Contents tagged with Guides

  • Capitalizing on Your Cash Flow

    July 16, 2009
     

    How important do you consider your cash flow?Many small businesses focus the majority of their attention on sales but cash flow is king.  This video recommends: 

    Shorting your cash flow cycle

    Taking Early Pay Discounts

    Cutting Costs

    Using Lock Box services to process and deposit payments 

    A good way to improve cash flow is to outsource your trade credit.  Trade Credit Express is a business payment platform to outsource your trade credit administration and accounts receivable (A/R) financing providing your business with the payment speed of accepting a credit card, while extending improved trade credit terms for your customers. 

    Outsourcing your trade credit administration is a smart strategic decision.If your company is … more

  • Card Number Truncation on Merchant Receipts

    July 08, 2009
    Update: March 2011

    There are federal laws, various state laws and association rules which require merchants to truncate the cardholder copy of receipts.   It is the merchant's responsibility to comply with applicable laws and regulations regarding truncation.  Please check your POS and terminal receipts to insure you are in compliance.

    Seven (7) states have passed legislation that requires merchants to truncate both cardholder and merchant receipts.  The states are:

    New Mexico - as of 01/01/2004

    Wisconsin - as of 08/01/2005

    Colorado - as of 01/01/2006

    Tennessee - as of 01/01/2007

    California - as of 01/01/2009

    Alaska - as of 07/01/2009

    Nevada - as of 07/01/2009

    Washington State - as of 07/26/2009

    Additional states have legislation in progress which may … more

  • Healthcare Merchant Account Scam Alert

    June 23, 2009
    Medical professionals should be aware of a scam currently being perpetrated by unethical merchant account providers. Outbound calls are being placed to medical practices accepting credit cards claiming that they must reprogram their credit card terminal to be HIPAA compliant.

    Vantage has received numerous calls over the last few days from our healthcare clients inquiring about these calls and asking, “Are credit card transactions covered under HIPAA?”

    According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website, transactions conducted between subscribers or patients and health plans or health care providers are not transactions for which the Secretary of Health and Human Services has adopted standards.

    If an individual (i.e., a subscriber or a patient) uses his or … more

  • Outsourcing Credit

    June 21, 2009
    Companies have long benefited from outsourcing.  Popular trends in outsourcing include the business services of payroll, accounting, tax, data entry, human resources, help desk, customer service, lead generation, IT and software development.  A strategic decision to outsource can increase efficiency and allow companies to focus on their core competencies.  Outsourcing can lower costs, make more efficient use of time, labor, capital, technology and specialized resources. 

    Retailers long ago discovered the benefits of outsourcing consumer store credit.  Card companies like MasterCard and Visa have built payment systems with economies of scale that deliver effeciencies and costs savings.  By accepting card payments, sellers do not have to worry about the credit … more

  • The PCI Compliance Fee Gouge

    June 04, 2009
    Just like everything else, a lot has changed since our original post on this topic on June 4, 2009.

    Today the card associations require that all merchants regardless of size validate Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) compliance with this data protection standard.

    Compliance with PCI DSS has always been very important to protect your business. It’s only the validation requirements that have changed. The fees being charged for PCI Compliance are not uniform throughout the industry. Some merchant account providers charge monthly, some annually and some both and these fees can really start to add up.

    Merchants need to be aware of how and when PCI fees are billed to avoid being gouged with excessive fees. Merchants should also know that they may choose to … more

  • The growing power of peer comparisons in finance

    May 29, 2009
    Two-thirds of the world’s Internet population visit social networking or blogging sites, according to a new Nielsen report. Social Media is changing how we interact with each other and is shifting the power to the community.

    One of the most powerful social network tools are peer comparisons. New financial web portals like Mint, Geezeo and ING’s CompareMe allow consumers to see how similar people are managing their finances and investments. These online anonymous peer comparisons are demonstrating that there is strength in numbers.

    Now business owners can use myRealRate.com to anonymously compare payment card processing expenses with what others are paying for merchant services within their industry. myRealRate is a rich internet application delivering peer-to-peer knowledge … more

  • 10 questions to plan your payment acceptance strategy

    May 07, 2009
    Often entrepreneurs give little thought and wait until the last minute to address the issue of how they will collect payment.  Without the proper research, they fall victim to unfavorable contract terms and put in place poor business practices that expose them to fraud and losses.  However, with a little forethought and planning, business owners can lower their cost, improve efficiency and reduce their risk.

    10 Questions to Plan your Payment Acceptance Strategy

    Of course every business is unique but there are some basic questions to start:

    Who will my customers be?  Consumer, business, corporate or government clients? 

    What type of payments will I accept?  What payment methods will my customers prefer? 

    When will I be paid?  After … more

  • Google Knol - The Bottom Line on Merchant Rates

    May 02, 2009
    Vantage has contributed a new Google Knol titled "The Bottom Line on Merchant Rates". 

    Today it is a near necessity for most small and medium-sized businesses to accept credit card payments.  Until recently, merchants had no resource for comparing rates with each other.   myRealRate creates a nationwide database for comparing and sharing card processing expenses.  Business owners can calculate their Real Rate to accept card payments and then benchmark their rate against others of the same size within their industry to identify savings.   Sharing with the merchant community is the next step in achieving lower merchant rates.

    We invite you to write a review for the knol at http://knol.google.com/k/ty-hardison/the-bottom-line-on-merchant-rates/3u14xw58ll2 … more

  • Google Knol - Shopping Merchant Account Rate Quotes

    July 28, 2008
    Check our post Shopping Merchant Account Rate Quotes on Google Knol for help on how to lower processing costs when accepting credit & debit cards.

    ALL merchants large and small can get an Interchange rate price structure to lower their costs. And many industries have incentive Interchange rates available. Merchants can eliminate monthly minimum fees, batch fees, AVS fees, annual fees, compliance fees, non-qualified surcharge fees, and other hidden fees. Read the fine print to find these charges and avoid 3 year contracts with cancellation penalties. Month-to-Month merchant accounts at Interchange pricing are available.

    Read More more