The payment processing industry is diverse. It keeps on changing every day in a bid to keep up with business trends. That explains why salespeople in the industry often seem to have a magical ‘one solution that fits all’. Such solutions ultimately end up messing up things because the people behind them hardly take time to understand how businesses work and the tools they need to serve their customers.
Truth is, no two business are the same especially when it comes to management issues. This is interesting given the fact that you and your competitor could be using different accounting software programs, websites and even Point of Sale systems. Despite all these, payment processing companies will still try to offer you the same solution. To succeed, all you need to do is ensure that your payment processing integrates with all the other tools you use to run your business.
Point of Sale Systems
It is hard to run a business today especially in retail or the hotel industry without a Point of Sale system. Unfortunately, there aren’t so many payment processing companies that have taken advantage of this need. Many of them offer subpar systems that have limited functions for running a business. Take time to find a company that makes it easy for you to process payments and have the whole process integrated into your POS. Keep in mind though that there are going to be times when one or the other may experience a glitch and go down. That is exactly why you must ensure your POS and payment processing needs are offered by the same company.
Website
Many people associate payments through a website as a benefit that only E- Commerce sites offer. This is of course, not true. Law firms, clinics and other businesses in the service industry can also incorporate payment processing on their websites. You only need to have an online bill page on your website. This will go a long way to reduce your account receivables as well as late payments because you will have made it easy for your clients to settle their bills online. Remember that not all payment processing companies offer affordable processing rates for online bill pay. Many of them add fees for the service, so be sure to check out your options.
Accounting Software
It is hard to find a payment processor that directly integrates with an accounting software. This creates a heavy burden on accounting departments because they have to manually reconcile transactions between banks. Go for a processing solution that integrates well with your accounting software. This will make bookkeeping easy for you and save you both time and money.
CRM
Having your payment processing synchronized with your CRM is by far one of the most effective ways of removing or reductive repetitive tasks. So if you regularly use CRM to track billable hours, synchronizing your payment processing software to update and mark a project as paid streamlines and expedites billing tasks. It also removes the risk of errors.