Credit cards can be a sensitive subject for many pet sitting businesses. The fees cut into already slim profit margins, but most clients expect to be able to pay with plastic. What's the best thing to do? Well, it depends on what you do for a living. In today's blog post, we'll talk more about the pros and cons of accepting credit cards for your pet sitting business.
Let's start with a good thing about it. By accepting credit cards, you show that your business is legitimate. People carry credit cards because they trust both the businesses that gave them out and the businesses that accept them as payment. Credit cards are also much easier for your customers to use than cash or checks. Here at Scout, our processor partners can safely store your customers' credit card information so that you can start the transaction. What could be easier for your customers? You can also give your customers more options about how to pay if you accept credit cards.
On the other hand, credit cards can be hard to understand. With the help of companies like PayPal, Braintree, Stripe, and Venmo, it is getting easier and easier to accept credit cards. However, it is still not as easy as cash or a check (unless you count the trip to the bank!). Several of these innovative credit card processors have teamed up with our pet sitting software to make it as easy as possible for our clients to accept credit cards.
Another good thing about credit cards is that they can level the playing field and give you access to customers you didn't have before. Some pet owners prefer or need to pay by credit card, and if your biggest competitor takes plastic and you don't, you're at a disadvantage. No matter how big or small your business is, you can even increase your score by getting credit cards.
Fees are the most annoying thing about credit cards. The processing company charges a fee every time a business uses a credit card. Most of the time, the fees are less than 3%, and a flat rate of $0.30 is often one of them. Some processing companies may also charge a fee for the smallest number of transactions or a fee every month. Given that their profit margins are already small, some pet sitters may decide that the cost of accepting credit cards is greater than the benefits.
At Scout, we've worked hard to make sure that our pet sitting software can accept credit cards. It makes it easy for our clients to schedule visits, send out invoices, and get paid as soon as possible. We think that any pet sitting business should be able to take credit cards.