Frank’s Question:

Is there a fairly simple way to add a tab to our website for clients to pay with credit cards?

We just now implemented a charge for the glass/aluminum pickup and realize that most people or businesses don’t use checks anymore so we want to be able to offer an easy way for them to pay.

It would be for monthly or quarterly payments. Each client has a Customer ID and the charges are different depending on how many dumpsters and monthly pick ups they have. I would like them to be able to click on what month or quarter they are paying for.

It’s a great question for any business looking to take payments on their website, which is becoming increasingly important as customers and businesses continue to move from paper checks to online payments.

There are a million ways to take payments online. However, there is a difference between an online retailer who sells a particular product at a set price and a business that offers a service where the cost varies by customer. In this case, we’re interested in the latter.

Industry Payment Solutions

The first step on your journey to finding a payment solution should be researching other sites in your industry to find businesses that offer online payments. A payment solution may already exist for your specific industry. These solutions may even go beyond just accepting payments, and you may find an entire software package that could help streamline many aspects of your business.

In the case of #1 Recycling, I did some digging into other sites that offer similar services – in this case, waste disposal. Exploring the existing payment options on these sites, I was able to track down the sites Waste Connections, Inc. and Soft–Pak.

Both sites offer a full suite of software solutions specifically for the waste management industry. Keep in mind, though, since these are specialized solutions, they may offer more features or be more expensive than what just the payment solution you were originally looking for.

PayPal

The most popular solution for my own clients is PayPal. The main attraction to PayPal is that there are no additional charges beyond the standard payment processing fee of around 3%. It’s also simple; you can easily put a PayPal button on your website. I’ve got a video that walks you through the process. So, be sure to check out my video: Add PayPal Button to Your Website.

These buttons direct users to the PayPal page where they can pay through a PayPal account or credit card. This might be one of the drawbacks to the PayPal button, though, as this action does take visitors away from your site. Most often users aren’t deterred by this, but it’s something to keep in mind.

QuickBooks Payments

Another popular option, but one I don’t have personal experience with is QuickBooks. QuickBooks has a lot to offer and allows you to collect payments online, through phone, or through recurring charges.

If you’re already using QuickBooks for your accounting and bookkeeping, you may want to consider doing your online payments through them as well. The integration will keep the process streamlined with the rest of your accounting workflow. They also have comparable transaction fees to PayPal.

Square Payments

One more option to discuss is Square. Much like QuickBooks, Square offers additional features. One of the more useful additions is Square Appointments. This works well for businesses like hair salons where you may want appointments to be booked and paid for at the same time.

I’ve gone into detail on Square appointments in the overview video: Square Appointments – Appointment Scheduling on Your Website.

I hope this has provided some useful information and helped those looking to take online payments through their website. If you have a question of your own, please head to WEask.tv and post your question in text, audio, or video form.

If you have questions or input on this particular topic, make sure to comment below!