Many businesses experience only marginal ups and downs in volume and revenue from one month to the next, but there are some which thrive during some months and see little-to-no action throughout the rest of the year. These are known as seasonal businesses. With a rapidly growing and complex marketplace that continues to expand the ways various businesses can accept and process forms of payment, credit cards processing for these seasonal businesses has become much more complicated than it used to be.
In order to help you and your business better deal with these changes, here are some credit cards processing tips for seasonal businesses:
Know Your Marketplace
While grocery stores and gas stations tend to see stable returns throughout the year, other businesses see their profits dictated by the months of the season. A ski resort in Colorado is going to see a lot more volume in the winter months than it will in the summer, while air conditioning services will be a lot busier between April and August than they will from December to February. Seasonal businesses only offer their goods and services during months that coincide with the product being offered, so that ski resort in Colorado will likely only be open for half the year. Conversely, the air conditioning service will be up and running for all 12 months of the year and will need to identify the best methods for covering costs during those slower seasons. When choosing your payment gateway company, make sure the systems and services offered are in line with what your business needs for credit cards processing so you can maximize both profits and security for your company.
Know Your Customer Base
Cash and checkbooks are quickly being replaced by smartphones and chip cards and as with anything else in business, it’s important for owners to stay on top of the trends and be ready to adjust and adapt accordingly. However, this doesn’t mean to just throw out the old system in favor of these new-age methods of payment. Most of the time, business owners will need to incorporate more modern credit cards processing procedures while still accounting for older and more traditional customer bases who still rely on paper transactions. Knowing the age range of your customer base will make it easier to decide whether to cater more to card payments, traditional paper transactions, or somewhere in between.
Know Your Fees
One of the main things to keep in mind when evaluating how your business handles credit cards processing are the miscellaneous fees and rates associated with the transactions. Fees can be incurred for every swipe of the card, as well as every time a transaction occurs without a card present. Some payment processing companies offer seasonal shutdown options that allow businesses to cut costs in slow months, where credit cards processing isn’t needed due to the lack of volume.
At Allied Wallet, we offer a variety of merchant processing solutions that will help your business thrive every month of every year, regardless of season or industry. Even during those slower months, you can rest easy knowing your money is safe and secure while focusing time on other aspects of your company.
