I Have it. Super simple to set up and use. Just plug it into your phone, load the app, swipe and done. Money is deposited in your bank the next day. Rarely use it but it's good to keep in the camera bag just in case. I've had previous run ins where someone wanted to buy a photo and figured the Square system would make it easy to charge them $XX amount on the spot and email the photo later.
Intuit GoPayment is another option that is free. Plus it allows for $1200 a week if you want the freee plan like square is. The other good thing about the Intuit version is that it's more integrated with quickbooks if that is what you use for your accounting.
I really like it and you can't beat the convenience. I keep mine in a small mint tin to protect it and carry it with me. I don't use it often for wedding payments since the fee can get pretty high, but when I do the deposit is in my account next day just like a smaller payment. I believe they may have removed their restrictions because I never changed anything on my account.
Been using Square for a while. Easy to use and makes payment easy if you decide to meet a client for product pickup on the road. Way better than a desk based terminal that has to be used at your office location. Still relatively new technology, but clients are amazed when I run their card on my android phone.
Not available in the UK unfortunately, and when it has been discussed before many have said that they would never type their credit pin numbers into someone else's phone.
Trailboy wrote:
Not available in the UK unfortunately, and when it has been discussed before many have said that they would never type their credit pin numbers into someone else's phone.
Anyone ever had any objections to this?
You can run it as credit and have them sign with their finger. No PIN necessary.
I dumped Authorize.net and standard CC processing for Square and have been happy so far. Swiped transactions are deposited next-day while keyed transactions are held for a bit before being deposited. Keep in mind keyed transactions have a higher fee rate (3.5%) vs swiped transactions (2.75%). An in person swipe is always better.
and on that note, I recall a discussion about how to deal with a signature space if they're not present. And from
what I remember you're supposed to have consent via email or something, and then write "see email" or something
like that on the sig line. Anyone remember something like that?
lukeb wrote:
All credit card and bank/merchant fees can be deducted as a business expense.
Yes. The transaction fees would be "cost of goods sold". Any monthly fees would be Bank Charges.
lukeb wrote:
Some merchants charge an additional fee to offset credit card processing fees.
Ya, this is illegal...if Visa/MC find out they can ban you from accepting their payments.
lukeb wrote:
We do. And, we don't accept rewards cards because its the merchant who pays the rewards the client gets.
I think the extra fees for accepting rewards cards is negligible. If the client wants to use their CC then I don't care what kind...it all falls under 2.9% for me anyway.
jprezant wrote:
and on that note, I recall a discussion about how to deal with a signature space if they're not present. And from
what I remember you're supposed to have consent via email or something, and then write "see email" or something
like that on the sig line. Anyone remember something like that?
Not quite. Here are the instructions from Square:
Phone, mail and online orders
We recommend using the card reader for all payments, but some sellers have the need for the manual entry feature when taking phone, mail or online orders. When you key-in credit card information rather than use the card reader, the fee is slightly higher (3.5% + 15¢ vs 2.75%). This is due to the greater risk involved with manually-entered payments, as the card and buyer do not have to be present for this type of payment to occur.
If you plan on using the manual entry feature, we recommend following these simple steps:
Follow these instructions on how to enter card information manually.
Verify the identity of your buyer.
Keep signatures on file for all cards, when possible.
Provide receipts to your clients for all payments.
Enter detailed descriptions for each payment.
Enter valid CVV, Expiration Date and Zip Code information (buyer's billing zip code.) Note: the CVV is the 3 digit number listed on the back of MasterCard and Visa cards, and the 4 digit number listed on the front of AmEx cards.
Store any tracking information with proof of delivery.
Write either "Internet Order" or "Phone Auth" on the signature screen to confirm this was not a card present payment.
