Here's How to Stop Worrying About Receiving Payments
Whether you’re into gadgets, fashion or fitness, bringing
your business online is the next step forward. Not only is the internet filled
with opportunities to scale any profitable idea, it also makes it easier to
build a brand and reach a bigger audience.
According to statistics, about 95 percent of Americans shoponline at least once a year. Of those shopping experiences, 55 percent are
through branded online portals. The rest are done via marketplaces like Amazon.
From a startup’s standpoint, piggybacking platforms with an
existing user base is the easier choice. It doesn’t require a high overhead,
allows you to sell faster and makes site maintenance a non-issue. However, it
also means you’ll be entirely dependent on an external party for the
sustainability of your business.
Sooner or later, you’ll have to invest in your own digital
storefront and be in total control of your brand. It may sound exciting, but
it’s also full of challenges and uncertainties that could stop you from taking
the leap -- one of which is the question of how to get paid. This can have a
number of possible solutions, depending on the nature of your business. To help
ease your anxiousness, below are the tips on how to stop worrying about
payments:
1. Get an EIN.
Many online entrepreneurs use the same bank account and tax
ID number when setting up their business. Although it’s reasonable to wait
until you’re starting to see a stream of cash flowing in, it will definitely
become a nuisance once things pick up the pace.
You can refer to the IRS website if you need to apply for an
Employer Identification Number (EIN), also known as the Federal Tax
Identification Number. It’s assigned to all business organizations that operate
in the U.S. for tax administration purposes.
Small online businesses, especially those who don’t have
employees yet, can make a case as to why they don’t need to have a tax ID
number. But it’s not just about compliance, it’s also about getting peace of
mind as you focus on growing your venture.
2. Set up a merchant account.
If you want to be recognized as an authoritative seller in
your niche, then you need to support as many payment methods as possible,
starting with the ones that are preferred by online shoppers.
Statistics reveal that 42 percent of customers prefer to use
credit cards when shopping online, while 39 percent and 28 percent prefer
online payment gateways and debit cards, respectively.
Imagine if these prospects came to your online store, only
to find out that their preferred payment method is unavailable. That would be a
huge chunk of revenue lost right there.
When it comes to accepting credit card payments, you have
the option to open either a dedicated merchant account or an intermediary holding
account. The first option requires you to contact a partner bank, which in turn
would review your eligibility. You can maximize your success by having a
positive credit rating, working with credit card processor, or accepting offers
to adjust your account requirements for a fee.
3. Automate time tracking and invoicing tasks.
For B2B startups and freelancing businesses, sending over
detailed invoices can be easily done with payment gateways. PayPal, for
example, comes with an editor that can help you create branded invoices with
the help of templates. Unfortunately, this can still be very time-consuming and
tedious, especially if you’re trying to accommodate multiple clients within the
same period.
The good news is, there are now plenty of platforms that can
automate various tasks in the time tracking and invoicing process. A notable
one would be TimeLive, which streamlines time-tracking and billing through the
same interface. Accounting software like Odoo, on the other hand, can automate
follow-up reminders for unpaid invoices.
Over time, more and more services arise and offer automation
as their core feature. Who knows? Maybe eventually, ecommerce platforms will
also start automating the integration of payment gateways to their client
sites.
4. Pick multipurpose ecommerce platforms.
Most modern ecommerce websites come equipped with all the
functionality you need to run an online store. A prime example would be
BigCommerce, which can help you with everything -- from designing your
storefront to managing your marketing campaigns.
As far as online payments go, BigCommerce provides fast
integrations with various payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe and Apple Pay.
This means getting your business ready for payments is as easy as clicking your
mouse and typing in the right credentials.
It’s also worth noting that most comprehensive ecommerce
platforms include visual page builders, which allows you to create checkout
pages without writing a single line of code. This leads us to the last point in
this post.
5. Make checkouts a breeze.
Whether you like it or not, the world of web design has
embraced user experience as all-important. If you want to convince potential
customers to close a purchase, be sure your checkout pages are easy to use.
Design-wise, important elements such as the main fields and
checkout buttons must be easy to find. The entire page itself must also be
distraction-free and fast to load.
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