Do you take plastic?

[Jake]

It seems that over the past couple of years more and more clients expect to pay via debit/credit cards. I am looking at getting set up to take cards and am looking for suggestions for a merchant service provider. I was also curious as to the percentage of forum members that accept payment via debit/ credit cards. Thanks for any input.

[MAMalody]

I might suggest that you check with PayPal and ProPay. They may serve your needs with little expense.

[Medlin Software, Dennis]

Check with Costco (uses NOVA) if available to you. Very competitive rates, good customer service.

[kcjenkins]

If you are a member of Costco or Sam's Club, both of them offer a low cost credit card service.

[Medlin Software, Dennis]

For those already taking cards, do some research into how many non-qual transactions you have (higher rate). There are soem specific requirements you can look at to get the best rate. For instance, a 0 in the sales tax field can cause the transaction to be non-qual even if all other requirements are met.

A teaser rate from a processor may just be for certain very specific transactions. Costco/Nova is who we are using at present, and is pretty straight forward as to what it takes to get their best rate.

[GeneInAlabama]

I have been in business since 1979 and I have only had one person ask if I take credit cards. He then wrote me a check. If I had a Visa or Master Card emblem on my window, probably quite a few would take advantage of it, but why bother?

Gene

[Lion EA]

I don't expect many this next season, so will just use the QB service. It's easy to get started, and reports download directly into QB. It's not the cheapest, but I don't expect much volume. After tax season, I'll know how many really want to pay with which cards and will have the data to evaluate services for the following year. Besides, with AmEx's offer to buy VISA, there might not be as many different rates in the future.

[NECPA in NEBRASKA]

I started taking them last year using Propay. I only had three takers and unfortunately, they weren't the ones that are normally slow pay. It didn't cost me much though and it made them happy.

[Mel in Hawaii]

Careful with paypal... They have been known to lock up your account at the slightest mumble from a customer. I wouldn't have a slow payer use it as I would be concerned they might 'question' the charge and voila, your business account is suspended.

[Evan S. Golar]

Careful with paypal... They have been known to lock up your account at the slightest mumble from a customer. I wouldn't have a slow payer use it as I would be concerned they might 'question' the charge and voila, your business account is suspended.

In all the years I've been in practice (since 1976), I only had a handful ask about credit cards Back in the 1980s I did have it for a couple of years - not many took advantage of it - so I decided to discontinue it, and never have reintroduced it.

At that time, the reason I did offer it, was to avoid extremely delinquent paying clients - of which there were only a handful. To me it wasn't worth the administrative overhead costs to continue with it.

[Daune/CA]

I took plastic when I had the Tax Centers in the Montgomery Ward stores years ago, they required it. Have not used it since, use "no ticket, no laundry" method now. No return given until payment received. Works very well!

[TAXBILLY]

I am in the Daune/CA camp on this one.

taxbilly

[RALPH RICHEY]

Looks Like CCH & ATX software has something where you can take them through your computer. Anyone know anything about that?

[kcjenkins]

http://www.atxinc.com/products/prod_merchant.aspx

Pricing and Fees

Set-up/Enrollment Fee $0.00

Monthly Statement Fee $0.00

Discount Rate for VISA® and MasterCard® 2.99%

Monthly Internet Fee $12.00

Per Authorization Fee $0.20

The discount rates disclosed are based on the following:

VISA® CPS Card Not Present, and MasterCard® Merit 1 Interchange rates

The transaction is authorized and settled

Non-qualifying transactions will be charged a higher rate based on the Visa® and MasterCard® rates

This offer is only available to ATX Software Licensees

[Lion EA]

You can do a little better through QuickBooks.

[RALPH RICHEY]

http://www.atxinc.com/products/prod_merchant.aspx

Pricing and Fees

Set-up/Enrollment Fee $0.00

Monthly Statement Fee $0.00

Discount Rate for VISA® and MasterCard® 2.99%

Monthly Internet Fee $12.00

Per Authorization Fee $0.20

The discount rates disclosed are based on the following:

VISA® CPS Card Not Present, and MasterCard® Merit 1 Interchange rates

The transaction is authorized and settled

Non-qualifying transactions will be charged a higher rate based on the Visa® and MasterCard® rates

This offer is only available to ATX Software Licensees

AS always KC Thanks for the information. I also very rarely have a cc request, but it is a way to get the fee paid for someone that won't write you a check right then or uses a debit card. I will ponder this for the next month and decide if the fees are woth it.

[bay]

I started taking plastic two years ago and I am very happy with it. I still receive the majority of my payments by check but it has helped with my cash flow. I currently process my cc through Quickbooks. It is very easy to set up and all you need is an internet connection. No need for a separate credit card reader; no leases.

Good Luck

[Lion EA]

I'm like Bay. Went out on my own last year. Out in the boonies. Wanted to make it as easy as possible for clients to follow me. Take all major credit cards through QB. Easy for me and well worth the fees to get paid quickly and let clients choose their own payment method. Most think I won't take cards and bring their checkbooks. Some use my two drop-off points in neighboring towns; they can give me CC info over the telephone if they want me to drop off their returns. It's easier than taking checks to the bank. I'm happy with my system. I don't have the RAL crowd, so didn't want to use a bank service to deduct fees from clients' refunds. Letting them charge helps their cash flow and mine.

[Catherine]

I take plastic through my web site. There's a PayPal button where people can use PayPal to pay me WITHOUT needing a PayPal account of their own. They can use a PayPal account, or use their MasterCard or Visa card, as they choose. Payment gets put straight into my bank account.

No monthly fees -- which is good, because to date I've had only ONE person choose to pay this way (most give me a check). I'd really hate to be paying a monthly fee for that.... after a year of monthly fees, it would be cheaper to do that one return gratis! And that's sure a precedent I don't want to set.

Catherine

[joelgilb]

Have used credit card services for years now and for last few years used Intuit.

FYI - I generally hate Intuit but:

Use Quickbooks (QB) merchant service and I also subscribe to their Billing Solutions Service. They provide a discounted rate for Accounts and QB Advisors on the merchant services. and I find it accelerates my income recpts as well as helps me collect from bad pays.

As for the Billing Solutions. I love this service. It allows me to email a bill to my clients when the work is comlete and ready for pickup and adds a link in the eamil to the Online Billing service where my client can enter their credit card info automatically. When they pay it emails me a to let me know and I can download the information directly into my QB files and my accounting is auto updated including the service charges. If the client is slow to pay it automatically sends email and past due reminders for them to pay and wahlah I get paid!

It even helped me argue a dispute from AMEX when a client tried to say I shouldn't have charged his credit card. Well I didn't he entered it directly as I have no access to his online account. Customers can also see all their invoices and statements right online. No confusion!

[Julie]

I've never taken credit cards before, but I expect to begin soon, now that my business is half art gallery.

[JRS]

99% of my clients want to pay upfront and would not even consider paying by credit. (I make them wait until I finish.) The remainder will wait for their refund or if they owe, will pay when their taxes are done. I only have one client who has stiffed me and declared bankruptcy, but three years later came back, paid me in full with interest and pays upfront now.

[MAMalody]

My business is a conplete internet based paperless business. I do not do appointments. As such, I still only had two people last year who wanted to use plastic. I ran them through my daughters ProPay account that she has for her business. I usually just transmit the final product, receive their F8879, file the return, send them a F9325 and about two to four weeks late, there it is in the mail.

Mike

[joelgilb]

see less and less of my tax clients as well. Will see even less of them once relocated to Vegas. Almost all of them want to e-file and get their refund quicker (although I have talked them all out of the RAL). As clients are more likely to burn their Attorney (this is true btw) than their accountant, I require full payment prior to efile and delivery. Credit cards make this easy and my collections have improved substantially.

I am also looking to add ACH Processing and ACH Debit Services for those that do not have a credit card but do have a checking account.

[Lion EA]

I wouldn't mind skipping the trip to the bank or being able to take a check over the telephone. Can I do that via one of QB's service? It'd be good to keep my vendors to a minimum, my learning curves, too. Let me know what you choose and how it works.