Transcript

People love paying with plastic. If your business doesn’t offer that option, you’re hurting your chances for success. So maybe it’s time to put your smartphone to work.

Mobile Point of Sale systems offered by a number of companies bring together your smartphone, a card reader and innovative apps that allow you to accept credit and debit payments anywhere you have an Internet connection.

It can be a perfect, affordable payment solution for hair stylists, contractors, service businesses and even brick and mortar locations. This is a great option for accepting payments whether you have a store, a restaurant, or travel from location to location.

The process is pretty simple: Find a processor that you want to use, get your card reader, install the app and then start taking customer payments.

OK, it’s a bit more complicated than that. There will be fees and fine print to consider and you’ll want to know if the processor offers good customer service and if there are extra features that can help your business. Some processors offer options to track inventory, sales performance, read barcodes and have the ability to print receipts. 

The advantages of these Mobile Point of Sale systems include how fast you can have them up and running so customers can insert, swipe or waive their cards to make payments. There are even options to make employee sub-user accounts if it will be more than just you taking payments.

If this seems like the right step for you, experts recommend that you do your research to see what provider might be right for your business. You can compare options online and look at rates and fees so you’ll know if you’ll face extra charges for things like keying in card numbers by hand on occasion or for things like chargebacks or non-sufficient funds.

If you want to make sure your customers can pay with plastic for your goods or services, it might be the right call to turn your smartphone into a point of sale terminal.