Prepare Yourself to Accept Credit Cards
By Mark Sandos   ©2004 All Rights Reserved

When it comes to accepting credit cards for your business it's important to make sure you've taken the necessary steps ahead of time before jumping in to purchase a merchant account. Preparing yourself will help to streamline the approval process, get your business setup faster, and save you money. The quicker you are setup, the faster you will be making sales.

Before you jump in with both feet to accept credit cards it is vitally important to make sure the company you will be dealing with is in good business standing. You need to pick a company who is truly interested in your credit card acceptance needs, not someone who is after your wallet. Here are some important tips you should follow by when narrowing down your search for a Merchant Account Provider: 1. Do they post their rates and fees clearly on their company web site? If they don't, look elsewhere. 2. Is contact information easily found? I don't just mean an application to complete, but rather a phone number and address. I don't recommend doing business with a company who hides their contact information. You may be someone who'd rather talk to a sales agent on the phone rather than completing an application online. A Merchant Account Provider should meet these contact mediums for their potential clients. 3. Don't pick a company who charges excessively high purchase prices for their processing solutions. This should be common sense. Don't be swindled into paying higher prices for the same solutions other providers charge much less for. Everyday I see people paying $500 or more for a Real-Time Internet processing solution they can get for $199 or less elsewhere, and it's the very same solution made by the same manufacturer. The fact is, if sales agents charge excessively high prices like that they are just looking out for themselves and wanting to make a quick buck. 4. Watch out for "instant merchant account setup" companies. Just recently I heard of a company debiting applicants bank accounts for solutions *before* they were even approved by the bank for a merchant account. In many cases, the people were absolutely clueless that their account was debited, up to several hundred dollars. Some of these "instant setup" companies claim to have you accepting credit cards within an hour or better. While this may be true in some cases be aware there are higher costs involved (usually several hundred dollars) to having an instant merchant account setup for you. If you end up not being approved by the Merchant Account Provider's bank it may take up to 30 days before they issue you a refund, usually minus an application decline fee. Until better regulations are developed by Visa and MasterCard it is in your best interest to stick with the traditional way of obtaining a merchant account. Most Merchant Account Providers can have you setup in a week or less. Perhaps slightly longer for non-US based businesses. While you're on your mission to finding a Merchant Account Provider, there is some important information that many providers will require of you to obtain a merchant account. The requirements from provider to provider will vary since the banks they deal with, in order to get applications approved, have their own regulations and requirements. Merchant Account Providers may require some or all of the information below in order to set you up with a merchant account. By getting this information together beforehand you'll save yourself some valuable time when it comes to the processing of your application for approval.

• 1. Business checking account and copy of voided check.
• 2. Articles of incorporation, business license or reseller license.
• 3. Pictures of business office and location.
• 4. Have a web site (if you want real-time processing).
• 5. Photocopy of your return policy information.
• 6. Provide trade references.
• 7. Photocopy of recent tax returns. May or may not be needed depending on monthly sales volume you expect.
• 8. Site inspection (have a photographer come in and take pictures of your inventory). Only a handful of providers still require this.
• 9. A reserve may be required from those who don't have good credit. If this is you, save up some money beforehand to give as a reserve.
• 10. A photocopy of your drivers license.

If you follow these tips you will most certainly save yourself some time, headaches and of course money when it comes to purchasing a credit card processing solution for your business

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MARK SANDOS , of Total Merchant Services, offers Real-Time Internet processing and wireless credit card processing solutions for only $99, plus valuable free add-on services. No hassles and minimal requirements for underwriting. Visit his site today at http://www.webpaymentsolutions.net or reach him directly at 1-877-456-8956.

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