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February, 2013:

Practice Management Software Guide for Merchant Services

Feb 27th, 2013
by JJ Belle.
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Good practice management software makes a doctor’s life easier and his/her practice more profitable as it helps solve accounts receivable issues and minimizes the staff time needed to run the business.  In addition, this software needs to have a good integrated merchant service solution for doctor’s office merchant services that allows the physcian office to bill the insurance company, accept payments and co-pays on the spot, and also allow patients to make secure, fast and easy payments online.

Below is Choice Merchant Services list of the Top 10 Practice Management Software Solutions: 

  1. MediTouch EHR Electronic Health Record Software
  2. The Digital Office by EON Systems
  3. Eclips
  4. Allscripts EHR
  5. MediTouch PM Practice Management Software
  6. McKesson Practice Choice
  7. IMS – Intelligent Medical
  8. NueMD Complet
  9. Kareo
  10. eClinicalWorks

In Merchant Services Under Promise and Over Deliver

Feb 22nd, 2013
by JJ Belle.
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There are a lot of unethical merchant services providers out there, check out this story from the Spokane Journal.
The Better Business Bureau serving Eastern Washington, North Idaho and Montana says Spokane Valley-based electronic payment processing company Merchant Services Direct LLC has made advertising claims that may be misleading.Chelsea Dannen, director of communications at the BBB, says the Spokane-based agency received 43 complaints about Merchant Services Direct in 2012. Of those, Dannen says, 17 were from consumers who said they were promised greater savings than they received.
At Choice Merchant Services we belive in under promising and over delivering.  In addition, we believe in complete transparency and we are trying to bring this to the entire merchant services processing industry.  For example, we offer a merchant services rates calculator for free to anyone that wants to use it.  This tool allows you to see how much you are saving by switching providers for yourself.  Not sure where to start?  You can also go there and request a free merchant services statement analysis from a financial analyst.

Small, Small Business Payment Processing

Feb 22nd, 2013
by JJ Belle.
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phone swipe mobile merchant servicesEvery day we have new merchants come to Choice Merchant Services and ask for a very low cost merchant services solution.  These companies often process less than $3,000 per month in credit card processing volume and are very small businesses that are looking to make a profit on not all that much money.  For companies like this we have developed a no setup fee, no monthly fee, no software and hardware fee, no long-term contract merchant services solution called Phone Swipe.

Essentially all that a merchant would do is pay 2.69% per transaction with no other fee and they will receive a complete turn-key merchant services solution.

Here is how it works:
  1. A merchant fills out an online form to setup their merchant account services.
  2. Within 24 hours their account is approved.
  3. They download a free app to their iPhone, iPad, Droid or any SmartPhone or tablet device.
  4. They can then immediately accept payments via the touchscreen on their SmartPhone or tablet.
  5. Then, 24 hours later the small PhoneSwipe device shows up via express shipping.
  6. The merchant can then plug the PhoneSwipe device into the headphone jack of their SmartPhone or tablet and accept credit cards through a simple swipe, just like at any point of sale terminal.
  7. Receipts can then be emailed to the customer through the merchants smartphone.
It’s as easy as touch, type and swipe and it only costs 2.69% per transaction.
To signup for PhoneSwipe go here.

Special Offer: $700 Wireless Credit Card Terminal for Free

Feb 14th, 2013
by JJ Belle.
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Limited Time Offer – Free Merchant Services Equipment –  Wireless Credit Card Terminal Valued at $700:

Verifone VX670 Wireless Terminal with Printer & Pin Pad

Choice Merchant Services is offering the Verifone Vx670, the world’s smallest all-in-one wireless handheld payment device (yes it even has a printer  for printing receipts and a pin pad for debit card transactions), for free to all merchants that switch their credit card processing through us to North American Bancard.  The Verifone Vx670 retails for  $699.99.

Rates start at 1.05% so lock in today by getting a best merchant services quote from Choice Merchant Services.

What are the advantages of the Verifone VX670 merchant equipment? 

  • World’s smallest wireless handheld payment terminal
  • WiFi, GPRS and bluetooth wireless technology
  • Use it wirelessly for longer periods of time with high capacity batteries.
  • Accept credit card, debit card and echeck with 1 terminal.
  • Will process gift cards & accept loyalty cards.
  • Multiple connectivity options
  • Built-in security protections guard against fraud and misuse
  • Internal PCI approved pin pad
  • Sleek, compact design
  • Secure: PCI PED compliant
  • Dual Mode: Ethernet & Modem Connectivity
  • Significantly reduces transaction time to just a few seconds.
  • High speed thermal printer; prints 18 lines per second
  • Flash memory drive for easy input of data into a computer and accounting system
  • Anti-glare, white backlit display

Rates start at 1.05% so get your free Verifone VX670 today by getting a best merchant services quote from Choice Merchant Services.

Merchant Services Provider Benefits Infographic

Feb 13th, 2013
by JJ Belle.
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HighRiskPay.com put together cool infographic that explains the 6 of the benefits of partnering with a good merchant services provider.

merchant services provider infographic

Part 13: Merchant Service Providers Can Increase Your Sales

Feb 11th, 2013
by JJ Belle.
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Welcome to bonus part 13 of our 12 part series – Tell Me the Best Merchant Solution for My Business.”   In this chapter of our series we will discuss the following questions: “Can my payment processor actually help me increase my sales?”

The answer to this question is a resounding yes.  Any credit merchant service provider  that is good at what they do can help you do this.

Here are 7 ways that you merchant services provider can help you improve your sales.

1. Custom In Store Receipts – Based on what your customers buy from you or have bought from you they should get custom receipts printed up for them upon purchase by your merchant equipment.  Your merchant services provider should be able to give you  merchant equipment and software that is capable of this.  This can bring them back to your customers to your store sooner and have them buy more.

2. Electronic Gift Cards – Gift cards improve your sales because they drive people to your store to buy the gift cards. They drive new customers to your store after they receive a gift card and they can fall in love with it and come back again. They drive customers that love your store back that otherwise would not come to your store.  They drive people to your store that spend all of the money on the gift card and then more.  In addition, not all gift cards are redeemed meaning that you make nearly 100% profit on unredeemed gift cards.  Any good merchant services provider should offer this program to you and make it easy for you to set up and maintain.

3 & 4. Electronic Referral & Loyalty Programs – Your merchant account should come with the ability to reward customers that refer you and that come back with special discounts and promotions.  This is simple to set up and very powerful for your business.

5. Promotion Codes for eCommerce – People will be driven to your website when they get email alerts telling them of a 20% off sale if they enter promo code “BigSale20.”  You can easily set this up if you partner with a merchant service provider that can offer you a good internet gateway and shopping card solution such as Authorize.net or PlugNPay.

6. Shopping Cart Abandonment Emails – If you send customers a triggered email after they add a product or service to an internet shopping cart and then fail to make a purchase, you will regain 30% to 40% of those purchases.  If you do not have a merchant account provider that is capable of giving you this solution you are missing out on a lot of business.

7. Upsell Website Emails – Have you ever purchased something on-line on Amazon.com and were then told by the website, “People who liked what you are about to buy also liked X, Y, and Z.”   Amazon does this because it is a great way to increase average order size and improve your customer shopping experience.  Your website should do the same.

Part 12: Electronic Gift Cards and Merchant Services

Feb 7th, 2013
by JJ Belle.
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Welcome to part 12 of our 12 part series – Tell Me the Best Merchant Solution for My Business.”   In this chapter of our series we will discuss the following questions: “Can I accept electronic gift cards?  If so, why should I?  What do I have to gain and lose by doing so?”

The first question you should ask yourself is should I accept electronic gift cards. The answer is that every retailer, restaurant, and ecommerce store should accept electronic gift cards. If you do not you are missing out on large profits. The next question is if you are not a retail, ecommerce, or restaurant merchant, should you accept electronic gift cards. Ask yourself this question, “is my product or service the type of product or service that people would like to receive as a gift?” If you answer affirmative to that question, then accepting electronic gift cards is good for your business.

The second question is why will accepting electronic gift cards help your business? The fact is that accepting electronic gift cards will boost your sales because it will create word of mouth advertising for your business, and it will drive more customers to your store who will buy more than what is on the gift cards. In addition, some gift cards will simply not be redeemed therefore you will have near 100% profit on all unredeemed gift cards.

They key is to take your gift card program and electronically integrate it with your merchant services processing company so that all money flows into your bank account daily, all customers know their exact balance on their gift card and you can eliminate your risk of gift card fraud.

Keep on reading.  Although we have finished 12 out of 12 parts of our 12 part merchant service series , we will have a bonus chapter on the topic of “Can my payment processor actually help me increase my sales?”