One of the biggest growing trends these days is for aspiring entrepreneurs and future successful business men and women to strike it alone and use their knowledge and skills to build their business from scratch.
And one of the most useful tools available to them is the ability to accept mobile payments from wherever they happen to take their business.
The world of business has changed drastically in the last several years and it continues to change with every new technological hurdle is passed. It wasn’t long ago no one had even heard the term “smartphone” or iPad (or “i” anything, for that matter).
Funny how a little ingenuity and determination can result is some pretty amazing discoveries and advancements in the new digital age.
When I was a kid, we played Atari and got super excited when the Sega Genesis system came out with “16-bit Graphics”! I remember being absolutely mesmerized by it, just staring at the very rudimentary (in retrospect) graphics as my very pixelated character awkwardly performed his objectives.
This stuff was mind blowing back then! Now you can order pizza from the palm of your hand while playing whatever game you choose in full on 3D graphics. We aren’t in the proverbial “Kansas” anymore, are we folks?
Of course, these advancements in gaming technology are just one example. There have been huge advancements in technology as it pertains to the business world also! (See how I mixed business with pleasure there?)
Let’s be very matter of fact, shall we? Your business is not a “business” unless it can accept payments. Not accepting payments would make your “business” a non-profit. If this is you, bravo!
This article is for those business owners who are in it to make money! Money makes the world go round, right? I think it is fair to say no businessman or woman makes it their goal to invest a lot of time and energy and work into a business to NOT make money.
As I said, many new businesses are beginning to take their wares to the streets, so to speak, by traveling around to their various clients to meet with them and provide products and services to them. But is accepting cash or checks the only alternative when taking payments for those goods/services?
It isn’t the most efficient way to do business, this is for sure. Accepting cash can get rather disorganized quickly if you aren’t very good at keeping your records in order.
Cash in hand is much easier to lose account of. It takes a very disciplined and organized person to handle the operations of his business; the customer service aspect, scheduling appointments, etc., and keep all of your cash payments in order and accounted for.
Yes, cash is king, but keeping your books in order can save you massive headaches down the road and is far better than physically having cash in your pocket, especially when tax season comes around.
You need to keep your accounts payable/receivable in order. The best way to do this is by having a system in place which keeps a digital record of the payments you are receiving. There is no better way than to use the digital tools available to you and accept payments mobily.
Maybe you are an Avon or Mary Kay lady (with a sweet pink Cadillac!) and you do a lot of house calls which require you to constantly be on the road. How much easier would your life (and your customer’s) be if you could simply take their payments right then and there at your house call?
Seems a lot more organized and eliminates a lot of additional record keeping, right?
So, you may be wondering: How exactly do I take payments from my clients at their homes?
No, you don’t have to carry around a massive piece of equipment which plugs into the wall and requires an ethernet connection (aka POS systems). No need to set up a make-shift “cash out” stand in the living room of your client’s home. How awkward would that be? Comical almost!
All you need is a smartphone or tablet with an external card swiper (most commonly referred to as a “dongle”) attached to it. You can also use a wireless (NFC) reader or chip (EMV) reader.
Square has hardware available which accepts both in the same device. So do we here at RedFynn.
The customer simply holds her phone near the NFC device and it wirelessly connects to her phone, gathers her card information, and accepts the payment. The reader also has a slot built in which accepts chip card payments.
The customer simply inserts (or dips) her card into the slot and the device does the rest. Chip cards, in case you hadn’t heard, are the new standard in credit/debit card security. You’ll see them more often, if you haven’t already.
There are a lot of companies out there who offer software/hardware solutions for mobile payments, all of them claiming to have the solution to all your problems! Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case with many of them.
Simplicity is very popular these days. We get it. Running a business is hard enough. Why complicate it more with a complex system or hard to understand pricing scheme?
Many companies have taken the idea of “simplicity” to extremes, as ironic as it is. When it comes to pricing, many offer a flat rate, and it seems to be very popular with most people. The only problem with a flat rate is you tend not to receive equitable service in return for the rate.
If you are operating on a small scale or a project you do on the side and your income from the project is a few hundred dollars per month, the flat rate plans should work very nicely for you.
But for larger scale businesses, you want cost plus pricing so you are not paying out the nose to receive your money. The more business you are conducting the more important it is to have a pricing plan which fits your growing needs.
We here at RedFynn like simple. Simple is great. But simple to use is just that in the end: simple. One of the synonyms of “simple” is “bare”. We don’t think having a mobile payment system “bare” of the right amount of customer support, useful tools, and intuitive pricing schemes is necessarily a good thing.
We could be wrong… but we are pretty sure we aren’t.
iProcess addresses these exact concerns and, as far as we are concerned, has the best of both worlds as far as pricing and service is concerned. Easy to use (yet efficient and intuitive), very affordable pricing, and top-notch support 24/7.
iProcess is a mobile application free to download. (You’re already saving money even before you’ve taken your first payment!).
The iProcess app can be used on either Android or iOS platforms and it enables you to take payments anywhere in the world with a WiFi connection. If you’re out making a house call or a client comes to your home, all you need to use and accept payments is a wireless connection.
Simply fire up the app on your phone and start taking your customer’s payments. With your GPS enabled, it will geotag the location of the sale on the receipts for you from wherever you are. You can send your customer’s their receipt either through email or SMS.
Once your customer has decided on what items or services they would like from you, all they need to do is use their finger to sign digitally for the sale on your smartphone or tablet screen.
They can add in either a designated tip on the screen or type in whatever amount they’d like to add themselves.
Maybe your customer ordered the wrong item and they need a refund. The app keeps a Transaction History Log so you can supply full or even partial refunds if needed.
The main screen is very simple and easy to read and use, with 2 large “buttons” on the screen, one for payments and one for returns. There are a few other buttons on the screen including history, settings, and help buttons. That’s it! “Simple,” right?
Your clients will be very pleased when they see how simple and easy it is for them to pay for your goods and services, and, let’s be honest, I think they’ll be very impressed with how sleek the design is and how easy to use it is for them.
This software is designed to help you scale up your business from just a part-time supplemental income type business, to full time online presence you’ve been working towards.
iProcess has what you need to start taking your mobile payment processing to the next level!
Have any questions on mobile payments and other credit card processing and business growth subjects? Give us a call here at RedFynn!
We have all the solutions for your payment processing needs, as well as any information you need about POS systems, chip and pin cards, business loans, and more.
Our number here is (888) 510-9871. We look forward to speaking with you!
