even what I would charge for the rare lot survey. I have not had a lot of problems but I have not taken many chances.

I don't think I would use it for surveying transactions. As a "seller" you really have no protection on a chargeback, and your account can be frozen until you "settle". It's all oriented to protecting the consumer. You can deliver your survey, get "paid" by PayPal, and get a chargeback months later. If you don't pay the chargeback, you will simply be turned over to a collection agency by PayPal, and get your credit beat up.

Most folks in good standing with their credit card company have stacks of "convenience checks" available and can write you a check on their card account and they basically have paid you in cash, with no other recourse. That's what I'd mention to a customer if asked about credit card payments. No fee for you to accept the check, either.

We have Square. It's great. You can swipe the card or take payment over the phone if they give you the CC#, Exp. Date, Billing Zip code, and the verification # on the back of the card. I'd highly recommend it if you have an Android or Apple phone. And they send you the swipe part for free when you sign up ...

> I am considering accepting credit cards. Anyone have any ideas about the best way to go about it?

I went cold turkey through my bank. The swipe machine ran about $125 and Amex takes about $7/month, Visa/MC $10 each and Discover, Nada. They also take a percentage (1%?). I advertise that take cards but it only happens about 5% of my transactions. It's mostly a way of advertising my business.

I have PayPal Virtual Terminal. It allows you to take any card that I've ever heard of. It costs $30 per month, plus the usual percentage.

But once you have gone through the verification process, with a simple menu click you can deactivate it, shutting off the $30 monthly charge. When you need to use it, you can activate instantly with another menu click, process your charge, then shut it off again.

That way you only get charged when you need to use it. This was actually suggested to me by a PayPal rep.

I've only used it twice, for a client who could only pay with the credit card. It works well. The client gives you their number, and you enter the information on the PayPal website. You can also send the client email invoices they can pay from via PayPal without revealing their number to you.

Nice... Hopefully we will be getting one soon. The owner really seemed to like the idea.

I have one, but don't haven't tried to use it for business. I usually get checks. There are fees that go to Square, i forget how much, somthing like 3% or 2.5%.

NC and other states have Bank of America. If you have BA and the client
has BA, he just needs to make a deposit in your account. Give him your
account name, address, city, state, and zip. Forget wiring money for $25.
There shouldn't be any service charge for a deposit.

I accept Paypal and do not buy e-bay. For buying, I use an e-bay broker.
Paypal is slow to return money ripped-off. The NY attorney general sued
Paypal for about $500M a few years ago. My brother got ripped off and
Paypal wouldn't give the money back until he contacted the Florida AG.

If you and your client both use the same bank and have on-line banking,
you can do an account transfer for no charge. Even the Bank of Herkimer
will do that.

> But once you have gone through the verification process, with a simple menu click you can deactivate it, shutting off the $30 monthly charge. When you need to use it, you can activate instantly with another menu click, process your charge, then shut it off again.

Wow! Where do I find the deactivation link? Seems like I've looked everywhere and still can't find it.

A service I hear mentioned a lot is Freshbooks. I have no need for them personally, but they handle the invoicing and payment collection for you.

> Wow! Where do I find the deactivation link? Seems like I've looked everywhere and still can't find it.

I wrote down directions:

To cancel monthly billing: My Account > Profile > Billing > Manage monthly billing

To resume: "Reactivate monthly billing"

Starting it back up is easier - It's on your home page if you're deactivated.

SWEET.

Thank you! I never even noticed the little Billing block on the right side of the page.

I know a couple guys using Freshbooks and they love it. Never tried it myself.