Back in the olden days, merchants carried their products in a horse-drawn wagon from one location to another. Sometimes they just visited the local stores in a town, and other times they went door to door. They kept track of their own merchant account as they dealt with each customer, either demanding a cash payment, an item in trade, or perhaps letting them “put it on a tab” if times were hard.

It’s really not so different today. Merchants still carry their products from one location to another, but they do it faster than any horse power could have ever provided. They keep track of their own merchant account, but with the assistance of a company who lists each transaction and gives them a total at the end of the month (or daily, if needed.) They still want the cash, but in lieu of actual greenbacks, they let the customer “put it on a credit card” which they can pay to a third party later on.

The size of your restaurant is going to determine how many credit card terminals you will need to utilize on your merchant account. You may want to only have one check out, but for your customer’s convenience, you can actually consider running the credit card right from his table, or from a wait-station closer to where he is seated. This lessens the amount of time that the customer will have to wait once he is ready to pay the bill and leave.

A happy customer is a customer who will return again soon.

Your merchant account can make the check-out process seamless and efficient. Transactions are done quickly, and there is even an option to add the tips to the bill after the authorization occurs, or to add the bill from the bar to the dinner bill. Once your diner is done, there’s no sense adding a dose of irritation to his dessert and coffee.

If your business has a merchant account, then it means that they are well-prepared to aid the customers in celebrating the many holidays that occur throughout the year. A month or two before each holiday, items related to the festivities will go on sale. The shoppers with the credit cards will often see them and say, “Oh, I think I’ll get that now while it’s on sale and save the rushing around at the last minute.”

People often joke about how as soon as the Christmas holiday ends, Valentine’s décor goes up, followed by Spring/Passover/Easter. Then comes Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and graduations and don’t forget Memorial Day and Fourth of July. Next thing you know, it’s back to school sales (even though school just ended) and then Halloween is everywhere. One minute after October 31st, if not before, Thanksgiving and Christmas décor are up once again.

Are you prepared with a merchant account?

The news media has reported the possibility of legislation which may affect your merchant account. The interchange fees have long been established by the credit card companies themselves. But public outcry regarding the amount that is charged for this as well as for the customer’s percentage rate has led to discussion as to how much of this might be regulated by the government, and how much of it should be left to free enterprise.

After all, no one absolutely has to have a credit card and no one is forcing a business to open up a merchant account either. But the cash-free system works well for so many people or else it wouldn’t be as huge as it is today. If you are interested to know more of what is going on, you might google the subject, or else read through the letters which your credit card processing company will send to you.

Ah, the holidays! As one old carol describes it, “Strings of street lights, even stoplights blink a bright red and green, as the shoppers rush home with their treasures….” And where are they rushing home from? Hopefully from your store! Hopefully you have already set up your merchant account, so you are ready for all the people who prefer to do their holiday shopping with credit or debit cards.

‘Tis the season for crowds and buying things, and so it’s the season for pickpockets as well. Most people are afraid to carry very much cash around with them anymore. Are you prepared to accept their funds?

Yes, it’ll cost you a little bit of money to do credit card processing. But since you will have more customers, it will all work out in the end.

Do you understand how a merchant account works?

It’s not exactly like a bank account, because that’s more of a one-on-one situation where you put in money and then take it out again. Merchant accounts are “products” that your bank wishes to sign you up for, but not all banks actually deal with the funds themselves.

No, a merchant account is a middleman. You send them the credit card information and they feed it into their system to make sure that no fraud has been reported on this line and it does appear to be a genuine customer-held credit card. They encrypt the information for security as they send it over. Then once it has been processed, it goes to the bank that actually provides the funds, and then you have your purchase.

Here are a few terms that you are going to come across when it is time for you to choose your merchant account.

First of all, you will want to find a reputable company that has been in business for awhile and is likely to stay in business. You can research the company on the web. You are looking for honesty and integrity besides good rates and quick service.

Secondly, you will want PCI-compliant secure systems. You have to assure your customer that his credit card information is being safeguarded when he shops at your store.

Last of all, you definitely want state-of-the-art technology. More than just a catch phrase, it indicates that they are using the most recent equipment and processes. These days changes take place fast and upgrades are required quarterly or semi-annually. You don’t want to be stuck with last year’s gear.

There are a few decisions that you need to make before you decide where to set up your merchant account.  Checking out the basic information on a website is a great way to get a summary of all of the current products that are available and all of the services as well.

You may want to think about the benefits of having wireless credit card processors, for instance. Maybe you only have one store, and you always use the terminal right there next to your cash register and put the paperwork into the file folder to go to the bookkeeper. It’s a nice neat system, and it works. But what if you have an employee who occasionally goes out to give an estimate to a customer or to deliver goods to her home? It might be a good idea to have at least one wireless terminal to take along on that trip, to seal the deal immediately.

What kind of information will your merchant account give you when you go online? After you type in your user name and password, you can see your statements and the daily reports that  tell how much each transaction charged, on which type of credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, etc.)

But there’s more to the online service than that. There’s a support area where you can find news and information that may help you to manage the payments at your business. You can learn how to best qualify the transactions, reduce  risk, and manage the chargebacks. You might also find information such as a reference guide to your particular type of payment terminal.

Some merchant account websites contain pertinent merchant news explaining recent government regulations or lawsuits. And most all will have the usual: about us, contact us, glossary (great for newcomers!), terms of use and so forth.

When you go online to retrieve information on your merchant account, you will first of all sign in using a pre-established user name and password. Then you are likely to see several sections that you can go to in order to access information about the payments that have gone through your account.

First of all, there will be a section called something like “My Account.” Here you can find copies of statements, make changes, update information, and also find out about valuable products and services that might be helpful to your business.

Secondly, and likely to be most used, is a section containing “My Reports.” Here you can view your recent deposits and batch details, and information about your account history and deposit history. Someone lost a payment slip? You can find out the amount of the payment right here.