My bad experience starting my business

[nightkingdoms]

Sorry to hear about all of this, man, it sucks. I wanted to provide a little info on what I did, maybe save some people the time and money from these kinds of companies.

When I was starting my company, directly after getting my approval from the corporation commission I got a bank account for my business. The next thing I knew I had to have was a multitude of payment options. I figured one of the best things to do was to be able to accept anything, anytime. Cash is easy, of course. With the bank account I can accept checks in the company's name, same with money orders or other paper-type payments. Credit cards was the sticky one. I had a PayPal and Google Checkout account, but that was online, not in person.

I already had a smartphone (Android) and at the time Square wasn't really big yet. Intuit's GoPayment, however, was. They had commercials on TV, easy to spot. They give you this big, clumsy-looking thing you shove into the top of your phone's headphone jack for free, too. That wasn't exactly what interested me about the service, though.

The thing that interested me was the fact that they gave you a full merchant account: for free. On top of that, because I have other associates in different states with my business, I needed a way to process credit cards on other phones like Blackberry's, iPhones and using mobile web if they didn't have a smartphone -- GoPayment did that. Best of all, it allows you to key-in transactions online as well so I could take online orders through my web site without having the whole PCI compliance issues with saving the 3-digit CCV number. (Note: Square can't process transactions without the CCV number, GoPayment can with address verification at the same rate.) It just gave me more options.

I eventually started using Square and I love it for taking cards on-site. I still have the clunky GoPayment reader but it's never been out of its box since I played around with it a little when I got it. I go on the Intuit's site for the merchant account and authorize credit cards if I receive an online order and it's not through PayPal or Google Checkout, or even payments over the phone. I also added eCheck processing for $9.95/month simply because I'm about 150+ miles away from the nearest branch of my bank and e-processing is just quicker and more-efficient for me.

All in all is this: I use GoPayment to give me the ability to have a full merchant account which they provide for free. I added eCheck processing for a small fee every month that's taken out of the deposits when it comes that time of the month (e.g. never had to send them a payment for anything, which is awesome). I use Square for on-site processing exclusively. So I actually have 4 ways to take a credit card (Square, GoPayment, PayPal, Google Checkout), I can process checks in as little as 3 days, and I have a cash box with $250 in it for change on-site. Minus the money for the cash box, I have full capability to take literally any kind of payment for a total of $9.95 per month.

Hope this helps you while looking for other processing companies (and anybody else starting out).

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

I have made tens of thousands of dollars worth of mistakes and it burns my butt when I think of the toys I could have bought with those mistakes, but truth is we all make mistakes and so long as we are making 10x more money than we do mistakes we are way ahead.

I worked for a car dealer through college and asked my boss why does the dealer get so ****** when we are making so much money? HE said that the dealer has more mistakes and screw ups when we are busy and he chooses to focus on the mistakes rather than the bottom line. His bottom line was very ample.

So I remembered that 30 years. Now when I see a mistake and I am about to throw a fit or tyraid I look at the money in the bank, P&L for the last 12 months, 6 months, 3 months and then I usually feel better. If I need to make a new policy or different decision I make it with a clear head and then move forward but I seldom beat myself up over the small things anymore. And its all small things.

 

[coffee]

Thank you for the great advice. You know, You can be the best tech or whatever in the world and make one mistake that costs dearly.

Ill keep this thread updated so other beginners can see what you can go thru if you make the charge card mistake.

"And remember folks! Charge.com is NOT your friend and should be avoided at all costs".

 

[JAG Computers]

"And remember folks! Charge.com is NOT your friend and should be avoided at all costs".

Just curious as to the why? Not that I am using them. Been using squareup.

 

[coffee]

Just curious as to the why? Not that I am using them. Been using squareup.

1. They do not disclose the actual cost of doing business with them.

2. They do not like to return your calls.

3. They still have not cancelled my account even though I have completed their paperwork to do so. They have now are still charging me for this month.

4. According to other various posts across the net they withhold funds for various reasons and do not release them to the merchant for extended periods of time.

Is this enough? Read thru the previous posts here and you can get a more accurate picture.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

Thank you for the great advice. You know, You can be the best tech or whatever in the world and make one mistake that costs dearly.

Ill keep this thread updated so other beginners can see what you can go thru if you make the charge card mistake.

"And remember folks! Charge.com is NOT your friend and should be avoided at all costs".

The biggest cost to you is not the money you have spent or will spend to get out of this deal. The biggest cost is all the time, energy and resources you are taking away from your focus of making money starting your own company. Don't let this make you timid when it comes to making money, charge ahead and this will be a distant memory in the rear view mirror. Failing to refocus on the positive future can make this the one thing that was the beginning of the end for your dream.

 

[JAG Computers]

1. They do not disclose the actual cost of doing business with them.

2. They do not like to return your calls.

3. They still have not cancelled my account even though I have completed their paperwork to do so. They have now are still charging me for this month.

4. According to other various posts across the net they withhold funds for various reasons and do not release them to the merchant for extended periods of time.

Is this enough? Read thru the previous posts here and you can get a more accurate picture.

Have they finally closed the account? Or are they still giving you the run around?

 

[coffee]

Hi xxxxxx,



Yes, this email confirms that your account is now closed. Your processor bills you for service in arrears, so you should receive your final bill for services this week if you haven’t already. This is your bill for your final month of service, and you won’t be billed monthly fees again.



Warm regards,



Rachel

Merchant Support

I bet its closed. Bunch of mooching liars. They decided they needed a rate increase and already billed my account for Nov for 69 bucks .

(Is this inappropriate for the site? Dont want to catch *ell)

 

[ashesofheroes]

Great thread! I'm still new in this business, and I haven't settled on a credit card processor.

In addition to being able to accept credit card payments via smartphone, I'd also like to be able to take recurring online payments (for web hosting). I'm also considering opening up an online store at some point down the road, so if I could use the same processor, that would be ideal.

Any recommendations from the community for a cheap processor that gives me access to all three methods of payment?

I'm on a shoestring budget, so I'm looking for the a low monthly fee also.

Thanks!