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Category: Small business tools

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Home Service Repair Businesses News Small business tools

Take Control of Your Brand Reputation With Reviews

Reputation management involves monitoring public perception of your brand.  To maintain or build a thriving business a strong reputation will help people trust faster or when choosing a new home service provider, positive reviews will set your business apart from one with no reviews. 

A five-star digital presence is important to increase transparency and to gain customer respect. People are more informed about the companies they are considering doing business with. Google Reviews, Yelp, and the BBB are just some of review services where customers can share their experiences, good or bad.

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Why is Reputation Management Important?

The longer you’re in business, your company image will develop with or without your help based on your online presence. Successful companies take an active role to learn how people feel about their services. Controlling your reputation so when it is viewed by customers or potential new hires there is no surprises.

Having a strategy in place that includes a way to easily prompt someone to provide five stars or great service comments is the first step

Analyzing Consumer’s Needs

Review give insight into your business and lets you know what is working or not working. Customers also don’t hesitate to point out the things they are unhappy with.

Pay attention to what customers are writing can highlight where attention is needed. Tracking complaints allows a way to spot a single issue tied to poor service or if there is something companywide that’s needs attention.  This could help spot if more training is needed, pinpoint issues to a specific employee, and even help the bottom line.

Built-in Tools That Work

Small or large, companies can take advantage of free reputation software when they process with apps such as iWallet. iWallet includes the ability to ask for a review during payment.  For no additional charge, there is a dedicated link in the payment flow to one or several review platforms. This provides comprehensive way to get review coverage across all channels.

Additional Benefits

Show you value your customers and their feedback by including their reviews in your website, ads, or social channels. Letting them know you value their opinion by expressing gratitude to their comments, it goes a long way.

A positive workplace helps with recruiting too. When deciding to join a company, potential new employees are likely to trust word-of-mouth information from satisfied customers they read online.

A strong reputation is more likely to attract new and keep loyal customers. Having reputation management as part of the payment flow process opens up the opportunity to get real time reviews.

Categories
Mobile Check Processing Payment Processing Technology Small business tools

Digital Payment Processing Era

As a business owner, you should be looking for ways to streamline all your payment processing options. This helps technicians get on to the next appointment faster and will help you get paid quicker.

Payment processing has gone from coins and paper money to plastic credit cards and now — to a smartphone. People now use their smartphones daily to perform everyday tasks, including shopping for goods and paying for services.

The universal adoption of smartphones has contributed to the growing trend of mobile payments. Customers are always looking for easier ways to use their phones for everything. That’s why you should equip your technicians with the most convenient and reliable payment processing options to ensure your customers have a positive experience.

The number of consumers using digital wallets is expected to double to 4.4 billion globally by 20251 Since most consumers have already adapted to using some sort of a digital wallet on their smartphone, why not process all forms of payments with a smart phone too.

Modern Payment Platform

Most people carry their mobile phones around with them throughout the day, so wouldn’t it be beneficial for your technicians to use the same device to process payments on the spot.

iWallet Business an all-in-one app for technicians to easily process credit card and checks in the field using their smart phone. It is a simplified, secure and personalized app that is designed to be flexible by offering different payment processing options from a smart phone.

With technicians on the move, they need an app with different payment options. iWallet Business can accept all major credit, debit cards and make remote check deposits from a smart phone.

Improve Your Defenses With On The Go Remote Check Deposits

Having the ability to accept checks in the field can help prevent chargebacks. A chargeback is a transaction that is disputed by the cardholder which can happen for a variety reasons, most often it is from fraud or an unhappy customer. When a chargeback occurs, the bank refunds the cardholder for the full transaction amount. You, the business owner is responsible for paying the chargeback fee, regardless of whether the chargeback was for.

Some businesses like stores can help combat these fee/charges with refund policies; however with appliance repair businesses it is much harder. Once a repair is done and the new part is installed you can’t go back. Having the ability to accept checks in the field and remotely deposit them will help prevent chargeback fees.

Accepting checks actually offers an added level of security for you since your technicians can quickly and seamlessly upload and deposit them remotely from a smart phone into their individual sub accounts. Implementing remote check deposit with iWallet Business, the funds are deposited into the company business checking account.  

Having the ability to use remote check deposits with also alleviate the stress of having employees take time out of their day to drop checks off at the office or deposit them at local bank. All of which frees up their time to help more customers and prevent losing checks along the way.

A Better Way to Manage Your Business

For many small appliance repair businesses, keeping track of all expenses for accounting and tax purposes is very demanding. Using iWallet Business helps to keep record of all transactions in one place. The app can be also be integrated with existing software to record transaction details automatically.

Adopting remote payment processing for your small business can help improve cash flow and save time. Using the app to help automate accounting tasks can help to eliminate the need for manual data entry. At the end of the day it helps you cut down on paperwork like processing stacks of invoices or taking time to have someone go the bank and make manual check deposits.

Using a remote mobile payment app reduces human error in financial reporting and frees up plenty of time to help you focus on growing your company. iWallet Business all-in-one payment processing app with remote check deposit offers technicians the best way to manage all their payments from a mobile phone.

If you want your small business to grow, remote payment processing is essential to your success.

Categories
Credit Card Processing Home Service Repair Businesses Mobile Check Processing Payment Processing Technology Small business tools

Payment Apps for Business

Appliance repair companies with two or multiple technicians in the field use a variety of credit card processing equipment but that’s not necessary with todays advanced technology. Did you know that your appliance business can accept all forms of payments for services from a smartphone using an app.

With the world moving to smartphones it only makes sense to move ALL your payments to remote payments too. Knowing the ins and outs will help you compare the many different features you have at your fingertips.

What are the processing rates for each app. Do they use interchange plus, flat rate and do they allow you to surcharge? You’ll also need to be able to determine what you need to stream line reporting or if the app exports needed accounting data.

Common Types of Payment Apps

Zelle

Zelle works well for very small or family appliance repair companies. The app has been adopted by many national banks and works by having the money move within minutes, directly into your bank account associated with your profile.

The downsides of using Zelle are it only works if your current bank currently offers it.  If you have more than two technicians it won’t allow for sub accounts so everyone making deposit access the same account.  Savvy business owners also need to easily recap deposits at the end of day or week. If you have a healthy business and more than two technicians, deposits get combined making it harder to reconcile.

Zelle also doesn’t offer remote check uploads. It is just an app to send funds.  It is free for customers to send however you will need to check with Zelle to see what they will specifically charge your business.

Venmo

Venmo was originally created for friends to send or receive money quickly. It has feature like splitting bills and adding fun notes which helped it to catch on quickly with Gen X and Y’s.

The app now allows for business to accept payments.  You can add a business profile to a personal profile easily. There is no monthly fee however be aware there is a low seller transaction fee of 1.9% + $0.10 on business profiles (fee can change & other fees may apply).

It’s pretty easy to create a business profile if you have an existing Venmo login.  This will allow you to track personal transactions separately from business. You can accept payments virtually through their app with a unique QR code which is a secure simple way to pay.

Venmo has a couple of downsides.  The app doesn’t allow for remote check uploads and like Zelle. If you have several technicians it doesn’t offer sub accounts so all deposit go directly into one account.

iWallet Business

iWallet Business is a revolutionary app that’s designed to process credit cards and accept checks in the field. Using iWallet Business gives your technicians the freedom to essentially accept all forms of credit cards and also make remote check uploads in the field (including corporate checks, consumer checks, cashier’s checks and money orders). This sets it apart from the other two apps.

It is easy and free to download iWallet Business for both android and iPhone. The app supports accounting functions needed to run a successful business and includes QuickBooks integrations for accounting. Sign up and account approvals are fast. The app includes bank level security and has a QR code touchless processing feature to keep your employees and customers safe from germs.

The key feature is iWallet Business is one of the only a few business apps that converts paper checks into electronic transactions. This allows businesses to receive funds faster and improve working capital. It works by selecting the check icon at bottom of app, using a smart phone camera your technician can upload checks directly into individual accounts. Individual sub accounts keep every technicians business private and easy to reconcile at the end of the day/week.

If your technicians want to get a little extra for their good work, iWallet offers a tipping option. In the app tap “Tipping” and turn the toggle on.

With all these three apps, you can optimize the speed of invoice collection. The only caveat is if you want to keep all customers happy you need to accept all forms of payments.  Look for remote check uploads to convert all forms of paper checks into electronic transactions. This will set your business apart while saving time by not having to run them to make bank deposit at a local branch.

Categories
Home Service Repair Businesses Mobile Check Processing Payment Processing Technology Small business tools

The Importance to Accept Checks in The Field

In a world where technology is advancing, should your appliance repair business go cashless…probably not since checks are one of the oldest forms of payment.  

While more and more people are using e-wallet to pay for goods and services, savvy appliance repair business owners shouldn’t alienate customers by not accepting paper checks.  Eliminating checks has the potential to result with negative reviews because customers who still prefer to pay for repairs by check will be forced to use another repair company.

In todays world you need to cater to all homeowners to prevent losing business. Much of the older generation doesn’t use smartphones the way Gen X does, which is why they still prefer to pay for services using paper checks. Boomers and seniors haven’t adopted technology at the same rate and still carry traditional wallets and write checks.

There are many reasons why you should offer a variety of payment accommodations for every customer. Some people with high balances stay away from charging on their cards so they don’t incur additional credit card finance charges.

And, checks are less attractive to thieves than credit cards because they aren’t easy assessable and cannot be cashed by just anyone. For thieves this can be hassle to get bank routing numbers, account info, print the checks than try to cash without proper ID. Checking account numbers are not on the black market like credit cards numbers.

Using an app to accept all forms of payments is the future of growing a successful business.  Keep in mind that not all processing apps are created equal; most, like Venmo/Paypal only process credit cards or transfer money.

Most traditional processing apps entail higher costs to cover the processing fees. Even with negotiated low credit card processing rates, business owners spend a fortune each year on transaction fees.

Business owners will pay more in credit card processing fees if they only accept credit cards. Yea, you can build the credit card fees into your repair prices but do you want to run the risk losing business because your repair fees are higher? Not the smartest business decision.

There are far more pros for accepting checks in the field than not, which is why a lot of appliance repairs businesses still prefer to accept checks.

Do you really want to wait and don’t wait batch the weekly and make mass deposit at bank. Cash flow is increased because with mobile check deposits the funds are available in a few days (actual time varies by bank and if check is written from local account vs out of state). Waiting can be risky because a check/checks can get lost or misplaced along the way. 

There is also the risk that funds aren’t in the account if you wait. Than you need to deal with having to get in touch with the customer and either get another check or ask for a credit card.

Accepting Checks Reduces overhead

No processing fees with mobile check deposits using an app like iWallet Business. The app offers credit card processing and remote check deposits. The convenience of using the app is there is no equipment to buy and you can accept checks and remotely deposit check in the field in addition to credit or debit cards.

Decrease Fraud Risk

Checks are safer to upload through a smart phone instead of waiting for technicians to mail them to home office so they don’t  run the risk of losing along the way. iWallet Business App scans checks through a national data base of bad check writers. If the check is flagged as bad, it will catch it in real time. More importantly since your employee is still with the customer this will gives the opportunity to ask for another form of payment.

Prevent Stop Payments

When customers write a check to pay for the repair and you wait to deposit later, you run a big risk of having a stop payment on the check. If customers are not satisfied with the work performed and complain, credit card payments can/will be disputed.  Most credit card companies side on the customer and this will cause the amount to be debited from your account. The funds are returned to the customer without recourse. This is yet another reason why accepting checks is a great option.

Check Guarantee is an added level of check safety, in the event the check bounces. This is good for small or large repairs companies that have a history of customers who bounce checks.

Keys to Accept Check for Payments

Verify the check is written for the right amount. The amount written out should be the same as numerical numbers. Only accept the total amount due. Make sure your technicians verify the following before uploading.

  • Complete name of customer
  • Payee name (you or your business)
  • Correct date
  • Bank ID numbers including account and ABA routing numbers
  • Dollar amount
  • Signature

Don’t waste your time thinking checks are a thing the past, they aren’t! Accepting checks for payment in the field with iWallet Business could set you apart from other repair companies. It is a useful financial processing tool for small to mid-size appliance repair businesses. Accepting checks helps to attract more customers and using iWallet to remotely deposit them can provide a level of security while helping to save with overhead fees.

Categories
Credit Card Processing Interchange Plus Small business tools

The Importance to Compare Different Payment Pricing to see Which Models is Best to Achieve Your Goals.

Payment innovation has evolved and customers are using credit cards for payments more and more because it’s convenient.

But do you know what Interchange Plus, Fixed rate, Cash Discounting and Surcharge Pricing means? If not it this should help you to understand the different pricing models.

Payment Pricing Models

When it comes to credit cards, there are lots of cards your customers will use. Reward cards, platinum cards, student cards, no-fee cards, low-fee cards and travel cards, and each type comes with a different rate for processing. This is a fee that the merchant pays every time someone uses that card.

Every credit card brand (e.g. Visa, MasterCard, Discover) has a published, percentage-based on the interchange fee that they charge every time their cardholders uses their credit card – the cost of authorizing the charge.

Effective Rate

The effective rate is what you are being charged. The best way to know your effective rate is to take a recent statement, look at your fees, than divide that number by how much you processed in credit card sales.

The problem with traditional pricing models is they can hide the interchange cost which allows them to charge a markup. Processors consolidate a variety of rates into a smaller numbers; essentially “round up” to the highest rate in each tier. This makes monthly statements easy to read and makes it hard to see what the real rate the transactions are charged. It also allows the possibility of paying higher rates!

Interchange Plus

Interchange plus, also referred to as “cost plus” pricing, is straightforward pricing. Using cost plus pricing is transparent because it is more difficult to have hidden fees. With this pricing, processors take all the bank fees, card brand fees and pass them to the business owner, then add their markup fee (i.e 20%). You can check out all the interchange rates as they are published by Visa and MasterCard.

With interchange pricing, the business owner pays the non-negotiable interchange fee for the type of credit card and the payment processor markup. The markup is calculated by adding the interchange fee, a basis point mark-up and a per-transaction fee charged by the payment processor.

By showing you the actual interchange costs, interchange-plus pricing allows you to easily see what the markup is. This encourages processors to set reasonable markups plus this transparency helps ensure you are getting the best rates.

Fixed Rate Pricing

The fixed rate model, aka “flat rate” is simple which why it is appealing to appliance repair business owners.  If you want to know your real operating costs, paying a flat rate for processing will make the most sense because there are no hidden fees.

Fixed rate is easy to understand and can result in bottom line savings. Business owners can easily calculate credit card processing fees since the rate is the same each month, no matter what type of card or transaction method is used.

Apps like iWallet Business offer a consistent low flat rate which is why it lots of appliance repair business owners are switching to this. For budgeting you know what to expect—2.3% processing for businesses that process over one million per year and 2.5% for under.  

Cash Discounting

A true cash discount program gives the customer a discount for cash payments and avoids additional costs. This model passes the cost of acceptance back to customers who choose to pay with a credit card or debit card.

Giving discounts for cash is legal in all of the 50 states and is well received by the customer. Cash discounting has been around for decades and gaining in popularity. Gas stations have used cash discounts for many years. Paying with cash costs the customer a little less per gallon than paying with a credit card. There are a handful of specific rules to follow to stay compliant, be sure to work with a provider that will help you navigate these rules.

Surcharge Pricing

A surcharge program is a type of credit card processing where you charge the consumer an additional fee “surcharge” on top of the cost of service to cover the merchant processing cost. Surcharge programs are currently legal in almost all 50 states.

A surcharge program recoups merchant service fees that are charged when the customer presents a credit card as payment. A surcharge program doesn’t feel as good to the customer because it adds the additional fee at checkout.

Selecting the best option for your business Paying with a credit card is convenient and fast, but the processing rate differs on each credit card with effects your fees. On top of that monthly fees are determined by the card types, and merchant fees are added on top of the actual cost. It can be hard to decide between the different programs so be sure to consider the many before implementing a new program into your operations. Learning the different terms and how they can help your bottom line and potentially keep more money in your bank account.

Categories
Home Service Repair Businesses Mobile Check Processing Payment Processing Technology Small business tools

Appliance Repair Mobile Check Processing Costs

Check processing for appliance repair business sounds simple right? It can be low cost and easy if you understand the different ways to process checks and the costs associated.

There are different factors to consider when you’re running a small to medium size appliance repair business. Having a good grasp on financial costs will help you to save time and money on mobile check deposits.

Today’s business owners can benefit more by using mobile check deposits than by using their traditional bank checking account deposit feature. There are a range of options to consider when they are considering mobile check processing.  

Manual Machine Swipe Electronic Check Processing Costs

Manual swipe machines help small businesses to process several checks at a time. While it sounds fast and easy there is a monthly cost as high as $100 to rent the check scanner equipment.

Do you want the money in the bank ASAP? If yes this is not the best check deposit method because cash flow will be slow. Checks will need to be mailed or dropped at the office. This takes time having employees drive to drop off and time for administrative staff to process. You also run the risk of losing checks along the way.

Mobile Check Processing Cost

Using iWallet Business, a free app that allows your technicians to accept checks and make mobile check deposits anytime, anyplace. The app offers more benefits than traditional ATM deposits.

There is a monthly mobile check processing cost of $50 a month for up to 1400 checks per year. Using this method will actually save you money in the long run because there is less back end administrative cost. You also do not have to pay for gas for all the trips to the bank, which these days saves a lot of money too.

Mobile check deposits are great because check payment processing is accepted instantly using a smart mobile phone or tablet. No extra fee for equipment to purchase or to rent.

Accepting checks at time of completed work and using a smart phone to instantly deposit also saves time. Technicians have 24/7 mobile check processing and accounting has 24/7 real-time, consolidated reporting and banking.

Check Return Cost

The ability to make real time, mobile check deposits with iWallet can also potentially help eliminate return check costs. A returned check fee is when someone gives you a check, but they don’t have the funds to cover it. While you don’t plan for returned checks but it happens all the time. This also happens when an account has been closed or if the customer decided to stop payment because they may not have been satisfied with the work performed.

Your techs in the field do a big job and accept a large check for payment, it could takes days before it gets deposited which slows cash flow.  Between the time of repair and when the check gets deposited, there is no money in bank account due to non-sufficient funds.

Now you’re faced with two issues, a charge for returned check, you have to waste time and go back to the customer to work out another payment source. While this situation is not your fault it is impossible to know how much the check writer has in their bank account, the depositor is still the one held responsible to pay the fee.

To potentially help to avoid returned checks us iWallet for all mobile check processing. The app that runs all checks through a national data base of bad checks. If the check writer is on the list you will be alerted instantly and the technician can ask for another form of payment on the spot. 

Check Guarantee Cost

Check guarantee is another mobile check processing add-on feature which provides appliance repair businesses with check protection to eliminate the risk of non-sufficient funds. This feature helps business owners prevent getting burned by a bad check writer who clears the fraud database but doesn’t have enough funds to cover the work performed.

For a fee of 1.5%-2.3%, during the mobile check processing transaction, you can transfers the risk to the processor, and you will be guaranteed to receive funding on the check. It is simple process, during the transaction where the merchant transfers risk to the processor and funding is guaranteed.

Best Small Business Mobile Check Processing App

Mobile check deposits for personal use is very common, having the ability for multiple technicians to make mobile check deposits into a business account will be too with iWallet Business app.

Anyone can test iWallet Business because there is nothing to buy, no sign up fees and you can cancel anytime without additional cost. With this app you can accept all types of checks, including personal, business and travelers.  It is the best 21st century mobile check processing app for appliance repair businesses with two or more field technicians.  

Categories
Mobile Check Processing Payment Processing Technology Small business tools

5 Ways for Small Businesses to Accept Checks

Many small business owners are so busy with their daily operations that they haven’t done their homework and looked into new ways to accept payments.  And what works well for one small business doesn’t always for another.

Today there are more choices than ever when it comes to depositing checks. One size doesn’t fit all but knowing what’s important to your small business will help. Do you want to save time by not driving to the bank and get more time back in your day? How about reducing back office work and eliminate manual banking? Does improving cash flow sound good? Or do you want to help reduce check fraud? 

The rise of new technology has opened up new opportunities to stream line small business everyday needs. Here’s a look at the difference between traditional bank deposits, manually swipe check deposits and remote check mobile deposits to see what is right for your business.

Traditional Banking

Most banks have physical locations to deposit checks but it is not the most efficient use of time. It just makes sense if you need to speak with someone but do you really need your employees doing that?  Your cash flow will be slower if they only have time to go once a week. It is also a poor use of time to have your field workers drop off every day.

If you save your deposits for a weekly run and have multiple to process, plan on waiting in line. Tellers are becoming obsolete because banks are replacing them with ATM machines,  inside and outside of the local branch. ATM deposit can be tricky especially if it eats your check. Once it gets chews there is no way to pull out. You will have to contact the customer for another if badly shredded. If you issue deposit only ATM cards, remind employees not to forget their pin. The last thing you need is to delay cash flow any longer.

The other downside for a small business waiting to deposit at a local bank is the risk of accepting a bad check or have insufficient funds. The best option is to be able to deposit at time of sale or service. This way you can correct the issue by accepting another form of payment if needed. needed.

Manual Machine Swipe

Many small business still use a device and have checks delivered to the office to be manually swiped, however this process is becoming somewhat outdated. If you have a team of two or more field workers they need to take time out of their work week and drop off their checks. While this is often impossible for companies with huge fleet in multiple locations across different cities. They usually end up have checks batched and sent to the home office. Both of these formats reduce cash flow and open up the possibility of misplacing or losing checks.

Manually type

Businesses that use services like Clearant & Swipe simple make check deposits worry free, but are they? This form of check acceptance allows you make deposits directly into your account without a trip to the bank. But what about the cost, is there a big fee associated for this? Does it scan databases for bad check writers?

With a PC

Using a PC to process checks has the same downsides as manually processing to transfer funds from the checking account to your merchant bank account. While it eliminates employees depositing at the local bank or batching and sends in to the office, it still slows down cash flow.

Mobile/Remote Check Deposit

What lots of savvy small business owners use these days is opt to use remote deposit, the process of recording a check image which can be transmitted electronically in place of a paper check. The process of taking a picture from any smart phone is seamless through the mobile app and the funding is faster.

Some of the advantages of using an app like  iWallet Business is field technicians can upload check anytime, anywhere, eliminating the need to visit a bank or batch weekly and send to the office. You get a quick consolidation of deposits from multiple locations. iWallet also runs checks through a database and scans banking info against a national database of bad check writers in real time. This will help mitigate check fraud or bad checks.

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