Getting your franchise ready to accept its’ customers’ credit cards isn’t hard, but it does require some research and planning. While it is true that every franchise establishment will have unique issues with accepting their customers’ credit cards, it is usually recommended to get a franchise quickly set up, then address issues with processing as they come up.
Franchise owners should start by researching a variety of merchant account processors. Most franchises in retail based industries will conduct the vast majority of their business in their store front. Owners of this type of franchise business will probably need a basic merchant account service that can handle a high volume of transactions everyday from the same location.
There are some franchise owners, however, that will need to accept payments from their customers while they make deliveries or sell their products and services in off-site areas such as craft fairs and food shows. These businesses will need a merchant account service that can handle transactions in multiple areas and on multiple devices.
Finally, there are some franchises that will conduct business through a website. An internet merchant account will need to be provided to process the credit cards that customers use to pay for goods and services online. New franchise owners are encouraged to carefully consider the type or types of credit card processing that their franchise requires, then start looking for a merchant account processor that will meet these needs.
Comparing processing services between credit card processors can be difficult. Credit card processing services charge different fees for different types of services. Furthermore, each company has different payment formulas that are used to determine how much a business owner will pay. For example, some processing services will charge a franchise owner a flat monthly rate or fee in order to be able to access the service.
There are also credit card processing services that charge a fee for each credit card payment that it processes. These fees can equal a pre-set percentage of the total amount of the transaction, a flat rate per transaction, or a combination of both.
Deciding which fee scheme is the right fit for a business will be dependent on the total amount of its monthly transactions and the average amount of its’ sales. Since many retail based franchises have a high number of relatively small transactions, it usually makes the most sense for a new franchise location to find a merchant account processor that bases their charges on a portion of the total sale amount.
