Credit card processing is a competitive space; your bottom line can grow or diminish depending on the payment processor you work with. The challenge is sorting through all the different payment gateway options to find one that delivers more and takes less.

We’ve made a checklist to help you vet potential partners and to choose a payment process provider that will provide optimal benefits to your specific homer service business.

Consider these features:

1. Mobile IOS and Android App

While you want to choose a payment processor with a full offering of features, not every business needs every feature. Wise to select a payment app that enables your techs to process anytime, and anywhere from their smart phone or tablet. A few apps offer touchless access so during times like the COVID-19 pandemic, users can stay germ free with QR code features. Using an app to process payments  reduces your overhead as you don’t have to purchase equipment or fix it when it breaks.

2. Integrations

Mobile payment processing apps that can sync up invoices with most scheduling software to help reduce steps. Find one that includes reputation management to help grow organic reviews online, with a simple click of a thumbs up.

3. App offerings

Most processing apps are for credit card payments only. When selecting your next processing company it is wise to pick an app that also includes mobile remote check processing. No need to waste time anymore having techs deposit check at a local bank or batch and send to the office. Eliminate the worry about losing them in the mail. Mobile remote check upload speeds up cash flow by have techs deposit them in the field from a smart phone.

How about an app that includes built in tipping which benefits your techs. Finally a way for home service technicians to make a little extra for their performance without asking!

4. Device Options and Management

Most customers use a smart phone so it makes sense to use mobile payments apps that sync easily.  Your customers will be able to receive the invoice and pay direct from their phone if they are worried about germs. The other plus side is there is nothing to maintain or additional tech support.

5. PCI Compliance and Security

Today more than ever it is so important to protect your business and your customer’s payment information from hackers on the dark web. Fixing a breach is not easy and you can potentially loose customers if you experience one. Make sure you select an app that includes bank level security and Payment Card Industry (PCI) certifications to keep all payment data safe. Look for 256-bit SSL encryption, Verisign secured and they don’t sell your data.

6. Reporting

Onboard an app that home service providers can easily access their payment data from a desktop or mobile device. With more employees working from home this offers accounting/controllers the flexibility to operate from anywhere.

7. Investing in Future Technology

It may not be on the top of your list but it should be, consider choosing a payment processing app that is continually updating their technology. Are they rolling out new functionality or features, such as QR code generator, APIs for integration, or are they stuck in the past?

8. Processing Costs

Probably the most important tip is to look for ways to save on processing fees. There are many hidden costs to help credit card processers make more money. Be smart and read between the lines on your next bill. As a business owner, it pays to know all your true costs.

Don’t like surprises, than it’s wise to go with flat rate pricing. At the end of the month you will know exactly what you’re paying and not have to scour through the miscellaneous fees that add up. Selecting a mobile remote payment app that is always innovating will ensure your customers are well equipped with the payment functionality they deserve.

If you’re a home service provider looking to accept payments in the field, iWallet may be the perfect be the solution to fit your business needs. You can process all forms of credit cards and remotely upload and deposit checks from a smart phone or tablet.

Data security concerns, no problem, iWallet offers bank level security, is Verisign secured, comes with 256-bit SSL encryption and they don’t sell your data.

Downloading the iWallet Android or IOS app allows your business to benefit from many integrations and features. QuickBooks help to stream line accounting/reporting and the built in reputation management tool is an organic way to help your customers easily get positive reviews. Switching to iWallet is extremely fast and easy. All you need to do is log in to the app store, download the iWallet app and create an account. Once that’s done, you simply wait a couple days to be approved. And… there is no cost to sign up or cancel.

Digital transformation is a catchall term for all new technologies and processes to improve business operations. Digital technology plays a big part in our everyday lives and is a foundational change in how a business delivers value to its customers.

Businesses that incorporate technology in pursuit of new revenue streams or more efficient ways of doing business, are now driven by new digital products, such as a mobile apps. Home service businesses that make a concerted effort to stay competitive must advance with digital transformation to see continued growth and even reduced costs at times.

Basically you need to keep up with all things digital or your business will fall behind, giving room for the competition to take market share. Reality is most home servicer companies want to be competitive and also provide the best experience for their customers.

Understanding what digital transformation means to your business requires a bit more exploration because it is not just moving everything to the cloud.

What is digital transformation

Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology through all areas of a business which essentially changes how you operate and deliver value to customers. It’s requires businesses to continually experiment and to potentially get comfortable with failure. What works for some businesses may not work for all.

COVID-19 pandemic brought urgency to digital transformation which forced businesses to speed up digital transformation. During the pandemic we experienced businesses that were open, nimble and able to shift their business to be touchless, germ free or virtual. There were plenty of businesses that didn’t transition to digital and either lost market share and many closed.

Digital transformation done right

Understanding how digital transformation can help your home service business; you must know what areas of your business can be transformed. The outcomes of digital transformation can be seen at several areas of an organization.

To undergo digital transformation you should be open be to experiment. If you not sure something new is going to work, try testing on a smaller group of customer before rolling out company wide. The way your business schedules and processes work performed can lead to better functions for techs which can affect customer satisfaction.

Remember that your customers are in the digital era and already know what digital transformation is because they use new technologies on a daily basis.  Quite honestly it is not actually “new” anymore, it is part of everyday life. Providing home servicers the right tools helps them thrive in today’s digital economy. Look for apps that digitally transform your own business to optimize operating costs or to process invoices more efficiently.

Is it worth it

Blockbuster is a great example of a company that missed the boat. A global company with video rental stores around the world that experienced a declining presence because the consumer shifted how they watch movies. Then came Netflix that emerged out of nowhere with digital technology.  They capitalized on the consumer appetite for on-demand entertainment via streaming video services.

Step by step

The integration of app-based digital technology in business operations helps organizations in many different ways. It’s time to experiment, to become more agile in your ability to provide great service from the moment your tech steps foot in a home to the end of completed service and processing the payment.

Fulfilling the increasing needs of your customers is the most important requirement for businesses. Carefully scrutinize your business and decide how your operation can implement advanced technologies in different areas to improve the customer experience. Position your digital transformation strategy to provide more value to your customers and to meet their demands.

Ask yourself, how do your goals positively impact new and future customers? Do you need employee requirements to effectively implement change? Sit down and set short and long term goals. What are the one, five or ten year goals for your business?

• Increase employee productivity
• Increase responsiveness to customer requests
• Organically get customer reviews
• Automate processes to save time or increase cash flow
• More efficient scheduling
• Sensitive customer data protection
• Data backed decisions

Leverage existing APIs and apps will help accelerate digital change. To stand out from the competition, look for new technology that provides your customers better, faster or higher quality of services and for technology that will boost your operational efficiency.

Think about future business goals, customer outcomes and develop a clear roadmap for the integration and deployment of new digital transformation.  To save time and money look for software or apps to accelerate digital technology faster. 

All you need is to digitize your most important business processes and get ready to see your  business flourish—ultimately boosting your operational efficiency.

There’s many ways to set up a new business. Knowing and understanding what steps are needed will help you to be more successful.

Lets start at ground level, to make sure you get your planning off on the right foot.

You have your name and home service industry mapped out but have you checked to see if the name is already trademarked? Did you check to see if your company name is available? Are you going to register the company as an LLC, DBA or an S Corporation?

Before you set your service pricing, you need to know your costs. There are fixed overhead expenses, such as rent which remain consistent each month. Than you have variable expenses which depend on the direct sale of products sold or services performed. There are also variable costs that you can control such as credit card processing fees. 

There are tools to help you understand these costs and ways to save on them plus so much more.

Determining what kind of company to set up – LLC, DBA or an S Corporation.

Do you have partners or starting the business by yourself; either way forming an LLC will insure sure you’re personally off the hook for business liabilities.

LLC Upside

• Max flexibility to manage and run your business
• Board of directors not required
• Unlimited owners allowed

Protections & taxation

• You’re not personally on the hook for business liabilities
• Taxed once or twice; you’re free to choose which can help minimize taxes

Downside

• Ongoing fees and filings to stay in compliance
• Cannot go public with a LLCs
• Not recognized globally and you may be taxed as a corporation outside the US

DBA

DBA stands for “doing business as” is a way of giving a business a name different from its registered name. While it doesn’t provide the protections other legal business entities do, a unique DBA name can help brand your company.

Upside

• East to set up

Protections & taxation

• You’re personally on the hook for business liabilities
• Taxed just once if your business is classified as a sole proprietorship or partnership—you pay on profits in your personal tax return

Downside

• No personal liability protection
• Not an actual legal entity type

INC

Corporation either S or C corp are recommended if you plan to issue shares, go public or even go global.

Upside

• Best if you plan to go public one day; can issue shares to founders, employees, and investors
• Unlimited owners/shareholders allowed
• Owners may get preferred stock
• Recognized internationally
• Preferred by investors
• Protections & taxation
• You’re not personally responsible for business liabilities
• Taxed twice if it’s a C corporation—business pays at the corporate level and shareholders pay on income they receive
• Avoids double taxation if it’s an S corporation

Drawbacks to consider

• Ongoing filings and fees to stay in compliance
• Less management flexibility
• Requires a board of directors
• Strict rules about holding meetings and record keeping

Calculating the cost of starting a business

A business plan is the best way to estimate your business startup costs. The plan should include a financial projections section to estimate revenue, profit and expenses.

Different types of expense to plan for

Before you can accurately price service, you need to know your costs to provide it. It is recommended to find calculator to help you understand the costs. Here is a link to a free small business set up calculator to help get you started.

Using tools like this is only as accurate as your inputs. When in doubt err on the high side because unexpected costs may arise.  The totals from this calculator can provide a general idea of what you need to account for, at a minimum.

One-time costs vs. ongoing costs

One-time expenses are very relevant with the startup process. You have legal expenses for trademarking and incorporating a company. You also have a one-time equipment purchase. Don’t be surprised if your money going out is greater than the money coming in. Cash flow will be disrupted that month so plan ahead to make up for it in subsequent months.

Ongoing costs are different. They are paid on a regular basis and include utilities. They generally do not fluctuate month to month.

Fixed costs vs. variable costs

Fixed expenses like insurance or monthly rent are consistent from month to month. Variable expenses depend on the direct sale of products or services.

Processing rates are a variable cost that you can control; this is why it is crucial to compare credit card processing providers before you sign up.

No business can afford surprises at the end of the month. Look at processing apps like iWallet for transparent credit card processing. They offer two flat rate tiers, a low one for companies under one million and even lower for businesses that process over one million.

For budget planning, determining the exact amount to allocate toward business taxes which is difficult to predict because it depends on your revenue, deductible expenses, and your business entity.

Typical startup expenses

Here’s a very short list of typical costs to start businesses should plan for.

• Web design, development and hosting
• Office/warehouse rental cost
• Office furniture
• Transportation fleet
• Labor
• Office supplies
• Equipment
• Technology
• Insurance, license or permit fees

Advertising or promotions

Cash flow projection

An essential step to maintaining your business’s long term financial health starts with projection planning of cash flow. You must be realistic about your cash flow and debt to successfully get your business off the ground. Most new business owners make a projection plan for their cash flows that are the first three months of the business. To do this, add up the fixed costs and the estimated costs of goods.

To sum it up

Experts say it is smart to have a financial cushion to cover six months’ worth of expenses upfront to help support you in the early stages when profit margins may be small.

Planning an accurate business budget can be a nerve-racking part of starting a new home service business. Being as accurate as possible about estimating the business startup costs will help get your company up and running smoothly.

If your business takes credit cards in the field you know that PCI compliance is required. The Payment Card Industry (PCI) set a Data Security Standard (DSS) that requires adherence for all business that processes, transmits or stores payment card data. PCI compliance also applies when you take credit cards using a smartphone or a card reader like Square.

When using a tablet or smartphone as a Point of Sale (POS) or Field Point of Sale (FPOS) system, these same standards apply but there are also specific mobile payments standards to be compliant when processing cards.

Digital Age Security Risks

Hackers have been around for a while and are now getting more sophisticated. Anything connected to the internet is immediately vulnerable and not even the best security is guaranteed to be 100% safe.

Fortunately, the credit card payments industry helps to fight against potential issues. Contactless payments apps, chipped credit cards and smart phones have opened up technological and legal considerations to keep everything safe for businesses. Be smart because if you process or store customer payment information, you’re a potential target for theft. PCI DSS serves as the foundation for basic business security practices to protect your business.

Does your payment processor accept mobile payment options like PayPal, Apple Pay or an app such as iWallet? If not or if you’re looking to make any changes, you must notify the PCI Security Standards Council, which will validate the end-2-end security of your payment processing system.

The PCI SSC is a third-party organization created by Visa, MasterCard, Amex and Discover that maintains a website with everything you need to know about PCI compliance.

Non-Compliance Will Cost You

PCI SSC isn’t a government regulator like the FTC or SEC and can/will fine your business if you’re not compliant. The card issuers and banks work together and you don’t want to be card-processing or banking blacklist.

If PCI standards finds your business is not in compliance, banks will perform forensic research to determine the cost of bringing you into compliance and punishment. Fines can start at $5,000 and go up to $100,000 per month. Actual cost varies depending on how long you’ve been noncompliant and the time that it takes to become compliant.

Companies face stiff penalties if they are found responsible for a data breach, regardless of whether or not you are PCI compliant. Penalties may include suspension of credit card processing privileges, possible civil litigation and even pay each cardholder $50-$90 per compromised.

Security breaches with personal customer payment information can be a contributor to businesses closing due to the high costs to fix them. The reputational impact on your business and customers is hard to get back.

Everything You Need to Know About Mobile Compliance

Most PCI standards are common sense, such as not making information easily accessible however with the many different mobile devices platforms making it trickier to remain PCI compliant.

Your payment gateway API is what matters. The two major considerations are the level of control you get vs. the out-the-box easy to use for businesses that don’t have IT support for development and big budgets to handle the cost. Make sure to go with a mobile POS or FPOS provider that is compliant. What matters most when looking at payment apps is point-to-point or end-to-end encryption.

Security Encryption Needed

Two of the most widely used encryption algorithms used today are AES and RSA. They are both very secure and effective but they are used in different ways.

Encryption converts data into a form where the original meaning is masked and only those properly authorized can decipher it. It is achieved by scrambling the information using mathematical functions based on a number called a key. An inverse process, using the same or a different key, is used to unscramble (or decrypt) the information. If the same key is used for both encryption and decryption, the process is said to be symmetric. If different keys are used the process is defined as asymmetric.

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a symmetric block cipher chosen by the U.S. government to protect classified information. AES is essential for government computer security, cybersecurity and electronic data protection and is implemented in software and hardware throughout the world to encrypt sensitive data.

These are just a few of the security icons your processor should have.

Conclusion

Regardless of what processor you use, to maintain security and avoid fines PCI compliance is mandatory. You can’t afford a data leak, nor do you want to be found a cause for credit card fraud.

Mobile devices are particularly vulnerable due to them being multi-purpose computers, similar to desktops in processing power. It’s important to go a processor such as iWallet, the #1 FPOS app that stores payment information on cloud servers. The app includes TRUSTEe Certified Privacy, RSA Security and AES Encryption to help keep your business compliant.

When deciding which small business software to use, you need to first consider what your actual needs are. Many times platforms that do a lot of different things may not offer the right range of tools. Free or low cost software options can sometimes provide all the tools you may need to get started.  As your business scales and your needs may grow — it may just be a new app to help you scale and be more profitable.

The best option for small business software should be simple and easy to manage your business more efficiently, but the best is different depending on the size and needs of your company.

We are going to touch on some different software options that small businesses might want to consider. The challenge is finding the type of software you need, at the right price that works for your budget. There is a lot of competition online in the software market, and while there are big name products with big prices, there are always smaller and less robust packages which can be just as good.

Below are some great small business software solutions currently available.

Document management software

There are many different office software suites but Google Workspace (formerly called G Suite) offers a large range of features and functionality that others can’t match for the price.

Google offers cloud computing, collaboration and productivity. It’s ideal for smaller businesses because it provides a one-stop-shop for all document management needs.

It is cloud based approach that is constantly updated. The email has built in controls, encryption, and verification with a Zero Trust approach that enables employees to work from anywhere using any device.

Google Workspace allows team members to have video meetings, access email, secure data and customizable email addresses. It is easy to use, secure, and access across different devices.

Within the workspace there are apps to quickly and easily create and share documents (Google Docs), spreadsheets (Google Sheets) and presentations (Google Slides).

Microsoft 365 provides a great office suite that is also cloud based and can be use on the go, at home or in the office.

If you’ve used Microsoft Office you’ll easily find your way around Microsoft 365. The advantage is all your employees can use it with a smartphone or tablet and their documents are saved online in the cloud with OneDrive. No more worrying about losing important files to a hard drive crash and that you can switch between devices without losing any work.

Pricing is a bit more expensive than using Google Workspace. Microsoft 365 Home offers up to six licenses which could be ideal and cost-efficient for distributing around employees if you have five or less. Microsoft 365 Business Premium is targeted at larger businesses and includes Sharepoint, Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft 365 delivers what you need in terms of an office software and admin platform. You will also find many suppliers using it, making it easy to share, swap or send files.

Project management software

If you are a medium size company with ongoing projects Trello is great to manage them. Trello is a collaboration and task management tool that supports marketing campaigns, content development, customer support, sales tracking, data entry and HR tracking. It’s important to note that it doesn’t support budgeting and invoicing.

For smaller businesses, it is an easy tool that tracks projects through due dates, card cover photos, users, a task commenting feature, labels and allows attachments like files, images, or documents for project management pipelines.

Mobile payment processing

iWallet is an established field service point of sale provider for processing payments anytime and anywhere. An easier, smarter and faster way for employees to process payments in the field. The app offers low credit card fees for businesses that process over 1m annually. They help small businesses take home more money each month.

The  iWallet app includes mobile remote check uploads. No more accepting bad checks and no more trips to the bank. And once you start processing credit cards there is no fee to make mobile check deposits.

The app has bank level security, is Verisign secure and has 256-bit encryption. All of this means that you only need one payment processing app to cover all forms of payments from a smart phone, no matter what sort of business you have.

Human resources and payroll software

Smaller companies rely on both full-time, seasonal and contract employees. With different needs they need a payroll solution that can manage both W-2 and 1099 workers. Gusto is a great option for these types of situations because it can handle payroll processing and payroll tax responsibilities for all types of workers.

Gusto is simple to pay your team, manage their benefits and protect your business. It is easy to add new employees and designate which type of worker they are. Even better, both types of workers are considered an employee, so the cost of running payroll is the same for someone considered a full- or part-time employee versus a freelancer or contractor.

Gusto charges monthly fees vs. a per-payroll cost structure that many other payroll companies use. This means you can run payroll as many times as necessary for no added charge. Additional services such as health coverage options, 401(k) plans, free financial planning tools are available for companies who need extra support. 

Collaboration Tool

If you’re a larger appliance repair business with service teams across multiple states, instead of sending emails back and forth, consider Slack.  This communication platform has helped transform the way your teams keep in touch.

The basic idea is simple: It allows employees to communicate on any mobile or desktop device. It is very useful for smaller businesses that may not have a single office or whose employees work remotely. It is real-time messaging in web browsers, mobile apps or with desktop clients. Team members can chat one to one, in channels based around topics and groups (i.e. customer questions, part ordering or repair issues).

Slack brings that simple idea to life very intuitively and has a responsive interface to keep conversations flowing.

The free version of Slack gives a basic feel for the app and suitable for smaller teams. With the paid tiers you get round-the-clock support and unlimited message archives.

Software technology undoubtedly helps businesses to adapt their operations. Messaging apps, mobile payments and contactless transactions are now the norm. For smaller businesses trying to reduce costs and grow their business, now is the time to look software and apps that can help automate and manage your business more effectively.