ForumsStarting a Business

Hello Atlanta,

I'm in the biz. Perhaps I could help point you in the right direction.

#1, it would help to know what sort of business you are in. I glanced at your website, I gather you are in the consulting business and do internet as opposed to face-to-face retail....is this correct? These are important factors to know. #1, an internet merchant account is a totally different animal than a retail account. #2, consultants may or may not be writable by certain processors due to chargeback risk factors.

The one biggest error you need to avoid is shopping on the basis of percentage rates, since you mentioned that as one of your criteria. You need to really understand discount rates and the concept of Interchange.. Suffice to say that the lowest discount rate usually does NOT translate to the lowest cost of processing, actually quite the opposite. It's all about 'packaging', you can really shoot yourself in the foot if you don't understand processing pricing structures which is what Interchange is. If you'd like to expand on this conversation, let me know.

If you are looking for integration with QuickBooks and are in fact an internet merchant, I can give you a pretty good recommendation right now. QB merchant services obviously offers the best integration with their own software, plus in includes a secure gateway at no additional charge...otherwise you're looking at setup fees and $20 extra per month or so with Authorize.net or Verisign. Their numbers are competeitive, $17.95 per month and $59.95 setup. However,via our affiliate QB site we can reduce those numbers to $12.95 per month with no setup fee . The site is: http://www.merchantservices-help.com/quickbooks.html
Give it a peek and ask away with questions.

The Bank of America processin program is a good choice as well. If you do your merchant account at the same bank as your checking account, in this case B of A, you'll get the advantage of having your monies deposited into your account one day faster than with an external merchant account. But....at a steep price moneywise. Understand that going directly to your bank for a merchant account does NOT get you better pricing on the merchant account as one might think. Actually, all it does is add an additional middleman to the pricing structure (i.e. the referral fees to the bank) which raises your cost of processing credit cards since the bank functions only as a referral source, they have nothing to do with the actual processing because that is a totally different industry.

Anyway, hopefully I've given you a little info to digest. There are many esteemed members of the merchant services community active in this forum who you are sure to hear from and learn a lot. Feel free to call on any of us if you have any questions. Good luck

AMSPCS
amspcs@juno.com
www.MerchantServices-help.com
1-877-689-1691 toll free

I'd be happy to offer some ideas. First, please provide me with a little info:

Where are you located?
Projected # of credit card transactions per month
Do you have processing equipment?
If so, what kind? Terminal or POS system.

You can either reply via this forum, or via my direct email, please see below. Thanks.

AMSPCS
amspcs@juno.com
www.MerchantServices-help.com

You're welcome. Name is Barry. AMSPCS is my forum name, obviously.

Not sure I understood your explanation of requirements completely. If I read you correctly, you're not
interested in paying for equipment but need reliable on-line method of processing. Again, I would refer you to the QuickBooks site which has everything you need: A reliable processor, included virtual terminal, software included, etc. It comes with the gateway,but since it's free you don't have to use it. However, should you ever decide to get in to internet processing, it would be convenient to know it's there and it's no cost. And with no contract or termination fees, virtually impossible to go wrong.

If you decide you must go with a B of A system, we have something underwritten by B of A via SignaPay called "Dial Pay", which is sort of a throwback to the olden days when all processing was done over the telephone. I don't recommend it if you plan on doing more than a few transactions a month--it's a little tedious punching in all those numbers on a telephone keypad.

In closing, we represent a lot of major league underwriters, including Bank of America (SignaPay), HSBC Bank (NAB), Wells Fargo (Paymerica), Intuit, and others. I still feel strongly that the QB program fits your needs like a glove. Do yourself a favor and have a peek:when you have a chance:

http://www.merchantservices-help.com/quickbooks.html

"In regards to your comment "but interested in the Terminal option". I am assuming you are referring to the virtual terminal option which is the free add-on to the QuickBooks merchant account.

If so, you may review the terms and fees and apply online at this site:

http://www.merchantservices-help.com/quickbooks.html

Just cut & paste to your browser (works best on Internet Explorer) and scroll down to the "click here to appy for a QuickBooks Merchant account..." link. You'll see FAQ links on the right hand side, the application link on the left.

You'll note this is the affiliate QB qpplication site with lower pricing than the QB direct site. For example, the direct site charges $17.95 per month, the affiliate site $12.95. The direct site charges $59.95 signup,the affiliate site charges nothing. And the affiliate site offers the free software, you have to buy it on the direct site. I have no idea why the direct site is so much more expensive than their own affiliates can charge, but it is.

If this is NOT what you meant and you were referring to the "Dial Pay' solution, please so advise. Thanks and good luck.

BarryG
AMSPCS
www.MerchantServices-help.com
amspcs@juno.com

Hi Barry, I was only kidding about the scree name. I definitely am interserted looking in to what QB has to offer. Yes, I don't want to lease or purchase process equipmnet if I don't have to. I will check out QB when I have the chance and let you know.

Thanks much,

Hi,

Would the Quickbook merchant svc. acct. work with Onlineauction.com? They don't get involved in the $ transaction & they don't really have any restrictions, like ebay does. They state that the $ arrangement is whatever the seller offers as means of payment. Would a link be all that's needed on the item listing?

Thxs

Bill

Good morning, Bill. I got the definitive answer, which is "Yes", Onlineauction will work just fine with the QB merchant service account and built in gateway-. I got this straight from the horse's mouth at onlineauction.com, spoke with John Graham at 800-900-2828 ext 2828.

I suggest you commumicate with me via my biz email (see below) since there is no need to continue to
make our conversations public at this point. Thanks!

Barry G
amspcs@juno.com
AMSPCS
www.MerchantServices-help.com