by Geoff Williams (smallbusiness.aol.com)
Sure, some businesses are cash-only and do just fine - the local ice cream parlor, the greasy spoon diner down the street, the flea market that's been around for a century. But these days, in a nation where floating on credit is as American as apple pie, you've got to take plastic.
While they require some infrastructure upgrades & come with annoying fees, it has become increasingly difficult to run a full-fledged business --especially in retail-- without accepting credit & debit cards. But despite the drawbacks, the added convenience for customers could lead to bigger purchases at the register. "You want to be accessible, and you want to broaden your opportunity to close the sale," says Greg Hammermaster, president of Sage Payment Solutions, which helps more than 140,000 business & organizations accept electronic payments, including credit and debit cards, electronic checks, gift cards & automatic recurring payments.
So how can you make your business credit card-friendly? Here are five things you need to know.
1) Apply for Merchant Status - What is merchant status? The term means you can be entrusted to allow customers to pay you with a MasterCard, Visa, American Express and the like. So why shouldn't they trust you?
To read the rest of the article, visit; http://smallbusiness.aol.com/2010/07/05/how-to-accept-credit-cards/
To find out more how Sage Payment Solutions can benefit you & your business, contact us today at sales@plus.ca for more information.