Tools of the trade: Mobile EFTPOS machines
Plumbing Quotes
from local plumbers
Cash can be a pain. It's a risk, an effort to count, and when you've got cash in your wallet it disappears much faster than when you don't. More and more, your customers are requesting alternative payment channels other than cash - usually by bank transfer. Bank transfers have their own irritations - then you have to go check whether the deposit has been made, take their deposit on faith, or annoy your customers by asking for a printout of the payment confirmation. What is the alternative to all this hassle?
A while back, I was chatting to one of Service Central's quality plumbers (who has requested not to be named, so we'll call him Graham). He mentioned that he has a mobile EFTPOS machine, and that his customers absolutely love it. Graham works on high volume jobs, around 6-8 per day, and says that 80% of customers prefer to pay by credit card. He works alone, sometimes with an apprentice, and mostly does domestic gas installations and general maintenance work.
Before bringing in a mobile EFTPOS unit, Graham:
- Often had to wait around while the customer drove to the cash machine
- Had to do banking every day to check bank deposits
- Had to get his partner to help with debt collection because the volumes of chasing people was high
- Although rare, some people turned down quotes because they'd have to pay cash
Since offering credit or debit card payment options, it's not all 100% perfect, but these are his results:
- Confirmation of payment real time reduced debt collection and banking time by more than 50%
- Customers were very happy with the option
- There were additional costs (for the rental and per each transaction) which were offset by the lesser time spent on banking and debt collection
- He decided to pass on a $1 transaction fee per transaction to reduce overall costs but customers were happy to pay $1 for the convenience
- He had to monitor the battery of the EFTPOS machine - it lasts ages but he needed to be careful to get into a routine to charge it up
How much does it generally cost?
You can source a mobile EFTPOS machine direct from a bank or through a merchant banking broker, and there are different options and prices averaging around $40 per month. Here are a few helpful links to do a bit more investigation:
ANZ Merchant Services
Westpac Merchant Services
Eftpos Merchant Machines
Merchant Broking Services Australia
Merchantlink (partners with Commonwealth Bank)
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I have one, and they're totally great. I'm a plumber so I often have smaller jobs where people only find out how much it is once the work is done. It's very irritating waiting for them to go to the ATM, why they can't just have cash waiting I don't know... Plus the big jobs where they don't feel safe with that much cash.
over a year ago by Darren
I did have a customer ask me for cash out. Cheeky!
PS I only take debit cards because the credit card fees are too high. But the customers usually have a debit card so it's no problem. -
I organise Eftpos/Credit Card Facilities for businesses.
over a year ago by Janet
We have an excellent rate for Tradies and well worth enquiring about and I know that you will be pleasantly surprised.
Rental on mobile terminal is only $29 ex GST.
You can enquire through my website at http://www.eftposmerchantservices.info
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