OK to Charge Credit Card Transaction Fees in Some States

One of the (many) confusing aspects of merchant services (credit and debit card processing services) is how to cover the costs. A typical merchant can be charged anywhere from 1.6% all the way up to 5% as a transaction fee (depends on business or personal credit history, type of products sold, and what type of credit or debit card is being used).

As of today, you can now charge a transaction fee for customers using credit cards instead of cash or debit cards (pin-based) in 40 states.  I honestly would not advise doing this - better to build the cost of credit card processing into your target margins than tack on additional fee's that may upset some customers.

Here is a link with more information as well as which states allow you to add a credit card transaction fee: http://www.ibtimes.com/new-credit-card-transaction-fees-list-states-charging-4-surcharge-checkout-fee-1042384

Are you in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice? I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (mountain time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com.

Microsoft RMS Store Operations and NCR CounterPoint Summits

Just a quick note that there are some 'summits' taking place over the new few days related to new features and enhancements for Microsoft RMS Store Operations and NCR CounterPoint point of sale software programs. Details will be posted as soon as they become available!

Are you in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice? I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (mountain time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com.

Recording Customer Comments in Retail Point of Sale Software

Want to make a quick note about a customer? QuickBooks Point of Sale Pro, Microsoft RMS Store Operations, and NCR CounterPoint all have a place where you can record notes or comments about a customer. While this is not designed to be full blown CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software, it is a helpful way to keep internal notes about a customer or specific account. Here are some details and screen shots for each of the point of sale software programs:

QuickBooks Point of Sale Pro users can find the Customer Notes field only when editing customer information. The screen looks like this:

Microsoft Retail Management Systems (RMS) Store Operations users have more flexibility since the notes can be accessed any time that you are looking at customer properties (look for the “Additional” tab):

NCR CounterPoint users will find the customer notes window under the Zoom function when searching for customers:

 

Note that these fields are for general on-going notes about a customer or account. In a future Tuesday Tip, I will cover how to add notes or comments to a specific sale.

Are you in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice? I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (mountain time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com.