Know your duties as host. You are in charge. It is up to you to see that things go well and that your guests are comfortable. You need to attend to every detail from extending invitation to paying bill.

Plan ahead when you issue invitation. Allow a week for a business dinner and three days for lunch. Be certain that date works for you. That might sound obvious, but if you have to cancel or postpone, you can look disorganized and disrespectful of your clients' time.

Select a restaurant that you know, preferably one where you are known. This is no time to try out latest hot spot. Being confident of quality of food and service leaves you free to focus on business.

Consider atmosphere. Does it lend itself to conversation and discussion? If you and your clients can't hear each other over roar of diners and dishes, you will have wasted your time and money.

When you make your reservation, let staff know that you will be dining with clients. If your guests suggest a restaurant new to you (perhaps you are hosting clients out-of-town), call ahead and speak with maitre'd. Make it clear that you will be having an important business meal and picking up check.

Confirm meal appointment with your clients day before if you are meeting for breakfast or that day if you are having lunch or dinner. Things do happen and mix-ups occur.

Arrive early so you can attend to last minute details. This is perfect time to give your credit card to maitre'd and avoid awkwardness that seems to accompany arrival of bill.

Take charge of seating. Your guests should have prime seats-the ones with view. As host, take least desirable spot-the one facing wall, kitchen or restrooms.

Beyond being polite, where you seat your guests is strategic. When you are entertaining one client, sit next to each at a right angle rather than across table. With two clients, put one across from you and other to your side. If you sit between them, you will look as if you are watching a match at Wimbledon as you try to follow conversation.

The first step to being able to accept credit card payments is getting a merchant account. A merchant account is a special type of bank account that is able to receive payments from credit card purchases. Along with your account you will also need a hardware or software solution to actually process payments, but this doesn't have to be supplied by company providing your merchant account.

For online credit card processing there is one extra step, you also need a payment gateway. A payment gateway is a company that provides real time authorization of online transactions. When looking at gateways make sure that they are compatible with your site's software and your financial institution. You may wish to research your gateway and financial institution options before signing up for any services.

When researching your merchant account providers you may be surprised at number of options available to you. While there are a lot of options, selecting best provider for you is easy to do by knowing a little about what each company offers and how much they charge for their services.

The first step should always be to seek a mentor. Do you know someone who currently is conducting a similar business? If so ask them who provides their merchant account and what their thoughts are on that provider as well as others that they may have tried. After asking around search Internet for people's opinions on merchant accounts. While opinions are not a good reason to base a decision, their accounting of service they received and ease of company to work with are valuable information to know.