credit card sales

[Tom Cole]

Larry Fisher wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> Some folks want to use their credit cards to pay for the services I offer.
> I can relate to their wants and desires to rack up "miles" and other
> "bennys".  My querry is how do I get set up??  Do I want to get set up??
> .-

Larry

I began offering VISA/MC service several months ago with the thought
that the trend is toward more and more electronic transfer of monies.
Also, I had this theory that I could sell more service if the customer
could defer payment. No takers that I know of, however.

So far, I've been getting paid with a credit card about as much as I get
paid in cash, which is to say a very small percentage. I've been keeping
it on as an additional service that I can offer to customers because,
whether it's for the "miles" or that it's the only way they can pay,
they do appreciate the service. I advertise this in the yellow pages and
this theoretically gives me an advantage since no one else has done so.

To get started, probably the place to begin looking is your own bank
although any bank card service can deposit into your account. For
comparison, my current discount rate is 2.1% and there are no
transaction fees.

As to whether you might want to add this capability, I think it depends
on how much you are willing to promote it and how much you are willing
to deal with one more complication (carrying an imprinter, filling out
the form, remembering to punch a bunch of numbers into a terminal when
you get home). I can't say whether or not it ends up being a financial
liability. My guess is that it is but that it's worth it as a premium to
offer to your clientele.

Hope this perspective is useful.

-- 
Thomas A. Cole RPT
Santa Cruz, CA