Credit card statistics show that there are 1.8 billion active credit cards in the United States, with an average of three cards owned per card holder. This means that having the ability to process debit and credit card payments from your customers on-site wherever you or your staff are selling is very important whether you’re an artisan, small retail business owner, tradesman, or consultant.
Using a mobile point-of-sale (POS) solution in conjunction with an iPad credit card reader, you can start accepting card payments from any location as long as your mobile device has access to an Internet connection. Thanks to mobile POS vendors, it is now easy to set up such a system and add an affordable card reader that is compatible with the iPad. This solution has already proven to be beneficial to various businesses.
Challenge for Buyers and Sellers
When going to a farmers’ market, fairs, or trade shows, many customers do bring cash with them. Taking cash to such events provides an easy way to stick to a spending budget. However, because of this very purpose, buyers typically bring just the amount they are planning to spend.
Usually, it turns out that customers will either stumble on a single item that costs more than what they have in cash, or they find more items that they just need to buy. Without enough cash, buyers have two options—run to the nearest ATM or use their credit or debit card. In almost all cases, taking out the plastic would be the preferred option.
But what if the vendor only accepts cash or checks? This is where the challenge for sellers arises, because for sure this would be a disappointing scenario for a customer. The seller can hope the customer will just look for an ATM to withdraw money and return to his or her store but, in many cases, the customer will simply just walk away and look for alternatives. Opportunities are then missed for both the buyer and the seller.
In addition to this, sellers also face another challenge with cash-based and paper-based sales. It is crucial that they keep their books in order to track their sales and calculate their profits. This manual system involves not only very good math skills but also careful attention to details and organization. Figures have to be constantly double checked to ensure accurate records of profits and losses.Needless to say, bookkeeping is a time-consuming task that requires serious attention.
The Solution
Through mobile POS technology, sellers can accommodate customers’ needs for flexible payment options, particularly credit and debit card payments. An iPad credit card reader integrated with a POS system enables electronic payments with just a swipe of the card. Simply plug the device into an iPad’s headphone jack and start swiping. The services offered by mobile POS providers are economical and can be deployed quickly, requiring no long-term contract agreement.
Its ease of use and mobility have made the iPad credit card readermore and more popular with big retailers and even small artisan vendors selling handmade items or homemade treats. Vendors of all sizes are aware of the existing need for mobile credit card processing, and they are taking steps to get good business by turning their iPads to POS terminals and card processors.
For example, in the restaurant business, servers are being equipped with iPads for quick payment processing, to get customer feedback, notify patrons of offers, or provide coupons. The software also enables quick menu access to quickly answer customer questions, especially when it comes to allergy concerns. In this industry, themove towards mobile POS is happening particularly in brand-new restaurants that would like to take advantage of the portability and low cost of an iPad POS and card reader solution, with its low monthly fees and minimal credit card rates.
The Outcome
Obviously, any retailer will gain more business when they don’t have to insist on cash payments only. Having that one convenience will increase profits and will only set a business towards future growth. Also, by employing Shopify’smobile POS technology, digital sales will make things easier for a vendor. For example, one shoe retailerused an iPad POS system to tie up his offline and online store inventory. This has resulted in accurate inventory count and no more lost orders.
With eCommerce technology, all sales will be saved digitally and instantly and, if a cloud-based solution is chosen, there will be no worries about making backups because this can be done automatically. Manual data entry and bookkeeping will be replaced by an automated process that is up-to-date and accurate, giving vendors a complete view of inventory and other business metrics. Using a mobile POS with a card reader will make it easy for vendors not only to accept both cash and electronic payments but also to keep track of them.
