You can use a card pretty much anywhere these days, but there are some professions/industries where the message hasn’t really taken hold. It’s not that they are behind the times, but more that it’s just not common practice and most of the practicioners have not seen a reason to change.
When you’re getting paid pretty regularly by customers, the thought of accepting credit cards can seem like a real pain and just not worth the trouble (or the fees).
Small Business Trends makes a good point in a recent post as to why service professionals may want to re-evaluate their stance on this policy of not accepting credit card payments. If you consistently have Accounts Receivable that stay out 90+ days, why not nip that in the bud? Get an agreement up front (as part of the initial paperwork) that authorizes you to use their credit card in the case that a bill is 30 days or more outstanding.
In order to do this, however, your billing procedure and your procedure for posting payments must be very well managed. Nothing would make me hotter than to have a bill that I didn’t authorize all of a sudden show up on my credit card.
Food for thought, though. Sometimes the best ideas are those that make you smack your forehead when you finally have the AHA! moment.
It’s ridiculously easy to take credit card payments – all you need is a PayPal business account.
I even go so far as to offer some customers an incentive, in the form of a discount, if they pay by credit card within a certain time-frame. Even with the additional percentage charged by the CC company, a large bill paid immediately is a wonderful thing.
The bill has to be above a certain amount to make offering the discount worth it, but when it is – it’s worth it. Trust me.
Thanks for the input, Casey! It’s helpful to hear from a business owner that has first-hand experience with accepting cc’s.