I’m really torn on getting a credit card reader.
The one I wanted (PayPal Here) is no longer available in Canada. The ones that are available have hundreds of horror story reviews on BBB and other sites.
Is it worth the hassle? Am I really going to lose out on a lot of customers if I don’t have credit/debit payment option?
I use square, it’s great. Simple to use and I plug it right into my phone.
Mike Radzik
Pro Window Cleaning
Central Massachusetts
Home
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I use square also and like it. Look at it this way square is free and only cost you money if you’re making money.
Patrick
Boston Window & Blind cleaning
Square also seems to have thousands of negative reviews. I was actually leaning towards it at one point.
Found out my bank has it’s own deal, same rates, quicker payment, less chance of being Madoffed.
That’s interesting. What does your bank offer for hardware, i.e., the actual reader?
I have had zero issues with square. They are super quick to deposit funds, and they seem to be putting effort into expanding their software capability.
I have switched to HouseCall for the lower rates and the CRM capability, but I honestly like the square interface and reader better. I haven’t had much luck with the camera capture method that housecall uses (I usually end up entering everything manually [but this may also have something to do with the scratched camera lens on my lifeproof case, we’ll see]). The square dongle never failed me, and it was much quicker to use. HouseCall also takes longer to deposit funds, due to their switch to ‘swipe’ for their processing back-end.
^^ just my observations, btw.
I think accepting cards and advertising the fact that you do will definitely increase your sales / conversions. Most companies will send you a reader for free it never hurts to have a couple. I have the paypal one, and a square… Also take a look @ Stripe - they have a lot of neat payment solutions.
I had a few issues with Square, regarding card swipes.
To the point I had a conspiracy theory that they were purposely making us use the manual entry (more $.)
But then I had them send me another one, and it’s 100 times better.
The little “thingy” in the swiper that reads the card is bigger, creating a lot more tension.
Incidentally, if you pick one up at a drug store or dept store, there is a reimbursement credit for what you pay.
(so you don’t have to wait to try it out)
[MENTION=3471]Alex Lacey[/MENTION]
Same reader as other companies. Accepts AMEX, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and a Japanese one for some reason called JCB. Konichiwa!
[MENTION=1]Chris[/MENTION]
I officially started my marketing plan today so I’d settle for just one customer. 
[MENTION=1736]JfromtheD[/MENTION]
Yeah, I can pick one up from a local drug store, but not in a hurry as I don’t have any clients yet. Should be in mail in a week, so I’ll throw out that I accept CC’s on site.
I’d recommend getting one before you need it.
So you don’t feel/look like a dupe trying to figure it out.
I did that with the Housecall image/thing.
I had the husband as a contact, and it was a Mothers Day gift for wife.
She was there- he was not- we used her card- hyphenated name- who?- what?- wait a minute.
Too many ‘required’ fields staring me down.
There was no chance to just swipe, and it knew the name, address, etc…
In my current setting of me sitting relaxed, no big deal.
But “in the moment” I felt a little insecure.
And I DON’T do “insecure.”
I use the Square as well. No complaints here. I would say 90% of my clients still pay with a check anyway. I’ll also advise that there is a 3% service fee for paying with a credit card. I like having that option for my clients. Also as [MENTION=4]Alex[/MENTION]Lacey mentioned the Square is quick to deposit funds.
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Yeah, the majority of my cust pay with check/cash, too.
We really need to look into that…
[B]Some [/B]of us members have a larger portion who pay via CC.
But I bet the majority seem to do mostly checks, still.
I can’t quite put a definitive reason behind the discrepancy. 
I might be going against the grain but I don’t think it’s really critical… It might help a little but necessary? Nah… I’ve been cleaning windows for 8 years and I’ve had a total of 2 customers ask if I take credit cards. Doesn’t seem like it’s worth the hassle to me. Maybe for a big outfit it might work but if you’re a single guy don’t waste your time and money. Most resi’s pay with cash or check and commercial is 30 days out so is it worth it? Intuit might tell you it is…
The only time I would see credit card acceptance being helpful is gutter cleaning season. Around the holidays more people tend to put expenses on credit cards.
That also seems to be the time of year I am asked most often if I accept credit cards.
Hence why I looked into accepting cards and Square was the fit for me, it’s right into my phone and the transaction is done in a minute.
Mike Radzik
Pro Window Cleaning
Central Massachusetts
Home
Sent from my iPhone using Window Cleaning Resource
Makes sense…
When the majority of times, people don’t need to be home, for us to complete the job…
I can see that reasoning.
I’ve got a lot of commercial that use cards. Oh, and for houses, people are more inclined to add-ons when they can put it on the card.
Yeah, I’ve heard of people getting put on spam lists via square if you enter their email and whatnot.
Really houses add on more with the card? Okay… Stand corrected…
Careful with that. Credit card companies generally don’t allow that practice in their terms of service. You can, however, provide incentives for paying with other methods, such as a discount for cash or check payments.
Interesting. I had no idea that credit card companies don’t allow that. I guess I never really considered it or read the fine print for that matter. Usually when I mention the service fee people are understanding of why, and it usually deters them from using it. They’ll then pay with a check. I have a hard time offering a discount just to pay me. The only discount I may offer is if someone wants multiple services (window cleaning and pressure washing). I even offer it on my website, but don’t apply it until the clients asks about it. I cringe if anyone asks if I offer any discounts. Now I’m getting off topic, but I’ll have to remember the terms of service when using credit cards. Thanks!
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Yeah, I’m not crazy about discounts, either. When someone asks if we take CC, I gladly say yes, and consider the 1.99% fee as just a small cost to keeping the customer happy. If it causes our overall cost of business to go up, then so do our prices across the board. But so far the number of people paying by CC has been fairly small. It’s mostly for taking deposits over the phone.
