How to choose the best merchant account for your plumbing business.

Most plumbers and plumbing contractors waste valuable time creating invoices and running to the bank to deposit the funds for cash and check payments when they could be growing their businesses. A merchant account gives you the option of accepting credit cards so that you can stay focused on growing your client base instead of spending half the day on bookkeeping.

Look for these key features to find the best merchant account for your business:

Mobile credit card processing.

The biggest perk of a merchant account is the ability to accept payments on the spot. Your provider should offer a user-friendly mobile app and a credit card reader you can connect with your smartphone or tablet. Or maybe you’ll opt for a handheld smart terminal. A virtual terminal for keying in transactions is useful to have as a backup in case the reader is unable to read a customer’s card information.

Accounting software integration.

Keeping balanced books is much easier when all transaction information goes to one place. If you use accounting software, you want a merchant account designed to integrate with your platform. Integration sends the details from credit card payments to your accounting software and records it along with other payment data from invoices and manually entered cash payments. This puts a complete record of sales data at your fingertips, which you can use to track how your business performs over time.

Optimal scalability.

As you grow, your merchant account should grow with you. You don’t want to find yourself locked into a contract you can’t get out of and unable to process a higher volume of payments during a sudden boom in business, so consider growth projections when searching for a provider.

Top-notch security.

Your customers put their personal information in your hands every time you process a credit card payment. It is a merchant account provider’s job to ensure this data remains secure. They should also be able to keep funds safe between the time a customer pays and when the money is transferred to your business account. Research each provider thoroughly to make sure they take payment security as seriously as possible.

With the right merchant account for your plumbing business, you can accept payments on the spot and get your money sooner. You’ll give your customers the convenience of using a credit card, while you both enjoy a simpler way to process payments.