Accepting credit cards

[CODMonster]

Hello everyone. I’ve been presenting my art in front of specialty stores (with permission of course) and it seems that people are interested in buying them but they usually want to buy them using their debit/credit cards. Now, I can’t just go inside the specialty store and ask them if I can use their credit card processor, so I lose customers because I have to turn them down. Does anyone know of something that I can use that’s affordable to process credit cards on my iPhone. I know they’ve showed the commercials on TV but now they don’t seem to show them anymore. Please help.

-Byran

[Ricco]

Well, *I* use "The Square" app on my android phone. It comes in handy when you have that buddy that owes you money but never has any "Cash" on them.

[d2creative]

https://squareup.com/

[thehatguy]

I use Square on my iPhone for my embroidery business.

Quick deposits to your bank account.

John

[Redneck]

I use the Credit Card Terminal app for iPhone but you need to have a cc payment provider (like Authorize.net or Paypal Website Payments Pro) already.

[Kalrog]

SquareUp is what I use as well. It is a great option - free to have if you don't use it. If you do, it is a 3% fee (roughly) which is higher than some other processors, but with no other fees and no cost at all if you don't use it - I think it is a very fair rate. No equipment fees. No monthly fees. And they take care of everything.

[CODMonster]

Originally Posted by Ricco

Well, *I* use "The Square" app on my android phone. It comes in handy when you have that buddy that owes you money but never has any "Cash" on them.

I've been looking into this and a complaint I have found is that they hold your funds if you make more than $1,000 in a month. Something like that. Is that true? It would suck if I don't even have funds to buy a cheeseburger

[Ricco]

Originally Posted by CODMonster

I've been looking into this and a complaint I have found is that they hold your funds if you make more than $1,000 in a month. Something like that. Is that true? It would suck if I don't even have funds to buy a cheeseburger

I've never had that problem, they deposit funds every couple of days, so I don't know.

Either way, writing capital isn't something you should worry about if you have proper cash management.

[w9ctm]

Squareup really is the way to go. 2.75% fee, which is pretty close to standard for most users, 3.25% if you don't have the card to scan. A small insurance fee for them... Available for iPhone, Android and Blackberry.
You can email your customer a receipt. Log into your account and you have all transactions listed, and if you email receipts, you have all email addresses as well. Kinda nice when you want to send an email promotion to past customers...
It is quick and easy. You can download the app free, they'll send you the scanner free, and there is no monthly fee. They also have the app for the iPad. My wife loves using it on the iPad II, hated it on the iPhone, but only because it was too small for her.

[LadyShutterBug]

Originally Posted by Ricco

I've never had that problem, they deposit funds every couple of days, so I don't know.

Either way, writing capital isn't something you should worry about if you have proper cash management.

If you inquire with them, they have a form you can complete with some general facts about your business... and if they feel you are reputable, they will lift the $1000 limit on transfers.

My husband (photobooth company) and I both use square. I had previously used Chase Paymentech, but the rates are a tad more competitive with Square, plus being able to swipe a CC anywhere, any time using my phone is incredibly convenient. The fee is less when you actually swipe the card, so it's nice to have that option.

Having a clunky credit card machine doesn't work well with my biz model.

[MT Stringer]

If you inquire with them, they have a form you can complete with some general facts about your business... and if they feel you are reputable, they will lift the $1000 limit on transfers.

What she said.
I use it at softball tournaments. Probably would have missed out on quiet a few sales if I hadn't had it. I use it on a Samsung Tab (7 inch). Works on the Samsung Galaxy phone also.

[Ricco]

Originally Posted by w9ctm

Squareup really is the way to go. 2.75% fee, which is pretty close to standard for most users, 3.25% if you don't have the card to scan. A small insurance fee for them... Available for iPhone, Android and Blackberry.
You can email your customer a receipt. Log into your account and you have all transactions listed, and if you email receipts, you have all email addresses as well. Kinda nice when you want to send an email promotion to past customers...
It is quick and easy. You can download the app free, they'll send you the scanner free, and there is no monthly fee. They also have the app for the iPad. My wife loves using it on the iPad II, hated it on the iPhone, but only because it was too small for her.

None of the information is retained, the only thing you can do is login and give someone a refund.

[w9ctm]

Originally Posted by Ricco

None of the information is retained, the only thing you can do is login and give someone a refund.

Actually it is, at least for me. I can go to my account and look at every sale I have made, as well as who I sold it to "if" I had sent a receipt via email. Of course, no credit card info is saved...
Now, there may be a time limit as to how long the data is available, that I'm not sure of.

[Ricco]

Originally Posted by w9ctm

Actually it is, at least for me. I can go to my account and look at every sale I have made, as well as who I sold it to "if" I had sent a receipt via email. Of course, no credit card info is saved...
Now, there may be a time limit as to how long the data is available, that I'm not sure of.

Out of curiosity, I looked at yesterday's transactions and didn't see any of the email detail other than the domain. Is it in the file? I never needed to download that info.

[mcf0807]

For people using the squareup do you use a receipt book so that customers have a record of what they bought and what they paid?