August, 2011:

Retail merchant services come with several payment options.  Below is a summary of all of them.  Out top recommendation, we save for the last option in this blog post.

• The Verifone ZX570 is a fast processing all in one payment terminal.  It comes with a fast thermal printer and a built in pin pad to accept debit card transactions.  It can print most receipts in 1 second or less. For most small retail locations it is a great choice. 
• The Omni VX570 is another great choice for small retail locations.  It is compact, comes with a built in thermal printer, and will process transactions fast through a broadband internet connection.
• The Hypercome T7P is popular as well for retail establishments.  It has a lot of options built into it and it is easy to use.  Due to its larger size we don’t recommend it unless you want to accept on the spot electronic checks or checks that you want to validate are good upon check out.
• The First Data FD100 is another popular terminal for retail merchants.  It comes will all of the features of the terminals above, it’s main perk is that come close out time at the end of the day it makes batching transactions and sending all of the day’s revenue to the checking account as simple as the touch of one button.  Who wouldn’t like to send a lot of money to the bank just by hitting 1 button?
• The Way 5000 from Verifone, formerly knows as Way Systems, is an awesome terminal that we highly recommend if you want something wireless, fast, compact, that has cutting edge anti-fraud features built in.  In fact, if you don’t plan on building your transactions directly into a PC system, this is our most recommended terminal for retail merchants that need to accept transcations in a location where access to broad band internet is difficult.  This terminal was designed for wireless acceptance of credit cards and it works great.
• PC Charge and PC Charge Pro is out top recommendation for retail merchant services.  Why? It is a computer-based electronic payment processing solution.  So with it, you can simply turn any PC into a secure credit card processing terminal.    You simply would plug a pin pad and credit card reader into your PC’s USB ports.  Then you can manage all of your accounting and credit card, debit card and check  transactions from 1 PC and sync the data between your PC’s.  It makes accounting and the running of all financial aspets of your retail business easy

This is a summary of your best retail mechant services equipment options.  If you want some advice on which is best for your business request a merchant services processing quote or call and ask what the best merchant services options are for you.  Please note that at Choice Merchant Services we give you the equipment above for free.

Small businesses need merchant services.  The key to having your credit card processing account setup well is to setup your business merchant services for your company in a way that interfaces well into your day to day operations.  Most companies will use software like PC Charge or other software that can put all finances into accounting systems like Quickbooks Merchant Services.  This makes accounts receivable and payable nearly automatic.  For example, PlugNPay has a module built into it that will enable a company to automate near 100% of its recurring billing and it has a Quickbooks plugin built right into it for easy integration a company’s accounting systems.

The key is to do your research or simply to find a good merchant services processing company that can ask you the right questions and find a solution that is right for you.  Note: make sure you get your merchant services processing equipment for free, and your monthly fees don’t exceed 20% per month and you have some rates as low as 1.05%.  If you get all of the above your small business merchant services processing will not only be top quality but it will also be low cost.

Having a winning team is all about having great people around you and giving them the autonomy they need to succeed.  It is about having the right people do the right things.  Then you can use key performance indicators, in other words, numeric goals to measure  the success of each employee.  Secondly you should then measure them against the core values of your company and make sure they live those core values in their daily work.  You can then rate, assess and give candid feedback on a regular basis.  This method works.  This is what you learn when you get an MBA.  Yet, this is only one half of the puzzle. 

The 2nd half of the puzzle is this:  Keep your word.

If you fail to keep your word, you will lose the trust, loyalty and hard work of your people.  When you lose that, you lose a winning environment, a productive environment, and your employee turnover will escalate.  So don’t ever make a promise unless you intend to keep it.  If the business reality changes and you made  a promise, you need to find a way to keep it or get the person you made the promise to, to want something else.  Otherwise, you lose face, you lose loyalty and you you can lose the people that make your company great.

Author: CEO of SolCorp, Inc. Owner of Choice Merchant Services