Boosting Sales
In our world today, even a single cent counts so by adding them to your bottom line is also a big help. The steps here will increase your profits, either by boosting sales, reducing credit card fees and expenses, or blocking theft.
For businesses in the food service industry, running a restaurant point of sale system, this can greatly help you!
Taking Checks
Checks are still widely used, especially among older customers. So if you’re still not accepting checks, starting soon would be a good idea. There’s equipment that will scan the check as quickly as a credit card, measure them against a nationwide database of bad check writers, electronically deposit the money, and can guarantee that you’ll receive the funds within a couple of days. In addition, the cost is typically lower than for credit cards and could add 10-15 percent to sales—possibly more if seniors make up the majority of your customers.
Cards
If you do accept credit cards, you’re probably accepting Visa and MasterCard already. What about Discover and American Express? The latter, in particular, generally accompanies larger transactions. You might have hesitated because of the high fees, but do reconsider—a 1% difference may not look worthy of consideration for you, and because American Express transactions are often larger than those of other cards, you’ll make it up in gross profit. Furthermore, it helps keep your customers coming back because they know that your business is accepting all forms of credit cards.
Researching
Most merchants think their fees are 1.69 percent plus $.19 because that’s their qualified rate on a tiered pricing program. But often fewer than 20 of 100 transactions receive the low qualified rate and all the rest downgrade and cost one, two, or even three percent. Researching alternate programs that offer different interchange rates could end up saving more than you think.
Understanding Statements
Neither you nor your bookkeeper would have to scratch the back of your heads over a complex credit card statement that just doesn’t fit. There are several companies that have made far more than usual efforts to simply their reports. You should be able to reconcile your statement and rates within 15 minutes or less.
Getting Your Reports Online
Don’t wait for the post office to deliver a letter disputing a charge. With Internet reporting, you’ll exactly know what’s up within 24 hours, which gives you the ability to aggressively defend against chargebacks. This type of quick action will increase your success rates and reduce your losses.
So there will be no more scratching of the head for you and your bookkeeper over complex credit card statements.
Use the Card Validation Value and Address Verification System. They are highly effective fraud screens proven to reduce losses, and when using them correctly, you can achieve the lowest possible rate for discounts.
In addition, avoid by being PCI compliant. There are mammoth fines charged to merchants who are hacked, and they can drive you out of business. Find time to read Visa’s report on noncompliant systems, so you’d always be alert.
Reducing Chargebacks
If you run an online or phone ordering business, it’s always a great idea to implement the “Verified by Visa” or “MasterCard Secure Code” plug-in on your web site. This helps eliminate the chargebacks on cardholder nonauthorization. The state of being legally obliged and responsible for these chargebacks is shifted away back to the issuing card bank, and you qualify for the lowest discount rate available. This simple step could eliminate up to 80 percent of all chargebacks and increase your profits.
The author of this article is the VP of Customer Relations at POS-For-Restaurants.com with over 20 years experience helping restaurants nationwide increase their efficiency and bottom-line profits with restaurant point of sale systems.
You may visit POS-For-Restaurants.com for further understanding of how our national network of restaurant point of sale professionals can help your business achieve greater success in these difficult economic times.