How these service businesses use (and love) their Clover Virtual Terminal

Simply log in to your Clover Web Dashboard from any smartphone, tablet, or computer and you’re ready for business. It’s particularly useful for merchants who need to accept payments over the phone from customers.

Through Clover Virtual Terminal, merchants can accept credit card, debit card, and eCheck payments directly. On a single dashboard, you can facilitate all types of orders (in-store, telephone, mail, or invoice), monitor all transactions, send digital receipts, issue invoices or recurring payments, and more. Virtual Terminal can also serve as a backup in case your normal payment system is interrupted for technical difficulties.

Virtual Terminal is secure, discreet, and highly convenient. Read how Clover Virtual Terminal has helped these three service businesses find solutions to the particular challenges of their sub-vertical.

Vertrauen Consulting

For Alan Vogel’s one-man tax and consulting business Vertrauen Consulting, secure payment processing is top of mind. Launching his business during the height of COVID-19 required him to incorporate a virtual solution for billing clients that meets the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

“Having the Virtual Terminal allows me to quickly and easily invoice my clients,” shares Vogel, “and assure them that they’ll have a secure site to pay.”

Not only does the Clover Virtual Terminal give Vogel peace of mind with end-to-end encryption and rigorous security protocols like Address Verification Service (AVS) and Card Verification Value (CVV), it has also opened up the possibility to do business beyond his physical location. “Clover has allowed me to take on new clients all over the place, expanding outside of my local area to probably a dozen states, and a few countries,” Vogel says. “I’m able to do things fast and bill customers quickly and efficiently — and I’ve had zero difficulties with the service.”

Neron Cakes & Decor

Clover Virtual Terminal comes in handy, especially for business owners who process big orders over the phone. For Imaria Fakinlede of Neron Cakes & Decor, creating the perfect custom cake requires a back-and-forth with the client to uncover exactly what they are looking for.

“Custom cakes require ideas, and most of my clients want to share their ideas with me. It’s priceless for me when I can bring to reality the designs that they dream up,” Fakinlede explains.

Once they’ve settled on a design and price, Fakinlede takes the full payment right away over the phone using Virtual Terminal.

“I don’t wait for customers to pay when they pick up their cakes because they may not show up. I have to protect myself. That’s why I use the Virtual Terminal,” Fakinlede explains. “I can input their card number immediately to take my payment, no matter if I’m in the shop or at home.” Virtual Terminal fits seamlessly into Fakinlede’s customer interaction, facilitating her payment upfront in a secure way. Read Neron Cakes & Decor’s full Meet the Merchant profile here.

Already a Clover merchant but haven’t tried the Virtual Terminal? Good news! The Virtual Terminal is free to every Clover merchant in the US and Canada with no additional monthly fee. Log in to your Clover Web Dashboard to activate your virtual point-of-sale terminal to start requesting or taking payments.

Fox Design and Staging

Sometimes merchants like to choose the right moment for bringing up the delicate matter of payment and credit card information. That was definitely the case for Andron Fox of Fox Design and Staging. Before Clover, Fox had to take a deposit in the form of a credit card number over the phone and collect the remaining balance either the same way or in person.

“I never liked feeling responsible for taking someone’s personal information like that,” Fox says. “Now, I can send an email invoice with a link for them to pay directly, and I never have to see any of their data.”

With the Virtual Terminal in his tool belt, Fox can focus on the customers’ joy when they first see their redone space without needing to ruin the moment by asking for a credit card for the remaining balance. “It’s fantastic!” Fox exclaims. “When we do a reveal, customers are so excited about their new space. To follow those reactions with ‘OK, now I need a payment of thousands of dollars, please,’ would take away from the fun of the reveal,” Fox says. Check out the other ways Fox Design relies on Clover here.

Get inspired to start or grow your own business by reading more merchant stories in our Meet the Merchant series.

Editorial Team

Meet the Merchant, Payments & processing, Professional services

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