Merchant Resources

When it comes to payment processing for small businesses, there are things you can do to protect yourself and your customers from the potentially devastating effects of credit card fraud and other data breaches.

As mundane as it might sound, the strategies you use to charge and collect payments from people can significantly affect their loyalty to your company in several ways.

As a business owner, you know all about expenses. Fortunately, there is something you can do to minimize the hit to your bottom line posed by invoicing, a solution known as recurring billing.

No matter what type of business you run, money is its lifeblood. Since the ancient days of the abacus, merchants have known the importance of having a reliable cash management system that can help them accurately keep track of incoming and outgoing funds. In today’s retail environment, the question for many businesses has become whether to stay with the traditional cash register that they have been using for decades or to switch to a more modern POS system.

​These days, any large or small business worth its salt must accept credit and debit cards from customers. In order to make that happen, you need to first go through the process of selecting a merchant bank account. Since this can often be a confusing journey for entrepreneurs, it makes sense to get a few facts straight before you start.

As a small business owner, you are faced with many financial choices. One of the most significant involves everything having to do with processing customers’ credit cards. Since credit card processing fees will represent a significant expense for your company, it is vital to understand them in detail.

The point of sale (POS) system you use for your hotel affects more than just the types of payments you can accept. Your payment system is linked to the customer experience and can influence whether or not guests choose to return. Here’s what you need to know to choose the right POS for your hotel.

Eye-catching displays and a well-designed layout are essential to the success of any brick-and-mortar retail store. If you’re like most business owners nowadays and want to expand your brand beyond your local neighborhood to give all of your customer's additional shopping options, you absolutely need to make your business known in cyber-space. Taking a few basic steps can set you on a course to online success.

As a consumer in your own right, you may already be reveling in the phenomenon of leaving your bulky wallet at home in favor of paying with a single credit card or even by using your mobile phone and its built-in digital wallet feature. Now, switch from being a buyer back into your role as a restaurateur. Think about how embracing the cashless revolution could end up being a big win for your eating establishment. It just might be one of the smartest and most forward-thinking moves you will ever make.

The restaurant business can be tough. The fact is that even the hardest-working, most financially savvy and innovative restaurant owners often fail. In this era of vicious competition and multimedia marketing, it is obvious that there is a lot more to running an eatery than just showing up. One of your best strategies is to learn about some of the common mistakes that other food establishment owners have made so that you can avoid a similar fate.

When you run a small business, it’s easy to get the feeling that you are a first responder who is constantly on the front lines. There may even be times when it may seem as though one fire is barely under control before another conflagration starts. In the midst of all of this craziness, however, it is vital that you also assume the role of your company’s primary care physician who regularly assesses the financial well-being of your operation.

With costs constantly rising and restaurants popping up seemingly on every corner, owning an eatery is an uphill climb even at the best of times. In addition to providing stellar customer service and offering foods and beverages that can’t be beaten, one of your biggest challenges will continue to be how to consistently make a profit. Fortunately, there are a number of concrete actions that you can take to raise your financial prospects and distinguish you from the competition.

What is it that makes one restaurant flourish while another is one of the estimated 60% of all eateries that fail? Sure, factors such as location and food quality are vitally important, but they do not make up the entire picture. Without truly effective marketing strategies, even the most promising food destinations are almost sure to fade away.

So, you’re preparing to launch the business that you have poured your heart and soul into and you want to dive in head-first. However, there are too many unknowns and you just can’t take a leap of faith that might land you — and your fledgling company — in the poorhouse. Fortunately, there are ways that you can have your cake and eat it, too.

These days, accepting your customers’ credit cards is a must. In fact, refusing to take plastic can quickly put you out of business since most people don’t carry large amounts of cash or checkbooks with them anymore.