3 Great Cloud Payment Options For Your Business

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Payment is the backbone of any business. It’s important to make the process as easy as possible to ensure customers and clients have no excuse to procrastinate. When payment can be automated, money is in your business account more quickly, which helps keep the books balanced.

The good news is, there are several great cloud-based services that can make accepting payment easier. Whether payment is being made over the phone or in person, these services are designed to get you paid quickly and securely.

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New payment technologies are changing business transactions

PayPal

PayPal may have originally been known as a way to purchase items on eBay and send money to friends, but it’s also frequently used as a business tool. The biggest benefit to PayPal is that many consumers already have accounts, which means your customers and clients can skip the setup process. PayPal Here adds a card reader to the payment acceptance process, allowing businesses to swipe credit cards. Numbers can also be keyed in manually in cases where information is given over the phone or through mail.

Businesses will pay a 2.7% fee for each swipe and a fee of 3.5% plus $.15 for each keyed-in transaction. With PayPal Here’s partner solutions, businesses can connect payment processing to a variety of solutions, working seamlessly with appointment-setting apps, order-taking apps for restaurants, and more.

Intuit GoPayment

For businesses that already use Intuit’s accounting solution, GoPayment has become a handy solution. But even for those who aren’t already Intuit customers, it could prove a great choice for those who plan to accept a high volume of transactions each month. The per-swipe rates are similar to PayPal Here’s (2.75% per swipe, 3.75% per keyed transaction), but for high-volume customers, a $12.95 per month plan earns businesses a 1.75% per-swipe fee and keyed rates of only 2.75%.

GoPayment is integrated with QuickBooks, as well as Intuit’s other POS products, reducing duplicate entry and keeping books up-to-date. Cash and check payments can also be recorded in GoPayment to further keep bookkeeping on track.

Square

Square rewards businesses by use, with per-swipe rates starting at 2.75% and reducing as a business grows. Businesses get the swipe device for free, but for only $99, the company will send a stand that can easily turn an iPad into an attractive checkout terminal. The app can even be set up to take separate employee logins to help with transaction tracking.

Once a customer has signed for the purchase, Square offers the choice of a receipt via email or text message. Businesses that set up the ability to print receipts can also provide old-fashioned paper evidence of the transaction.

These payment-processing services set businesses up to accept a variety of payment options, including all major credit cards. Card readers can be set up at a register or used while traveling for accepting payments at trade shows, flea markets, and conferences. This availability means a business can make money anywhere, with instant payment eliminating the need to send invoices and wait for payment. With connectivity to accounting solutions as an option, businesses won’t have to worry about bookkeeping errors.

Kirill Bensonoff is a founding partner at ComputerSupport.com, helping small business executives get the most out of their technology investment.

Additional Video:  The Future of Payments

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