Customer payments

[needasparks]

Have been toying with the idea of getting and using a sim card payment machine and wanted to know if anyone else using yet and of any downsides of it.
Poor cashflow is the main killer to a lot of small companies, more so in a slow time of year. I know banks keep saying cheques are going (can't see it myself) but knowing the money is clearing rather than waiting to see if cheque bounces has got to be a good thing.
I understand there are only three main companies offering the process, streamline seems the biggest but the charges for using seem to out weight the service.
cheapest i've seen is about £35 a month plus charges but offering this stops the hang it out before paying brigade. How do others feel about this ?

 

[chronyx]

A bit of a bodgey but cheaper method would be PayPal. You could a get a cheap laptop with a 3G dongle and process payment online that way. Of course not everyone use PayPal...but a good percentage do!

 

[D80]

I've looked at paypal, but a bit worried that a cock of a customer could try to revoke payment.

 

[chronyx]

A customer would never do that, surely?

(Good point!)

 

[Mark_Burgess]

Just keep the passenger seat empty and clean, then drive them to the bank, cash point, friends, family or where ever the cash is.

 

[Hiddo]

I've looked at it but seemed a bit expensive. I will keep looking for a cheaper alternative though because I think it's the way forward.

 

[RISElectrical]

Barclaycard are priced similarly. For the portable unit works out about £25pm and 3% on transactions with a minimum £10.. The £25pm seems ok but 3% seems a bit steep, especially when people are wanting to pay less and less and im trying to keep charging the same. I really like the idea tho.

In fact looking at it another way, customer asks if i take card, i say no and either (a) take a cheque that could bounce or (b) wait until they return from a cash point which is 30 mins of my time that i could be on the way to another job etc. so if you are £30 an hour and you wait another 30 mins for payment youve just lost out on £15 for the cost of a 3% charge...

That said its just another item for me to lose or leave onsite somewhere

 

[geordie]

I have a barclaycard mobile terminal been using it for a few months now. Its the best thing i have done. No waiting for cheques to clear payment in my account in 2 working days. Customers like it saves them having to have large sums of cash in the house.

 

[RISElectrical]

I have a barclaycard mobile terminal been using it for a few months now. Its the best thing i have done. No waiting for cheques to clear payment in my account in 2 working days. Customers like it saves them having to have large sums of cash in the house.

Do you mind me asking how much it is monthly as the site seems confusing with the offers. I'm quite tempted by the idea

Thanks
Rick

 

[TaffyDuck]

Its a good idea, maybe I should take one into the accounts department at Welsh Water. Had a cheque saturday for an invoice I issued on 11th November 2011. Thats 3 months and 2 weeks. They are a "not for profit" organisation. I didn`t realise that it meant "not for my profit".

 

[RWJ]

We can take Paypal, google and credit cards and have an online payment thingie. Due to the services our related companies offer we've taken cards for about 8 - 9 years

 

[D80]

Got free business banking atm, so cheques or cash in is free.

A percentage of earning to taxman, another percentage to NI. Flatly refusing to pay another percentage just for the right to get paid!! Especially with monthly fee on top, banks need to provide a decent alternative to cheques if they want to phase them out.

 

[Plonker 3]

Its the 21st century, just about everyone has on-line banking so surely a bank transfer is the way forward?

 

[1shortcircuit]

Its the 21st century, just about everyone has on-line banking so surely a bank transfer is the way forward?

I use this method but only after I have weighed up the client and even then my arse twitches to the thought of one day going to my bank account and finding it's been cleaned out. Having said that I have two business accounts and two personal accounts and I never keep all of the same eggs in one basket