Seven benefits of mobile payment systems for CPAs.

Your work to optimize the efficiency of your CPA firm is ongoing, a pursuit of excellence that should never take a back seat. For that reason, you should always keep your ear to the ground when it comes to updating the system that provides your payment processing. If your payment solution doesn’t allow you to integrate mobile card readers and other mobile payments features, you could be selling your business short.

Upgrading your system to include mobile card readers allows you to securely accept payments from anywhere, including your clients’ homes or workplaces. Another equally valuable option involves allowing your customers to transmit payments directly to your business account with just a few taps of a mobile app. Technologies such as these are making running your business and managing your invoices much easier. Take a look at just a few of the benefits mobile payment systems can bring to your operations right now. 

1. Maximum convenience.

Doing all you can to help your customers transact payments benefits everyone. Mobile card reading technology makes it as easy for clients to settle their bills with you as it is for them to purchase food at the supermarket, or buy clothing at a retail store. If your card reader is equipped with near-field communication (NFC) technology, the transaction can even be completed securely without any physical contact taking place. When your operation becomes known for excellent service that places customer safety and payment convenience at the forefront, you are likely to get more referrals from your happy long-term clients. When it comes to payment processing for CPAs, it just doesn’t get any better than that. 

2. Greater security.

Data safety is important for every business but particularly crucial for accounting-related firms given the sensitive information on hand. When you accept cash or checks, you leave yourself and your customers more vulnerable to errors and data breaches.

On the other hand, mobile technology makes it possible for you to implement additional and stronger layers of anti-fraud and data protection. That way, when your clients pay using a mobile app, their information will be encrypted and tokenized. With these procedures in place, cardholder details are masked by a randomly generated number that is useless to hackers. As a result, the process is much safer than paying with cash, or a check that could get lost in the mail.

3. Financial savings.

Most likely, you have some sort of legacy terminal in place to accept customers’ credit card payments. Although your hardware provides them with a secure way to pay that is superior to cash or checks, it likely still has its drawbacks. Keeping the software that runs this old-school equipment up-to-date can be both time-consuming and costly. Moreover, you have the ongoing expense of ink and paper.

By contrast, a mobile solution is streamlined and convenient. In most cases, all you need is a smartphone or tablet, a mobile reader, and an online payment processing solution. If you elect to store receipts electronically and email them to your customers, you don’t even have to bother with the expense of paper and ink for a receipt printer.

4. Enhanced payment options.

Today’s customers place a high value on flexibility and choice. This is true not only in the products and services you offer but also in the ways you let them pay.

Modern mobile payment processing for CPAs is designed to provide maximum payment versatility. In addition to letting your clients settle their bills using cash and checks, you can now accept credit and debit cards, and even allow set amounts of money to be withdrawn from their bank accounts on a predetermined date each month. When your clients choose to take advantage of this final option, both of you experience enhanced predictability and more efficient management of cash flow and expenses.

5. Improved cash flow management.

Inefficient check processing and poor invoice management can frequently spell financial slow-down for many CPA firms. In the past, it was a constant struggle to send invoices on time while chasing down late payments. Luckily, those days are over. 

Today’s mobile payment solutions facilitate smooth cash flow via automated invoicing and payment reminders. Although you will always need to adopt a hands-on approach when payment-related issues arise, the burden of many more routine tasks is removed from your shoulders.

You can even integrate digital invoicing into your payments software, providing you and your customers with automated systems that yield accurate statements with a professional appearance. In just a few clicks, you can program statements to calculate and include late fees, taxes, and discounts while sending out reminders and confirmation statements.

The addition of enhanced payment options can also take your business to the next level. Predictable recurring payments take the guesswork out of invoicing, and variable solutions provide customers with the flexibility that has proven to be essential during uncertain economic times.

6. Enhanced reports features.

When you run a busy CPA firm, it is often difficult to have the free time necessary for introspection and goal-setting. This is especially true if you are still relying on cumbersome spreadsheets and manual records. Fortunately, the reports generation capabilities of your payment processing system can revolutionize your strategic planning.

Instead of poring over ledgers and spreadsheets, simply determine what parameters you wish to measure over which time period. Your software will create actionable documents suitable for sharing with team members and potential investors, providing everyone with invaluable insights into past growth, trends, and progress. Armed with these details, you will be able to make informed decisions to move your firm forward.

7. Improved scope of client services.

Modern payment processing for CPAs should meet customers’ increasing demands for greater personalization and round-the-clock service. Your system’s account management feature should enable clients to self-service their own accounts. That way they can update their payment information, change contact details, and troubleshoot issues without your help.

As a CPA professional, you are committed to providing your customers with service of the highest quality. In addition to offering unparalleled financial expertise, you can also excel by giving your clients access to the gold standard in modern payment solutions. Although today’s mobile payment systems operate behind the scenes, they help create a feature-rich foundation you can build and expand your firm upon.