How to take payments when launching a new business

The modern business needs to work hard to attract customers. From digital marketing to competitor research, there’s a lot of work that goes into the launch of a new business. One of the key issues for brands in the digital age is making sure that consumers can pay when and how they prefer. For businesses that are unable to accept online payments, it is impossible to secure a place in any sector. Whether you’re starting a new business idea or you’re making the transition to e-commerce for your brick and mortar store, here are the key steps to ensuring that you can start taking payments in the ways that your customers prefer.

Step One: Bank Accounts

You must open a business bank account. There are many benefits to this, such as business overdrafts, but the key value is being able to accept money directly into a bank account. A bank account in your business name will give you:

• More organized banking records
• Accuracy in your tax records
• Ability to accept card payments
• Added professionalism

Make sure that opening a bank account specifically for your business is one of the first things that you do before launch day. In most cases, you will need to get yourself a tax ID number to open your account. Get IRS Form SS-4 and send it off before you apply for a business account.

Step Two: Merchant Accounts

If you want to be able to accept credit card payments then you’re going to need a merchant account. This is so that when customers make a payment to you it goes directly into your bank account. There are fees involved, and some business models will struggle to find merchant services if they are entering a sector that is classed as high risk. You may also encounter difficulties if your credit history is weak. However, there are options. Look at reputable high risk credit card processing companies that specialize in providing merchant services to businesses that are considered to be higher risks due to personal financial history or because of their industry. Remember, those sectors with higher rates of chargebacks will be classed as high-risk, so make sure that you know what to expect when it comes to securing the right merchant account.

Step Three: Alternative Payments

Not all of your customers will want to pay with a credit card. You need to make sure that you offer enough payment options to satisfy the majority of your audience. One of the most popular examples is PayPal. Quick and easy to set up, having PayPal as a payment option can be very useful for reducing your shopping cart abandonment rates. You should also look at the following if you want to reduce those abandonment rates even more:

• Stripe
• Bitcoin
• Google Pay
• Square
• Apple Pay
• Venmo

The more ways that you let your customers pay, the easier you make it for them to give you money. Limit their options and they might just head elsewhere to find the payment options that they prefer.

With high levels of competition in every sector, businesses need to stay one step ahead of consumer expectations. Make sure that you have done your customer research so that you know your audience’s preferred ways of paying. The more that you know about how they want to pay, the easier it will be to prioritize the payment options that will have the most impact, and that can only be a good thing for the growth of your business and your bottom line.