Choosing the best merchant services for your company is a complicated process. Factors such as customer service, account fees, transaction rates, terminal equipment, and the network are all important pieces to making the correct decision.
If you have already begun doing your research into merchant account processors you have likely already considered or looked into a number of credit card processors. If you are looking for comprehensive merchant account reviews I highly recommend you check out the website CheapestMerchantAccounts.com. What differentiates these reviews is that the site does a full breakdown of all the categories that small business owners should look into. Not only are the rates and fees sold covered, but also the lifetime costs merchant can expect to see (ie any hidden charges). They also compare customer service and the treatment of their customers once you've signed the contract. If you are looking to do your own research independently then I have some recommendations that you should consider before finalizing your decision.
Filtering through the industry terminology and sales techniques that credit card processors use, involves first knowing what defines a quality merchant service provider. What this means is, you must first become aware of the various ways that merchant service providers handle the transactions for your business, whether they are attempting to save you money in the process, and how/if they handle any concerns you might have. At the end of the day every company is different, and the best merchant account for you are your company may differ from another company's. It falls to you as a responsible business owner to review all these factors before making your decision.
As a business owner you know that at the end of the day the focus will end up being your bottom line. Unfortunately this does place pressure on you as the business owner to either understand your merchant statement, or have complete faith in your merchant account processor. Making matters more difficult is that if you are new to being a business owner you don't have the experience of reading those statements and understanding what rates you should expect. However you can aide yourself and your business by doing your due diligence and searching for qualified reviews online.
After you've gotten a strong sense of the rates and terms to look for, your next challenge will be to figure out if what you are being told and presented in the sales process will match what you are being sold. While one might think it is that simple, sadly this industry is full of poor contracts, and expensive cancellation fees. However you have the benefit of learning from those business that came before you, the are enough online resources and review sites for you to learn which merchant service providers have a history of misleading their customers during the sales process.
In a similar vein, being satisfied with the ability for a merchant provider to handle any of your concerns as a customer should be very important. You want a merchant provider that has 24 hour customer service to handle both technical and billing concerns at any time. Dispute handling often requires prompt attention, and having a broken numeric pin pad or swipe scanner is quite costly for business. Be sure and make at least one test call to any candidates for your business, this assures you of quality of service. Quality merchant providers will often survey you for excellence in customer service following a customer call, as well.
Lastly, when narrowing down your list of possible providers, make sure that the provider does not have long term contracts. Long term contracts can quickly make a mess of your previous fees and rates calculations, skewing your bottom line and leaving you wanting out. Often such contracts include hefty termination fees as well, which force you to eat a loss when you find a better provider.
If you have already begun doing your research into merchant account processors you have likely already considered or looked into a number of credit card processors. If you are looking for comprehensive merchant account reviews I highly recommend you check out the website CheapestMerchantAccounts.com. What differentiates these reviews is that the site does a full breakdown of all the categories that small business owners should look into. Not only are the rates and fees sold covered, but also the lifetime costs merchant can expect to see (ie any hidden charges). They also compare customer service and the treatment of their customers once you've signed the contract. If you are looking to do your own research independently then I have some recommendations that you should consider before finalizing your decision.
Filtering through the industry terminology and sales techniques that credit card processors use, involves first knowing what defines a quality merchant service provider. What this means is, you must first become aware of the various ways that merchant service providers handle the transactions for your business, whether they are attempting to save you money in the process, and how/if they handle any concerns you might have. At the end of the day every company is different, and the best merchant account for you are your company may differ from another company's. It falls to you as a responsible business owner to review all these factors before making your decision.
As a business owner you know that at the end of the day the focus will end up being your bottom line. Unfortunately this does place pressure on you as the business owner to either understand your merchant statement, or have complete faith in your merchant account processor. Making matters more difficult is that if you are new to being a business owner you don't have the experience of reading those statements and understanding what rates you should expect. However you can aide yourself and your business by doing your due diligence and searching for qualified reviews online.
After you've gotten a strong sense of the rates and terms to look for, your next challenge will be to figure out if what you are being told and presented in the sales process will match what you are being sold. While one might think it is that simple, sadly this industry is full of poor contracts, and expensive cancellation fees. However you have the benefit of learning from those business that came before you, the are enough online resources and review sites for you to learn which merchant service providers have a history of misleading their customers during the sales process.
In a similar vein, being satisfied with the ability for a merchant provider to handle any of your concerns as a customer should be very important. You want a merchant provider that has 24 hour customer service to handle both technical and billing concerns at any time. Dispute handling often requires prompt attention, and having a broken numeric pin pad or swipe scanner is quite costly for business. Be sure and make at least one test call to any candidates for your business, this assures you of quality of service. Quality merchant providers will often survey you for excellence in customer service following a customer call, as well.
Lastly, when narrowing down your list of possible providers, make sure that the provider does not have long term contracts. Long term contracts can quickly make a mess of your previous fees and rates calculations, skewing your bottom line and leaving you wanting out. Often such contracts include hefty termination fees as well, which force you to eat a loss when you find a better provider.
About the Author:
Small business owners looking for in-depth merchant account reviews, or additional information on finding the right merchant account at the lowest price can learn additional information at CheapestMerchantAccounts.com
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