Regardless of the "processing environment" – stores, websites, mobile merchants and all the rest of the places people do business – there are potent credit card processing software applications to make it all work. They all have their pros and cons, and will interact with your own system(s) in different ways, so the decision you make is crucial to your continued success.
There are a few basic topics that all business people must consider when choosing card processing software. The list here is far from exhaustive, but it will get you thinking about your needs and help you separate fact from fiction as you start researching this subject.
Internet purchasesIf you are doing your primary business over a website – or even a good fraction of it – you are best advised to implement an online payment gateway for your shopping cart. A payment gateway is a combination of hardware and software, specifically, credit card processing software that runs on a server located outside of your own business or system. The shopping cart (or similar payment software) links up with the payment gateway over the Internet to handle the authorizations and transactions. Such leading gateway applications as Authorize.Net, VeriSign and LinkPoint are available through any number of reputable processors. Most applications will have all the state-of-the-art capabilities you will need, as well as the operational flexibility and systems compatibility expected of these applications.
Multiple, simultaneous transactionsMany brick-and-mortar merchants, particularly small businesses, will usually process only one transaction at a time, but if you have multiple, simultaneous users – or online customers processing transactions all at once – then you will need a more powerful program. For multiple onsite users on the same network you can use a product named PC Charge Pro. On the other hand, if the users (which could be your employees, or potential buyers on your website) are not on the same network, then a "virtual terminal" such as that offered by Authorize.Net may be appropriate. Virtual terminals let customers log in with their own web browsers (all Web 2.0 compatible browsers, which includes all the major players) and use their credit/debit cards from wherever they have access to the Internet. For your purposes, the transaction records are also located on a server that can be accessed from "virtually anywhere."
Recurring chargesIf your business has customers that do regular reordering, and/or customers that are billed on a recurring basis, it is a simple matter to set up your credit card processing software to store their card data and process charges at scheduled times. PC Charge Pro, for instance, has this capability right out of the box, easing the task of setting up recurring, scheduled charges.
All of your questions about credit card processing software can be answered completely, and clearly, by the sales or customer service representatives of any reputable processing firm. For additional information and specific advice on choosing your processing software, simply let your fingers “do the walking” – on the phone dial or the computer keyboard – and remember to take good notes!
Content provided by MerchantWarehouse