Software to accept credit cards

Accepting credit card payments has become nearly a requirement to do business. A lot of the information on how to do it makes it more complicated than it needs to be—merchant accounts are just one example.

Traditionally, a business needed to open a merchant account to accept credit card payments from customers. A merchant account is a special kind of bank account that holds your money after a credit card transaction is run and while the credit card network processes the transaction. After that, the money is deposited into your business bank account. With the traditional model, you had to work with a merchant services provider or directly with a bank to open a merchant account and negotiate a—usually yearslong—contract to pay monthly fees.

This is all as complex and unnecessarily expensive as it sounds, so most new businesses skip this step and use an all-in-one payment service provider instead. Without a merchant account, you can accept credit cards the way many modern businesses do: with a payment service provider. Payment service providers PSPs like PayPal, Square, Stripe and the like make this process a lot easier and, in many cases, cheaper than it used to be.

PSPs work similarly to merchant accounts because they accept and hold your money from credit card transactions, but you can sign up and manage the account entirely online.

Modern point-of-sale POS systems like Square and Clover are easy to sign up for and come with all the hardware and software you need to process all transactions—cash and credit cards.

A simple system like this covers all of your needs as an in-person retail business: point of sale i. They usually accept credit cards via swipe, chip reader or mobile payment reader tap ; let customers authorize a transaction by entering a personal identification number PIN or signing onscreen; and offer the option to print or email a receipt. The simplest way for any retailer to accept payments for an online business is through a payment service provider like PayPal, Stripe, Square or Shopify.

Payment service providers are the easiest way to do that. Most modern website builders, including Squarespace, Kajabi and Shopify, have built-in integrations with payment service providers. Integrations might be limited for some builders, so look into your options before starting on your site in case you want access to a specific provider. Square is the original mobile payment processor, and it sets the standard for a lightweight, easy-to-use system. Its card reader is an attachment about the size of a Scrabble tile that connects to your headphone jack or Lightning connector to turn your smartphone into an on-the-go POS.

Fortunately, many solutions today roll both a payment gateway, processor, and merchant account into one. Again, look for a mobile card reader that also accepts digital wallets and contactless payments. Most card readers integrate directly with POS and payment systems to keep things easy for you and your customer.

How it works: The customer reads you their card information over the phone, and you key it into your virtual terminal. Some businesses need to accept credit card payments over the phone. One important thing to keep in mind: Resist repeating card information back to your customers. Not sure how to get started? With so many options available, how can you possibly figure out which credit card processor is the right choice for your small business?

Here are some things to look out for:. One of the worst parts about accepting credit cards is dealing with the fees. One QuickBooks study found that 9 out of 10 small business owners around the world who accept credit cards agreed that the fees are exorbitant. In general, credit card processing or merchant services companies structure their fees in two different ways:. For example, do you want a mobile card reader to complete the majority of your sales at local art fairs?

Consider where you plan to do most of your business so you can find a service that matches your business needs. What are other small business owners saying about their experience, customer service, and more? Like we mentioned before, credit card processing fees are a big hang-up for business owners—and understandably so. These typical fees include:. It hinges not only on the credit card network and the issuing bank, but also on things like:.

QuickBooks Payments does not charge monthly or setup fees, but charges 0. Fortunately, QuickBooks Payments makes accepting credit card payments straightforward and painless—whether you want to accept them online, by phone, on the go, or even through recurring payments. Ready to get started? Sign up for QuickBooks Payments here. Electronic payments: What they are and how to accept them. How to accept mobile payments: A guide for small businesses.

What is an eCheck? How to accept electronic checks in your small business. This content is for information purposes only and should not be considered legal, accounting, or tax advice, or a substitute for obtaining such advice specific to your business.

Additional information and exceptions may apply. Your email address will not be published. Comment moderation is enabled. Your comment may take some time to appear. Please read the " User Review and Comment Policy " before posting. Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity.

The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.

Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. Check our help guide for more info. Advertiser Disclosure: Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships , and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity. Pros: User-friendly Huge software ecosystem Excellent mobile hardware Cons: Account stability issues Can be expensive for high-volume businesses.

Pros: Inexpensive hardware Great for low volume and low-ticket transactions Easy to use Cons: No eCommerce support Limited features Account stability issues. Pros: Can process international cards In-app invoicing available Ideal for low-volume merchants Processes PayPal and Venmo transactions Easy to use Cons: Inconsistent customer support Account stability issues.

Pros Portability: Perhaps more than anything else, credit card processing apps offer the ability to make POS transactions far away from dedicated infrastructure, and without the use of carbon paper.

Less Dedicated Hardware: If you want to limit the number of dedicated hardware devices in your life, a credit card processing app can turn phones and tablets into serviceable POS systems. Software Platforms: While not unique to credit card processing apps, they are more likely to be part of broader business software bundles.

Also consider wear and tear on the devices in question. Bio LinkedIn Latest Posts. An expert in personal and business loans and financial health, Chris Motola has been writing about small business finance and payments for over 5 years.

Chris is a graduate of the University of Central Florida. View Chris Motola's professional experience on LinkedIn. Latest posts by Chris Motola see all. Show more. Show less. Read Next. Leave a comment No Comments Responses are not provided or commissioned by the vendor or bank advertiser. Shopify offers several types of payment buttons, including PayPal.

If you never want to have a site at all, you can sync your Shopify inventory with numerous platforms, including Facebook Stores, Instagram Shoppable Posts, Amazon, eBay, and many others. Shopify Payments is a payment service provider and uses Stripe Payments as its back-end processor. While payment service providers such as PayPal, Square, and Shopify Payments are very easy to sign up for and are sometimes the only option for new businesses , there is a bit less account stability.

Get Started with Shopify Payments. If yes, do you like your website? Would you rather abandon it for a better site with more features? Very small and part-time businesses can get away with using online invoicing software or social media to make their sales.

However, for any full-time operation, we strongly recommend that you have a website to promote your business and process credit card payments online. The ongoing COVID pandemic has only emphasized just how important it is for businesses to stake out their corner of cyberspace in the 21 st century. When it comes to numbers, you need to look at both upfront costs and monthly or yearly costs. How much can you spend at the outset, and how much do you expect to be able to afford on a monthly or annual basis?

Keep in mind that the more technically-advanced your website, the more you can expect to pay to build and maintain it. Likewise, the more inventory you have, the more you can expect to pay. ACH payments are often preferred in B2B environments, but some consumers favor them, too. You should also consider alternative payment methods, such as Apple Pay, which can be much less expensive to process than other card-not-present options.

Payment service providers e. Instead, they aggregate all of their users into a single shared merchant account. This practice simplifies the account setup process by eliminating the need for credit checks for low-risk businesses. Additionally, traditional merchant accounts are often only available to businesses that process higher volumes, which can cause a huge stumbling block for a smaller business that is just launching or an owner without established credit.

As a general rule, payment service providers work best for small, low-volume, and seasonal businesses. Established businesses with a higher processing volume should invest in a full-service merchant account. If you want to sell online, security is critical. That means ensuring your site is PCI compliant. The more involved you are in the payments process and the more sensitive information your website handles, the more burden you are taking upon yourself. In many cases, you may not need to do anything because the sensitive data is all tokenized or hosted elsewhere!

QuickBooks, for example, is the industry leader in small business accounting and a great product. However, the optional QuickBooks Payments processing service is somewhat limited in its features. You certainly do not have to have a website to take payments online anymore, but making a website has also never been easier. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the vendor or bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the vendor or bank advertiser.

Thankyou for typing this wonderful article. I also own a square and have a weebly website for fun. I didnt realize square and weebly have a connection now. Well, I have both….. There is a lot of information about this available online, but my understanding is that you can find the Weebly app via your Square dashboard to get started.

Best of luck! Your email address will not be published. Comment moderation is enabled. Your comment may take some time to appear. Please read the " User Review and Comment Policy " before posting. Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity.