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If you plan on selling your handmade items, you’ll need to be able to accept payments. When selling through an online marketplace (like Etsy or Artfire), the marketplace collects the payment from the customer on your behalf. The marketplace then takes a portion of the sale (their processing fees) and deposits the rest into your account. But, if you are selling in person, you’ll need a method of collecting payments.
How to Collect Payments in Person
1) Cash or checks. Cash or checks are the easiest way to collect funds from local customers. Remember to allow checks to clear before giving the customer their item.
2) Credit card readers. There are a number of small business credit card readers available. The credit card readers use your smartphone or tablet and process the customer payment on your behalf. The company then takes a portion of the sale for processing the payment and deposits the remaining funds into your account. The needs of each small business vary, so compare your options to figure out which reader suits your small business best. For example, if you primarily take orders over the phone, make sure you choose a credit card reader with lower fees for keyed in transactions. To help you decide which will work best for your needs, I’ve summarized some main points about each in thechart below. Links to each credit card reader can be found at the end of the article.
Automatically imports information into Quickbooks for easy accounting.
Etsy Card Reader
Free. Order online.
Swiped: 2.75%, Keyed in: 3% + $0.25
Money goes to your Etsy shop account and is deposited each Monday. Earlier deposits are available.
No Etsy transaction fees from items listed in your shop and paid via the card reader. No listing fees for items sold via the Quick Listing (not listed in your Etsy shop).
Paypal Here by Paypal
Free. Order online.
Swiped: 2.7%, Keyed in: 3.5% + $0.15
Money goes to your Paypal account for you to transfer to your bank when ready. Money is instantly available with the Paypal debit card.
Can also accept payment from your customer’s Paypal account.
Amazon Local Register
No longer accepting customers.
$10, but receive a credit for transaction fees once you use reader. Order online.
Swiped: 2.5%, Keyed in: 2.75%
Capable of next business day deposits, just need to set it up.
Amazon states that they have stabilized the card reader to make swiping easier. Card reader is larger than other brands.
Flint
No reader needed. App is free from Google Play or App Store.
Processes through Stripe. 2.9% + $0.30.
Within 2 business days.
Simply take a photo of the card and it is securely processed. Image is not stored on your device. Optional integration with Quickbooks. Mixed reviews online.
Update 10/26/15: The USA has recently switched to EMV credit card readers. Learn more about them in this post.
Always Collect Payment First
A quick (but important) note for newer sellers: Always collect payment before you begin working on any item for any customer. No seller ever wants to put the supplies and time into an item, especially a custom item that you might not be able to resell, and then have the customer not follow through with the sale.
Having customers pay in person is great for fairs and local sales, but what if you need to collect payment for items that you aren’t selling through an online marketplace, and the customer is not local? Online invoicing is a great way to easily do so. Read on to part two of this article, which covers online invoicing.
Since 2015, Christine Schinagl has been helping crafters start and run craft businesses through her blog, Cutting for Business. As a Silhouette and Cricut crafter herself, she has a unique take on what works and what doesn’t work in the craft business world. She also teaches a course on creating digital SVG designs, available at How to Design SVGs.
Square, our pick for top overall credit card reader, is the easiest credit card reader for craft shows. If you don't want to spend any money upfront, use the free magstripe reader and collect your payments. You can set up an online store with the free POS.
The best payment processors for merchants at craft shows are those that are affordable, easy to set up, and do not lock you into a long-term contract. It should also be versatile, offering a number of ways to accept credit card payments such as swipe, via EMV (dip and contactless), and via digital wallets.
Square doesn't charge a monthly fee for use of its basic point-of-sale system, which makes this low-cost reader and its software an affordable and efficient option for business owners.
The Square standard processing fee is 2.6% + 10¢ for contactless payments, swiped or inserted chip cards, and swiped magstripe cards. Payments that are manually keyed-in, processed using Card on File, or manually entered using Virtual Terminal have a 3.5% + 15¢ fee.
Square offers a wide variety of reports that give you a deep dive into your sales performance, which I have found to be extremely helpful for assessing the success of my art and craft fairs.
Business profiles allow Venmo users to accept payments for the sale of goods and services from customers on Venmo. Whether you're selling homemade planters at a craft fair, serving up one-of-a-kind haircuts, or mowing lawns, a business profile makes it easy for your customers to find and pay you on Venmo.
Many people pay with cash, so come prepared to make lots and lots of change. Depending on the anticipated size of the crowd, $200 should probably be sufficient to start with. Be sure to have coins with your startup cash, even if your products are priced evenly on the dollar ($6, $22, $35, whatever).
You'll want something compact, but with an intuitive touchscreen interface to provide your customer with a good experience. You also want to make sure that your card reader can be easily installed on your machine, or retrofitted onto your machine if you have an older model.
Square Terminal is a card machine with no monthly fees or long-term commitments. Accept all major cards and contactless payments for one flat fee. Use the free point-of-sale software that's built into Terminal to run your business.
Typically, a simple unconfigured credit card machine will cost $50-100, while pre-configured terminals with touchscreens and full customer support will range above $600. Read on to learn more.
Whether you buy or rent a card machine, you'll need to pay fees to process each payment you take from customers. These fees depend on your transaction volumes, the length of the contract, your business type, and the types of payment cards you accept.
Business owners and sole proprietors who activate credit card processing with Vagaro can order a free reader. The credit card reader allows you to securely process debit and credit cards and digital wallets, like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.
The cost of vending machine credit card readers is based on a few different factors, including the following: Monthly fee (around $7.95, charged per month and per device)Transaction fees (around 5.95% of purchases)Activation fee (a one-time fee to start working with a particular service)
Business profiles allow Venmo users to accept payments for the sale of goods and services from customers on Venmo. Whether you're selling homemade planters at a craft fair, serving up one-of-a-kind haircuts, or mowing lawns, a business profile makes it easy for your customers to find and pay you on Venmo.
Card readers come in various models, each with different compatibility options. It's important to ensure that the card reader you choose is compatible with the specific type of memory card you want to read, such as secure digital (SD), microSD, or CompactFlash cards.
Mobile point of service (mPOS) card readers from payment facilitators like Square, SumUp, and Zettle that work with a mobile app cost around £15- £30 plus VAT. Some payment facilitators (payfacs) also offer standalone mobile or wireless card readers. If they feature mobile connectively, they have a SIM card with data.
Introduction: My name is Greg Kuvalis, I am a witty, spotless, beautiful, charming, delightful, thankful, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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