There was a time when businesses wishing to accept credit card payments, either by phone or by swipe, needed to invest $1,000 or more for card processing equipment. While some brick-and-mortar stores still use this traditional method, the use of smart devices has revolutionized the processing of credit card payments.
Today’s smart devices, using simple, plug-in card readers and transaction-processing apps, provide mobile flexibility, clear records of costs and deposits, and accounting summaries for tax-reporting purposes.
Using these devices in conjunction with services that charge a fee only after a transaction occurs helps businesses control their cash flow. The fees may be higher than with a traditional card processor, but there are no up-front equipment charges or separate merchant account and bank fees involved.
Using a physical card reader that plugs into a smart device through the earplug jack, a business can swipe a customer’s card right on the spot.  An app records the data and the charge and then transmits the information by cell signal or wifi to the processing center for payment. The tool is so easy to use, many sole proprietors and field consultants now utilize it to process thousands of dollars of payments every day. The services currently available predominantly support Apple iOS or Google-based Android devices.
These smart device processing systems produce accounting and data summaries for sales tax payments and income tax reporting as well. These processing systems also allow a business to download payment data by month and year and export the information into spreadsheets. It is important to choose a mobile payment service that offers this kind of data reporting to help guard against errors leading to tax audits or paying more business taxes than required.
The easiest-to-use mobile payment apps have an Internet website account that businesses use to access payment and transaction data as well as related reports. These features should always be checked out and tested before committing the business to a new, “easy-sounding†mobile app for payment processing.
Editors Note: While there are many different mobile payment solutions, one great resource to consider is Blue Pay’s mobile processing service. With competitive rates and features, Blue Pay is definitely a service to consider when wadding through all the options.
About the author: Kristen Gramigna is Chief Marketing Officer for BluePay, a leader in helping businesses accept credit card payments. She has more than 15 years experience in the bankcard industry in the areas of direct sales, sales management, and marketing.
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