Starting a small-business delivery service. How should I accept credit cards?
Hello and thank you for reading my question. I am starting a small local business that will involve me picking up and delivering to-go food from restaurants to my clients. I would like to accept payment in cash, check or credit card. Cash and check would be easy, as I could just take it upon delivering the food. Credit cards however, are leaving me a little puzzled. I am a bit familiar with Paypal, but have only used it as a buyer on eBay. Should I have them give me their credit card number/exp date over the phone and then type it in to process on Paypal my own? Should I send them some kind of Paypal e-mail invoice? What would you suggest? I’m looking for a method that is safe and secure, but also efficient and easy for the client. Thanks.
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3 comments
Tom G on March 7, 2010 at 8:42 pm
Most banks offer a credit card processing service.
Try: https://www.wellsfargo.com/biz/merchant/options/credit
Yahoo small business has this guide: http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/r-article-a-2018-m-1-sc-10-credit_card_processing_buyers_guide-i
Yabbadabbadoo on March 7, 2010 at 8:42 pm
Processing an invoice will simply not work for your kinda business.
Paypal now do a virtual terminal where you take all the details much the same as if you had a real terminal but you in put the details on line.
Cost are very similar to a regular terminal except you dont have the terminal rental or purchase cost.
The down side I see is you would need to be able to log on when mobile to ensure customers cards are authorized before completing deliveries so you’d need a laptop with you at alll times or go for a regular mobile (seriously you can take it in the car with you) card machine from the banks.
Pembroke on March 7, 2010 at 8:42 pm
But you’re not selling the food, the to-go shop is, so why when someone places an order and wants to pay by card do they not just read the number over the phone to the shop when they place the order?
It’s surely up to the shop to pay you for the service not the person you’re delivering to, apart from tips of course. I assume you’re not relying solely on tips for your pay are you ?
The way it should work is that the food costs X from the shop but if someone wants it delivered then it’s X+Y, Y being your delivery charge. The client them pays the shop, either by giving you cash / check which you collect on delivery or by paying the shop with a card over the phone. The shop then pays you out of the money that they’ve been paid.
Unless that is, it’s you aim to setup a generic to-go shop, where you would take an order then go out and buy it from the cheapest to-go shop in the area and deliver it but that would be very complicated.