If you own or manage a restaurant then in order to be successful you need to provide both food that is great tasting and service that is high quality and convenient for your customers. This means that you should have a restaurant merchant account so you can easily accept credit and debit cards and gift cards. Many consumers do not carry large amounts of cash these days and would prefer not to wait around after a meal while the wait staff figures out how to apply a gift card. Restaurants that cannot accommodate customers in this way will find their target audience to be limited unless they are a type of restaurant such as a diner or a fast food restaurant where taking cash is more the norm.
There are many factors that a restaurant owner or manager needs to take into account. For example, if you have a restaurant with a bar, dining room and even private dining and want to use credit cards, you should be able to combine bar bills that might be separate from dinner bills, accept tips and provide a single bill if multiple credit cards are used.
In addition, you should think about the other options that might be available to your customers. Although some debit cards can be used as credit cards people often like to use them as a debit card and so need to be able to enter their PIN. If you want to provide this option for your customers, then your account should be able to accept debit cards and have a pad so that customers can enter their PIN.
There are also gift cards, which are a good way to generate business. You also need to make sure that your provider has a card terminal that can process this type of card as well.
Typically there are fees that are associated with setting up a restaurant merchant account. Some providers may charge an initial set-up fee while others may waive it but charge an application fee. Using the cost of a set-up fee is not enough to make a determination as to which provider to choose. There are also account maintenance fees which can be charged on either a monthly or annual basis or both.
There are also usually transaction fees. It can be based as a percentage of every transaction or as a flat rate, usually in cents, for every transaction that occurs. Transaction fees are the most important to consider as they depend on your volume of business and can accumulate quickly. A provider typically sets a minimum for transactions fees and if your business does not reach it, you may be charged that minimum fee anyway.
Credit card processing is important for your restaurant’s success, understanding what you need, how it works, and how much it will cost you is important for your business.
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