Demystifying Merchant Accounts

Written by Suzette Flemming


Accepting credit card payments for goods and services has become a huge business. Accepting Visa and MasterCard as well American Express and Discover can add hundreds if not thousands of dollars to your sales figures each month. The problem then becomes which company do you apply with and how much does it cost?

Because it’s a huge business more and more banks and merchant service firms are competing for your business. Here are some things you need to know about merchant services.

A) Every bank and merchant provider charges a monthly fee. Some state it’s for your monthly statement, some just say it’s an additional fee forrepparttar account. Either way, it ranges from $5.00 to $25 per month. You will get separate statements for Visa/MasterCard (from your merchant provider), American Express (from AmEx directly) and Discover (from Discover directly).

B) There is a discount fee. A discount fee isrepparttar 104566 percent ofrepparttar 104567 transactionrepparttar 104568 merchant provider will take for doing business with them. Right now it ranges from 2% to 3%. Visa/MasterCard have one discount fee, American Express another and Discover yet another. (That’srepparttar 104569 reason for having three separate statements). American Express and Discover tend to have higher discount fees than Visa/MasterCard.

C) There is also a per transaction fee. This ranges from $0.15 to $0.25 per transaction. Again, American Express and Discover will have different transaction rates.

Be careful and readrepparttar 104570 small print before signingrepparttar 104571 application. Here are some questions to ask that have a major impact on your cash flow ~

1) How long fromrepparttar 104572 date ofrepparttar 104573 charge untilrepparttar 104574 money is deposited into your checking account? Some are as quick as 24 hours (that’s business hours). Some hold funds for as much as 14 days before going into your checking account.

2) At what amount willrepparttar 104575 order(s) be held for verification? Some hold funds right away until they get 10-20 batches verified. Some hold anything over a set amount. I have been told that only orders over $1000 will be held. I have also been told that nothing will be released until 10 batches, regardless of size, have been verified. One merchant provider held more than $10,000 until 12 batches were verified.

Important Note: You must keep paper documentation for each order as well as tracking numbers and/or delivery receipts, if you ship merchandise. This is needed to verify orders for your provider as well as to settle disputes downrepparttar 104576 road.

Can You Really Improve Your Organisation Skills

Written by Lorraine Pirihi


I'm sure most of you have heard of Zig Ziglar International Sales Guru. Well in one of Zig's weekly newsletters, there were a number of comments aboutrepparttar habits of well-organised people which I couldn't resist sharing with you.

What arerepparttar 104565 habits of well-organised people? Can a person be 'taught' skills that will make them organised, or is that a quality you either possess or lack? We asked those questions of our readers and here are some of their responses:

"I think that natural abililty has to be coupled with good training to fully develop skills such as being organised."

"Thankfully, organisation skills are learned. The first requirement is DESIRE. The second is WORK! By consistently using such tools as a well thought out set of goals, a planner and a PRIORITISED daily "to do" list, I have made a positive difference in my personal and professional life."

"A well-organised person reviews their actions each day. They assess where mistakes were made, identifying ways to eliminate those mistakes inrepparttar 104566 future. They assess areas for improvement. They also plan out their day ahead of time. These habits can be learned by anyone."

"Improving your organisation skills is teachable and there are hundreds of tools to help you achieve that end. But first I have to "want" to learn that skill. I have to seerepparttar 104567 need andrepparttar 104568 resultant advantage to me and my business and then I will be willing to learn a new skill."

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