Hi, all! I could really use some advice. I’m currently working on
off icially registering as a business (which I plan on having
finished before my shows start) and as I’m picking up more shows
would really like to get set up to accept credit cards. I know there
are a couple different ways to do this and several different
companies that offer these services. Are there any you would suggest
I look into? I would really prefer some kind of a card reader
(wireless as not all of my shows have electricity) so as to know
sooner rather then later whether a card is bad or not. Any advice you
can give me is greatly appreciated! Thank you!
The only downside is that you need a smart phone. But, the card
reader is free. There is no monthly charge, they charge a per cent of
your sales and that is it. For all the details visit the site. I used
it at my last craft show and really liked it, it is very easy and
quick.
Good Luck with your business, it is a lot of work, but it is also a
lot of fun and tremendous satisfaction when customers ‘oooh and ahhh’
over your work! And, then buy it!
I have recently signed up for ‘Squared Up’. I haven’t had a chance
to use it yet, but the policies seem pretty straight forward, and it
was easy to register. My hair dresser just got it, also. He was able
to email my receipt to me -
Free app for your phone, free card reader that fits on your phone,
and it will take any credit card. 2.75% per transaction, no monthly
fees. Ihad to dump my merchant program for it was costing too much in
hefty monthly fees. The simplicity of Square is hard to beat. Just
make sure you can get wireless reception. You can manually key in the
credit card number, but it will be a 3.5% transaction rate plus. 15
cents. I have Square and it’s really convenient. Hope that helps.
I am in Australia & in the same situation as you. We are mobile as
well. We have a wireless Eftpos machine supplied ( for a fee of
course) from our bank.
The cost per month for the service varies considerably so it pays to
shop around, It sure increases sales.
We can accept a large range of credit cards & eftpos.
The Square works with both wifi and 3G. I have used it only a few
times, but am really excited about the way it works. I have a
conventional credit card terminal that I use for my website and I use
the Square when I do trunk shows for my jewelry. It works with both
my iPhone and iPad. You have to enter the card verification number to
use the Square, but my Yahoo! store won’t let me generate that number
from the website so I have to use the conventional terminal for
website orders. I look forward to being able to use it for everything
because there are no monthly fees, only the transaction fees. But for
now I have to use both.
I use square with my 3G Droid X. Works perfectly wherever I have
reception, which has been everywhere I have been. I have had Square
for about 6 months just to be sure it would work well for me and am
now going to drop my merchant account. Why pay a monthly fee when I
don’t have to. Try it, the little device is free and easy to set up.
With Square, is there any way to print a receipt at the point of
sale?
My customers are mostly older and expect a credit card receipt; some
don’t even have email. I currently use Way System with a tiny
wireless credit card terminal and very small printer.
The Square Up credit card processing account sounds great, but there
are quite a few scathing reviews online. Apparently there is a $1000
weekly limit, and anything over that is held for 30 days. Is this
true? Also, bad customer service reviews (and I mean really bad!).
Can anyone verify or refute this? Also, any experience with Intuit
GoPayment?
My experience is with the square and I love the it! Fits in perfectly
with my “geekery” line; most customers comment on its uniqueness. The
square itself is free, the program is easy to use on my iphone and
only 2.75% of each sale (or 3.5% +15 if you enter it). Program allows
you email or text your customer receipts. Can’t beat that. The only
issue would be no signal or wifi to take transactions, in this case
you’d have to take down customer and enter them in
manually later.
I just read that the company is doing well beyond expectancy so I
would hope their customer service would get better from their growth.
I know I emailed them a question they got back to me that day.
As far as the $1,000 weekly limit call customer service and they can
work with you on that concern.
With Square you can email OR text a receipt to the customer. The
text gets to them immediately. They find that really cool. If they
want a paper receipt, get a cash receipt book from Office Depot and
write them one out. My customers have been happy with that
arrangement. Some don’t want any receipt at all.
When I get home from the show, I have emails that x amount of $ was
deposited into my square account. Then about Monday or so it is in
my bank account.
If you are in a bad reception area, you can take down the card
number and enter it by hand later. The rate is just slightly higher
to hand enter the number. In doing that, you don’t have immediate
verification that the card will be authorized. That is your risk.
You CAN take phone orders/email orders by doing the above. Make sure
the emails are encrypted and secure if you do so.
If you want to keep track of your CASH intake you can add that into
your square ap also. Then at the end of the week/month/ whatever…
Square will have a spreadsheet of it all for you.
NEW sellers are restricted to the $1000 a week. After 30 days the
rest of the money is deposited into the bank account. They will
increase your amount. There is a FAQ area at squareup.com.
I am real happy with it. I had to upgrade my telephone. Right now it
only works on i-phone/i-pad or Droid-based phones. I didn’t have to
buy anything from Square or pay any monthly fees. I only pay the %
when I make a charge, and that % is cheaper than the other credit
card companies that do make you either buy/lease a machine and pay
fees.
I know many, many people who use Square and they are all very
satisfied. They have made lots of improvements since they first
began. As with all start ups, there are kinks to work out. They have
made changes. Check them out, the price is right, and it works just
fine. I believe the limit has been discontinuedand, any way, even
before, the limit was negotible. I know many people that had it
dropped when they requested it. I believe customer service will also
improve as time goes on. It probably grew faster than they
imagined.A detailed receipt can be emailed to the customer, all you
need to do is enter their email address. When I use mine, I still
hand write a receipt for the customer.
I can’t print the credit card receipt for my Square, but I do give
each sale a handwritten receipt indicating a credit card payment (I
only copy the last four numbers of the credit card on the receipt).
So far I have had only one customer not on the internet and with her
it was no problem.
I also read those reviews before I signed up for Square. I belong to
a local craft group and the opinions within that group about Square
were very positive and all from people who use the Square system.
It is true about holding any amount over $1000 for 30 days, and this
might be a bit of a disadvantage, but remember there are no
monthly/annual fees only the percent per transaction fees.
I have not needed their support yet, co I can’t comment on that.
Remember, you can cancel anytime, the reader is free… worth a
try, no?
(Not affiliated with Square, just like the service.)
Sandra G.
I have not found a way to print a receipt directly, customers can
have the receipt emailed to them on the spot. And it only takes a
second to enter an email address. You can also snap a picture of
their purchase to include with the email.
One of the security issues for customers is that once their card is
swiped and email address entered (if they want a receipt) the
is locked up and you, the merchant, can not access that
you can still issue a refund after a sale has been
made, but that is a transparent action.
My customers liked the Square system, and had no problems with me
entering their email address. I told my customers that I had no
access to their once the transaction is completed.
It’s more expensive but you might want to give Teamac Inc. a call.
This merchant account company focuses solely on artists and won’t
steer you wrong. They do have fees but the equipment you get is
topnotch. They will help you understand PCI compliance and assist you
with the survey. Their customer service is second to none. They’ve
been patient and spent many hours talking with me as I get set to do
my first shows. I have come across other jewelry artists using Square
Up and they were happy with it but when asked about PCI
compliance… did not have a clue. That was kind of scary.