Taking the Pain Out of Payments for Small Businesses

Ever since card payments became an essential part of retail, they have been makers and breakers of businesses. Thanks to complicated processing fees, unreliable technology, and slow or awkward customer service, it can be a challenge to know how to fix your problems.

Card payments have never been as simple as they could be. That’s why searching for the best setup can make life so much easier. A good deal means saving money with every sale and saving yourself the headache of dealing with a bad machine.

Such a deal is worth the time it takes to find. Except, finding this holy grail of card machine deals is the most difficult part. 

What makes a good card machine deal, and why is it so important?

Having a card machine makes a big difference to your business. Consumers spend cautiously when holding physical money. But with plastic cards or e-wallets, people tend to spend up to twice as much^[1]. 

Whether it’s because of the idea of a deferred payment, the speed at which they can pay, or the more abstract relationship of electronic money, the bigger spending of card-carrying customers presents an opportunity for businesses.

The counterpoint to this opportunity comes in running and paying for the card machine. So, what should you look for to maximise the benefits of the extra spending a card machine brings?

• Simplicity: Payment processors often provide customers with long lists of different rates that make it hard to calculate the actual cost to the business.
• No hidden fees: It’s helpful to ask questions to ensure what you can see is all you’ll be paying for. How much will your line rental cost? Is there a base rate in addition to a percentage fee?
• Service expansion: How many different ways will you be able to take payments through the card machine? Contactless? Customer not present? Will the card machine allow you to perform cashback? All of these features appeal to consumers and can boost trade.
• Support: How long will the device take to set up? How will your provider support you if your card machine experiences problems? A broken card machine can cost days and even weeks of trading, so getting back up and running as quickly as possible can be crucial.

How to set up a card machine: the Epos Now Payments experience

Once you’ve bought your card machine, a long-winded setup process can be a real pain, but it doesn’t have to be. One of the critical advantages of having an EPOS provider setting up your payments is using the EPOS to complete the process.

Nowhere does this advantage seem more evident than in completing the verification process. With the wrong provider, this process can be long-winded and delay the machine's use for weeks.

Epos Now Payments customers can verify their business (or sole trader operation) by submitting the necessary forms through the Epos Now Back Office. The page contains graphics showing what you need, where you are in the process, and what comes next, so you won’t be surprised or caught off-guard by an information request.

You then use the same section of your Back Office to confirm the location in which the device will be used, creating a card checkout option on the till automatically. To finish, a simple hardware setup and a few settings to select, which the Epos Now support team can help with if needed.

Whether you choose the countertop Link, the mobile Pro, or the all-in-one EPOS and payments Pro+ device, setting up a card machine system doesn’t need to be hard.

Supporting your small business, no matter the problem

Those who have been in business for a long time will likely have seen support teams refusing to take accountability for technical issues. If a company cannot resolve an issue with a card machine, businesses can be sent from one team to another for weeks and months, never getting the results they need.

With Epos Now Payments, managers, team members, and customers can rest easy knowing the same support network can resolve any issue. This is a godsend to those who have struggled alone, caught in the middle of a dispute over whose fault this or that technical error is.

For integrated Epos Now customers, there’s no finger-pointing. Only the drive to resolve any issues and send you back to trade!

Why flat rates are better

An easy-to-use, fully supported payments deal doesn’t help you grow if the fees weigh you down. And how can you, as a business owner, be sure you’re getting a good deal if you don’t understand the complicated charts and the jargon the provider gives you?

Fortunately, not all payment providers like complicated deals. Flat payment rates have become more commonplace, and Epos Now Payments are a wonderful example of a simple card payments deal.

Flat rates work by charging the same rate for every transaction. Before these fees, payment providers would charge different types of card accounts at different rates, meaning the retailer could never be sure how much they’d be losing on any sale paid for by card.

These “tiered pricing” schemes might charge a little less on some account varieties, but others would be two or even three times as much as the business would be expecting to pay. The long lists of different rates make understanding your deal and managing your accounts much more complex.

That’s why Epos Now Payments uses flat rates. To make things easier, the EPOS system auto-generates a live report alongside your other business reports. It contains just one figure: a simple % of all the card sales you’ve made that month.

A small part of a greater whole: integrated business

When running a business, getting the little details right like reports, good customer service, and providing value for money, can make the more significant decisions much more straightforward. Epos Now Payments integrations tie in easily with your EPOS system and bring you closer to building a fully integrated business.

Epos Now recently launched the Wix integration that’s helping retailers connect their online stores to their main EPOS system. Recent launches like Wix have helped our customers expand and grow into omnichannel businesses selling everywhere they can, in every way they can.

If you’re curious about other options available to you, take a look at some of our other partnerships and apps available through the AppStore:

• LoyalZoo can help you boost customer retention and total spend
• NearSt can streamline your local inventory advertising and help you build awareness of the products you offer
• Mailchimp can manage customer relations and improve your marketing capabilities 

Take a look in our AppStore or get in touch with our expert team to learn more about how to build your EPOS system and use it to grow your business.