I've been experimenting recently with taking client invoices through credit card or debit card. The #1 benefit being, the money gets to me immediately, rather than waiting 21-30 days for a company/government org to cut a check.

So far I'm impressed with Paypal Pro, but want to know if there is anything with a better fee structure. It's $30 a month, + 2.5% + .30 cents for every transaction up to $10,000.

So for a $10,000 invoice payment, Paypal takes about $250. In the grand scheme of things, it's not a huge amount of money, but then again it's $250.

I've heard good things about Google Wallet, and it seems their fee structure is cheaper (1.9%). Anyone other suggestions?

Not sure but now I am looking at this service as well. Currently I am with BOFA merchant services and their rates are reasonable. Then again its damn near impossible to read the statements and understand all the crap they charge you for.

I use intuit GoPayment. I don't remember what the charge is, but I do remember comparing B of A merchant services, paypal (regular), square, and possibly one other payment acceptance device that I don't recall 3 years ago. After my calculations, I found Intuit to be the best option for me (at the time), with B of A coming in at a close second (I have a business bank account with them). My hair stylist keeps recommending Costco's payment acceptance system. Haven't followed up on that.

FYI: I collect invoices between $150-$850. That could influence my/your decision.

Hmm, that's 2 votes for BofA merchant services. I have a business account with them as well, I should check to see what their fee structure is.

From a programming standpoint, was it easy to integrate into BofA's gateway?

I mean the question is can you make more than 2.5% on your money by avoiding that 21-30 day delay.

A bit off topic but do you folks have the ability to charge a service fee in USA? Basically the consumer pays the CC processing fee?

MrRoboto wrote  

A bit off topic but do you folks have the ability to charge a service fee in USA? Basically the consumer pays the CC processing fee?

Typically merchant agreements forbid this. There are some exceptions in some states, such as gas stations which can charge more per gallon for credit card payment, if they post the rate clearly.

^^Thanks. I was curious as the service fee model is starting to emerge in Canada for certain industries.

NemesisX wrote

I mean the question is can you make more than 2.5% on your money by avoiding that 21-30 day delay.

Well yeah that is a factor but less so for me than just getting the money immediately.

With some clients, it's like getting blood out of a rock once a payment is due, and I give 21 days to pay (30 days if it's a university or government agency).

For instance I was doing a project with the University of Texas, and anything over $1000 required approval from their accounting department before the check could be cut. With CC/Debit card, no approval required and they could just pay immediately using a business expenses card.

Also, we've recently gotten into selling enterprise level software of our own, and using a payment gateway that is accessible online seems almost like a must, unless you're going to hire sales agents to baby people through the transactions.

carogers86 wrote

I use intuit GoPayment. I don't remember what the charge is, but I do remember comparing B of A merchant services, paypal (regular), square, and possibly one other payment acceptance device that I don't recall 3 years ago. After my calculations, I found Intuit to be the best option for me (at the time), with B of A coming in at a close second (I have a business bank account with them). My hair stylist keeps recommending Costco's payment acceptance system. Haven't followed up on that.

FYI: I collect invoices between $150-$850. That could influence my/your decision.

I use GoPayment as well b/c it was the most reasonable fee-wise at the time. Hadn't looked into Costco's option though.

My applicable invoices are between a few hundred $$ and several thousand. I'm just glad that the feds and municipalities don't pay with credit cards because the fees on a 5 or 6 figure job would be really painful.

I use GoPayment for some of the few smaller things that I do that will warrant using a CC. Most of the deals we do are much larger than people are going to put on a CC, so we don't typically even discuss CC options. I have always been happy with the GoPayment structure, but may have to look into a some others that have been mentioned.

We also typically bill net 60, have net 90 terms with distributors, and have it clearly stated that if you pay more than 5 days late, we charge you interest as though it's a CC (18%). Only ever had to do that once, however.

ROB_S2K wrote

Then again its damn near impossible to read the statements and understand all the crap they charge you for.

THIS! For one business we used Paypal but switched to Chase because it was suppose to save us some $$, has it? No freaking clue because their statements are a convoluted cluster fuck. Luckily I don't handle accounting for that business. For my other business we've stayed with Paypal simply because 1. A lot of our customers pay with their Paypal accounts anyways (instead of credit card) and 2. I do the accounting for this business and I don't want to deal with a statement similar to Chase.

dreamingat30fps wrote

THIS! For one business we used Paypal but switched to Chase because it was suppose to save us some $$, has it? No freaking clue because their statements are a convoluted cluster fuck. Luckily I don't handle accounting for that business. For my other business we've stayed with Paypal simply because 1. A lot of our customers pay with their Paypal accounts anyways (instead of credit card) and 2. I do the accounting for this business and I don't want to deal with a statement similar to Chase.

When you're right, you're right. I used them for investment accounts a few years ago. They made me open checking accounts for each investment account. Once you started selling investment products, it was anybody's guess which checking account aligned with which investment account. I ran for the hills and still feel like I survived herpes from the experience.

Well integrated a Google Wallet page that connects to their gateway and it took me about an hour. Pretty simple, and I save 1% over Paypal. I'll let you know how it goes as I use their service for a longer period of time.