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Step 1
Review your monthly statement. The odds are that you've never taken more than a cursory glance at your monthly transaction statement. But you may be surprised at what you find. You may discover that certain types of cards charge a much higher fee than others; or that you are charged one amount for swiping a card and another for keying in the number. Knowing what you are being charged for can help you increase your bottom line by knowing how to instruct your employees to better handle these payments.
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Step 2
Switch to a flat-fee service. One of the biggest money-makers for the credit card companies is to charge a percentage for each transaction. They will claim in their "pitch" that it is cheaper and easier for the vendor. But if your average credit card transaction is for more than $100 and you pay a minimal 2 percent transaction fee, you'll be paying $2 or more for that transaction compared to maybe 75 cents or so for a fixed fee transaction. If your average credit card transactions are in the hundreds of dollars, you'll be saving even more.
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Step 3
Avoid double swiping and keying in credit card numbers. Many credit card services charge you a second (or third) transaction fee for doing this. Check your service contract carefully to see if this is the case, and when (or if) you have the right to a refund for double swiping or key in charges, especially when it's not your fault.
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Step 4
Ask customers to use the PIN pad with debit card transactions. When making a transaction with a debit card, politely ask the customer to punch in their PIN number. This will avoid any transaction fees for you.
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Step 5
Keep credit cards on file. If you are a service provider like a doctor or a dentist, and you have patients with outstanding bills, consider asking them to sign a pre-authorization for their credit card to allow you to automatically charge their monthly payment to their card. This can be a real money maker on your end, since you won't have to spend money to send out monthly bills and payment reminders and hire someone to handle collections. This can virtually eliminate non-payment issues as well.
