Transforming your home & field service business with mobile payments

How do mobile credit card readers work? These small devices enable you to accept payments on the go, whether someone wants to pay using a mobile wallet on their phone or with a debit or credit card.

Offering payment processing that goes beyond cash or check acceptance increases convenience for both business owners and their customers. In this guide, learn how you can transform your home or field service business with mobile payment acceptance.

Why should service businesses offer payment options?

Traditionally, many home and field service businesses accept cash or checks only for their services. These paper forms of payment introduce more risk, because cash and checks can become lost, stolen, or mismanaged. Some of the challenges small business owners face when they limit payment acceptance to traditional methods, such as cash or checks include:

• More time required for administration, taxes, and payroll: Cash and check payments must be constantly balanced against the fees due for services to ensure you’re getting paid what you should be. These payment methods also require safe storage and frequent bank deposits to keep the money safe and secure. All this adds up to extra time and resources required from your team.
• Less convenience for clients: Every day, more people and more businesses are going cashless. A 2023 survey by Forbes Advisor found only 9% of Americans primarily use cash to pay for purchases. Moreover, 51% said they’d stop shopping from merchants that don’t accept digital wallet payments. Businesses that force customers to pay for purchases in paper could miss out on potential clients.
• Increased risk for business owners: Having to count and carry cash and checks makes business payments more susceptible to problems, such as theft and  mismanagement. Plus, having to carry cash and checks requires increased security when traveling from a client to where you store your money. Every step of the way you’re handling cash or checks, there could be loss and theft risks.

Field service management software for small business can help make running a business much easier. Payments accepted on mobile credit card readers can sync with your business reporting and help you track your sales transactions all in one place..

Plus, the best mobile payment processing solutions may also include access to business management tools such as employee scheduling, payroll processing, and customer engagement tools. Having all these features in one simple system can help make managing your entire business operation easier, which is helpful for small business owners.

Benefits of mobile credit card readers

Accepting mobile payments makes it easier for small business owners to get paid at the time service is complete, while increasing convenience for their clients. That can positively impact client sentiment, which can result in more referrals and positive reviews for your business. Consider these benefits:

On-the-go transactions

As finance researchers state, “cash is king” for small businesses. A positive cash flow enables small businesses to:

• Replenish inventory
• Pay for immediate operating expenses
• Generate new sales

On-the-go transactions via a mobile credit card reader, especially a card reader for phones, gets cash in your hand more quickly compared to having to wait for someone to come up with the cash or mail you a check later.

More secure payments

Mobile payment acceptance can provide a more secure payment experience.

Businesses using a mobile card reader and adhering to Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance standards offer more protection for their clients. PCI-compliant mobile card readers encrypt and tokenize sensitive transaction data, helping to minimize the risk of exposure to thieves.

With PCI-compliant card readers, both you and your clients can get peace of mind knowing that the latest data security methods are implemented in your payment system. If there are bad actors, or a party suspects an account has been compromised, it’s easier to work with the payment processor to address any problems and help protect your clients, your business, and your reputation.

Increased efficiency

Mobile payment processing is simple, easy, and fast. It can enable you to reduce paperwork and administrative tasks by not having to prepare and mail paper invoices or visit the bank  to make cash and check deposits. It can also give you access to funds more quickly to optimize your cash flow.

With the right POS system for your business, you can manage your business all from a single dashboard—anytime, anywhere— with tools such as employee management, sales reporting, and appointment scheduling. Having the ability to work on all these tasks in one easy-to-use tool can simplify your operations and give you more time to devote to other aspects of your business.

How to get started with mobile credit card readers

It’s simple and easy to implement mobile credit card readers for your business. Once you have the convenient and compact tool for taking payments, you can start facilitating transactions with clients on the go to simplify operations.

Choosing the right device

When you’re comparing devices to use, think about features that meet your needs and that can scale as your business grows. These may include features such as the ability to:

• Accept all types of payments, including chip cards, contactless debit and credit cards, Apple Pay®, and other digital wallets
• Take payments over the phone or scan payment card info
• Email digital invoices
• Set up recurring payment schedules

With a mobile card reader provider such as Clover, you can start taking advantage of all these features and more. Clover likely integrates with the software you’re already using to run your business. Browse the Clover App Market to learn more and help you make the transition to credit card processing easier.

Training

Focusing on providing training and integration tips for your team members can help them learn how to use your new mobile POS system more effectively. With Clover, you will have access to tutorial videos, quick start guides, and other resources available to help your team integrate your mobile system seamlessly.

Mobile payment options are easy with the right tools

When you’re serving clients on the go, getting paid accurately and quickly can help you sustain cash flow and grow your business. Mobile payment processing solutions can:

• Help you get paid immediately upon service
• Provide you and your clients with a more secure payment method
• Increase client confidence in the professionalism of your business
• Integrate with other business management functions like accounting and scheduling tools

Clover can set your business up for success and scale with you as you grow. With a convenient and simple mobile credit card machine for small business, you can provide a valuable service to your clients and make managing your business easier.

Why wait? Get started with a Clover POS system for home and field service contractors today to elevate your operations.

Editorial Team

Home & field services, Mobile, Payments & processing, Run your business

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