Quickest way to get paid over the phone ?

[Jamster123]

Can I ask what you guys use for payment?

We are an electrical contractor ... a lot of our work is for domestic clients who are taking the piss a bit with payments. We do 30 days invoices foe commercial work but domestic its pay on completion.

New plan is to take card payments over the phone before our guys leave the property.

Pros and cons of this ? How long do those parents take to clear in bank ? Can anyone recommend a card machine ?

I have a basic smarphoned linked card reader currently but its basic and doesnt do payments without the card present (over phone)

Cheers

[bearman68]

Bookmarked. I was just going to ask the very same question. Best way of taking payment over the phone.

Cheers

[matt-ITR]

If its just over the phone then look into virtual terminals.

Payment will be given the OK or not instantly, but depending what company you use and what you do the payment delay is usually between a few weeks and a month. If you are unlucky like me, then 90 days.

[Phil Dicky]

I use Worldpay, virtual terminal usually in the account within 3 days Max

[Jamster123]

matt-ITR said:

If its just over the phone then look into virtual terminals.

Payment will be given the OK or not instantly, but depending what company you use and what you do the payment delay is usually between a few weeks and a month. If you are unlucky like me, then 90 days.

Weeks/Month! Im looking to get payments within a day/days.

Our client are encouraged to pay by online bank transfer. Most transactions are around £2-4k and there a few a week so its decent amount, but Im getting all the excuses... computer broke etc etc.

Cheques bit of a pita too. we rely on cashflow to cover overhead, so weeks/month not an option.

[matt-ITR]

Jamster123 said:

Weeks/Month! Im looking to get payments within a day/days.

It completely depends on what you are selling, but most merchants will hold back payment for some time to reduce the risk their end of chargebacks. You will know if the payment has cleared or not, so its safe to post something out if that is what you are worried about.

If you keep your account in good standing then expect that to come down on renewal.
If you are not a risk at all, then it will be a matter of days. But "risk" is determined by what you sell more than you/your business.

[DSLiverpool]

I assume you quote on jobs? If so make payment terms clear at the quote and that upon completion possibly a senior manager comes to sign off the job and take final payment which is by debit card or transfer.
Use paypal pro or your banks card service - ask your bank but communicate your terms at the quote stage

[glasgowrob]

We use gprs and fixed terminals for our stuff in both businesses (retail shop) and a taxi company). Our payments are at latest the next working day and if we take the payments early enough same day

That's with Elavon although we had the same experience with world pay

[Ken Figenus]

I wouldn't pay any contractor before they even turned up, but could PayPal also be a solution for you if you want to go that way? They are usually very quick to give you the funds and its easy to use. Otherwise its cash before you leave the job as fairs fair.

[JimmyConwayNW]

Mobile terminal taken to the job and card payment made before leaving property?

[Jamster123]

glasgowrob said:

We use gprs and fixed terminals for our stuff in both businesses (retail shop) and a taxi company). Our payments are at latest the next working day and if we take the payments early enough same day

That's with Elavon although we had the same experience with world pay

Thanks Rob, That sounds more like what I need.

We have squads of tradesman working in clients houses, I know Ill have difficulty getting the guys to use the card reader etc, so my thoughts are they just get the client to call the office, we take payment over the phone and its in the bank the next day.

Our payment terms are on our invoices and estimates.... I even have a contract for clients to sign, with clear terms... many just ignore it. We take a deposit then request the full amount on completion, even allowing a retainer if any issues arise... yet we are still waiting on over 6k from last week.

Short of going to their doors, what can I do ? They know the contract means st, and its not like Im going to go legal on them for a payment late by one week. So best option I think is pay before we leave.

When I was a one man band, they would pay on completion... It seems now they think we are more established they don't need to pay us!

Edited by Jamster123 on Sunday 8th November 21:50

[matt-ITR]

Ken Figenus said:

I wouldn't pay any contractor before they even turned up, but could PayPal also be a solution for you if you want to go that way? They are usually very quick to give you the funds and its easy to use. Otherwise its cash before you leave the job as fairs fair.

Paypal will put a hold on your account once you reach a certain turnover and its a real ballache to get back to normal.

But something like Worldpay Zinc might work.

[essayer]

Look at izettle, proper card machine which links with an iPhone/etc. Fees might be high for what you do though.

[Wombat3]

Jamster123 said:

glasgowrob said:

We use gprs and fixed terminals for our stuff in both businesses (retail shop) and a taxi company). Our payments are at latest the next working day and if we take the payments early enough same day

That's with Elavon although we had the same experience with world pay

Thanks Rob, That sounds more like what I need.

We have squads of tradesman working in clients houses, I know Ill have difficulty getting the guys to use the card reader etc, so my thoughts are they just get the client to call the office, we take payment over the phone and its in the bank the next day.

Our payment terms are on our invoices and estimates.... I even have a contract for clients to sign, with clear terms... many just ignore it. We take a deposit then request the full amount on completion, even allowing a retainer if any issues arise... yet we are still waiting on over 6k from last week.

Short of going to their doors, what can I do ? They know the contract means st, and its not like Im going to go legal on them for a payment late by one week. So best option I think is pay before we leave.

When I was a one man band, they would pay on completion... It seems now they think we are more established they don't need to pay us!

Sounds like card processing is what you need but beware of the costs (and aggravation of setting it up!) . Different cards get charged for at different rates. A Visa card is not just a Visa card - you will get charged more for something like a store-backed or loyalty type visa card than you will for a standard, plain-Jane bank issued card for example. Paypal is (IMO) very expensive, Amex can be extortionate. Their rates seem to depend on what business/sector you are in. I took an Amex payment (once) it cost me 5% - and they deduct their fees from the balance they send you (which is a ball-ache from an accounting point of view). Company credit cards also cost more to process than personal ones.

Worldpay will not quote you rates over the phone , they will insist that someone MUST come out & see you (and then it will take 10 days-2 weeks to get an appointment) .....its just "Janet & John do sales" rubbish.

A certain bank with a dancing donkey on its logo were appallingly slow and wasted our time for nearly 8 weeks when we were setting up a new business. Ended up sat here twiddling our thumbs unable to take a payment all because of a small correction that was needed on an application form. Would they correct the thing and move on? Oh no, insisted we complete all the forms again and go back to the beginning of the process and the back of the queue. In the meantime another card processing company came and completed the job in not much more than a week. Some satisfaction taken in telling said bank what to do with itself.

Edited by Wombat3 on Monday 9th November 09:14

[The Moose]

Remember that anything you do over the telephone will give you no chargeback protection at all.

[Akiraprise]

The Moose said:

Remember that anything you do over the telephone will give you no chargeback protection at all.

I was just going to mention that. There's no way I would be taking a few K over the phone!

[RJD223]

We use, and have done for years, these guys...

http://www.handepay.co.uk

Would echo the comment about not taking thousands over the phone. Definitely best to chip and pin it.

HTH

[Jamster123]

essayer said:

Look at izettle, proper card machine which links with an iPhone/etc. Fees might be high for what you do though.

Thats what I have just now its not much use.. Cant do over phone ? and linking with smartphone is pita.

Can you guys explain the risk of taking £Ks over the phone ?