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Solo's blog provides the resources that microbusinesses, solopreneurs, freelancers, and other super-small businesses need to start, operate, and grow.

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In this article:\nBest small business checking accounts\nCredit card options\nAlternative payment methods\nThings to watch out for\nIt’s important for every business, big or small, to have its own bank account. This includes gig workers, sole proprietors, solopreneurs, content creators, freelancers, and more. Keeping your personal and business finances separate makes things much simpler when tax season rolls around. \nMost banks offer some kind of business account, and some offer several. So, it can be difficult to narrow down your options and determine which one is the best for your business. \nWe’ve pulled together a small list of some of the best banking (and alternative payment method) accounts for small businesses to help you in your search. \nAnd, because it can be nice to keep your checking and credit accounts with the same vendor, we’ve included the best credit options from several banks as well. \nChase Total Business Checking\nThe Chase Total Business Checking account is a great starter for small businesses. The fees are low and they have tons of awesome benefits that your business should take advantage of. \nFeatures of a Chase Total Business Checking account:\nLow monthly service fee of $15/month (this is waived if you keep a daily minimum of $1,500 in your account)\n100 transactions per month with no charge\nUnlimited electronic deposits\n$5,000 in cash deposits per statement cycle without additional fees\nInternational wire transfers\nAccount alerts\n16,000 ATMs and 5,000 branches\n$200 cash bonus*\n*You can qualify for the $200 cash bonus with the Chase Total Business Checking account if you deposit $1,000 into your account within 20 days of opening it, maintain that balance for 60 days, and complete at least 5 qualifying transactions within those 60 days. \nCredit cards from Chase\nChase has some great credit card options for small businesses too. We’ve included three cards and the benefits they can offer your business. \nChase Ink Business Unlimited\n$500 bonus cash back when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months\nUnlimited 1.5% cash rewards for every business purchase you make on this card\n0% annual interest in the first 12 months, and 14.99%-20.99% after that\nNo annual fees\nChase Ink Business Cash\n$500 bonus cash back when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months\n5% cash rewards for select business purchases \n0% annual interest in the first 12 months, and 14.99%-20.99% after that\nNo annual fees\nChase Ink Business Preferred\n80,000 bonus points ($1,000 in travel rewards) when you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months\nEarn additional reward points on select business categories and travel expenses\n17.74%-22.74% annual interest\n$95 annual fee\nCapital One Spark Business Checking\nCapital One Spark Business Checking is another popular checking account for small businesses. They offer some great rewards and convenient benefits to make banking with them easy. And a bonus, the Capital One Spark plan has an entire suite of banking options, including lines of credit that your business should definitely take advantage of (more on these below).\nFeatures of Capital One Spark Business Checking:\nFirst deposit minimum of $250\nMonthly fee of $15 (maintain a balance of $2,000 to waive this fee)\nUnlimited fee-free transactions (including deposits, withdrawals, and transfers)\nFree electronic invoicing\n100% digital checking account complete with mobile and desktop apps\nCredit cards from Capital One\nHere are some of the credit cards that you can get with the Capital One Spark suite, and if you have Spark Card and a checking account, your monthly maintenance fee for the checking account will be waived. \nCapital One Spark Cash\n$500 bonus cash back when you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months, and $1,500 when you spend $50,000 in the first 6 months\n$0 annual fee for the first year, $95 after that\n18.74% APR\nUnlimited 2% cash back on every purchase\nFree employee cards with spending limits\nNo foreign transaction fees\nCapital One Spark Miles\n50,000 bonus miles when you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months, and 150,000 bonus miles when you spend $50,000 in the first 6 months\n$0 annual fee for the first year, $95 after that\n18.74% APR\nUnlimited 2x miles per every dollar spent\nFree employee cards with spending limits\nNo foreign transaction fees\nCapital One Spark Cash Select\n$200 bonus cash back when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months\n$0 annual fee\n0% APR for first year, then 14.74%-22.74% after that\nUnlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase\nFree employee cards with spending limits\nNo foreign transaction fees\nAxos Bank Basic Business Checking\nAxos bank is a great option for you if you want your banking experience to be completely digital. They don’t even have any physical banking locations, but they do offer surcharge-free ATM transactions when you use their national ATM network. \nFeatures of the Axos Bank Basic Business Checking account:\nMinimum opening deposit of $1,000\n200 free transactions each month (after that each transaction costs 30 cents)\n60 free deposits each month with their remote deposit capabilities\nNo monthly service fees\nFirst set of 50 checks free\nCompatible with Quickbooks\nAxos Bank doesn’t offer credit card options like other banks. They do offer some lending options, but these are on a much larger scale than most small businesses are looking for. If you want the Axos Bank checking account experience, we recommend choosing a Capital One Spark card to go along with it. \nSome things to watch out for when choosing a business bank account\nLooking at the features of different business checking accounts can make them seem appealing, but it’s important to be aware of any fees they might be hiding before going all in. \nHere are some common fees that banks aren’t typically upfront about, so be sure to know which fees will be associated with the bank account you choose for your business. \nMonthly transactions\nMost banks put a limit on the number of free transactions you can make with your business checking account. And then there will usually be a 30-50 cent fee for each transaction after that. Make sure you know what your limitations are.  \nBalance and deposit requirements\nIf your account balance falls below a certain amount, you may be subject to some additional fees. Know what that amount is for your bank and be sure to keep that average or daily balance where it needs to be. \nService fees\nCheck with your bank to see if there’s a monthly service or maintenance fee associated with your account. Most banks do require a monthly maintenance fee but will waive this if you keep a certain balance in your account or have multiple products with them. \nCash deposit fees\nEven though a bank may say they have “unlimited free transactions,” this doesn’t usually include cash deposits. Most checking accounts allow you up to a certain dollar amount in fee-free transactions, and then after that they’ll start charging you a small amount to deposit more cash within a statement period. \nFor example, you may be allowed to deposit $5,000 in cash each statement cycle, and after that they’ll charge you $1 for every $1,000 you deposit. It’s not a huge amount, but it’s good to be aware of these fees. \nBank location and size\nThe size and location of your bank is important to be aware of, especially if you travel a lot. If your bank doesn’t have a wide network of ATMs and you frequently need to pull out cash while traveling, then you might start racking up the fees from ATM transactions. \nFind out where your bank has ATMs and if it has a network of ATMs outside of their own that you can use without a surcharge. \nIt all comes down to doing your research and knowing which banking option is the best for your business. How many transactions or deposits are you making? What is your cash flow like? Do you prefer working with a local, hometown bank, rather than a bank with branches across the US? These kinds of questions can help you determine the best options for you.


Best banking accounts and credit cards for small businesses

In this article:\nTest your idea\nUnderstand your market\nGet to know your customer\nEstablish funding\nStructure your business\nStart marketing\nAs you are getting ready to start your own business you’re going to have to wear a lot of different hats, and it’s not always going to be easy. But you’ve got this!\nJust to help you along the way, we’ve put together a list of six best practices to successfully launch your new small business. Keep these things in mind as you go about preparing your new business to give yourself the best chance at success. \nTest your idea\nBefore you ever start your business, you should test your business idea out on a smaller scale. What is the product or service that you want people to purchase?\nTest your idea out. See if people show interest in what you have to offer and if it even makes sense to move forward with it. Here are a few ideas to start testing your business idea:\nBuild a minimum viable product\nA minimum viable product (MVP) is the simplest form of your business idea that you can sell. During the testing process keeping it simple is critical in order to test, modify, and repeat. Show your target audience this MVP and get feedback to help you improve your idea before the real launch of your business. \nGet critiques\nTalk to other people in the industry, your family members, your friends, and potential customers about your idea. Get their honest opinions and show appreciation for any criticisms. \nYour idea is supposed to solve a real problem that people have. Find out if your target audience identifies with the problem that you think your idea will solve. \nYou can gain valuable feedback by presenting your idea to a potential customer in a real-world application. \nAdjust\nUse the critiques you get to adjust your idea and run it by even more people. Try to run your idea by at least 50 people (or more) and continue to adjust it until you and your harshest critics see a product or service that is ready to go to market. \nTry selling it \nBefore you launch your business in earnest, try selling your offerings on a limited basis. Are people even willing to pay the price that you want for your idea?\nIf things don’t go well during the testing process, that doesn’t mean you should give up. It just means you need to make changes and test it again. \nIsn’t it much better to figure those things out now than before you put all of your hard-earned money into it?\nUnderstand your market\nMarket research is important for any type of business that you may be launching. If you don’t understand the market that you are entering, you aren’t likely to succeed. \nSpend time talking to and researching others in the industry in your specific area. What are they doing well? What can you learn from their successes and failures?\nImportant questions to ask and understand during the market research process:\nHow large is your potential market?\nWill the market grow or shrink?\nHow can you expand your business as the market grows?\nCan you handle a growing market?\nWhat competition already exists in your target location and what share of the market do they own?\nWhat is the general public’s perception of your competitors?\nWhat sets you apart from competitors?\nWho is your ideal customer, and what do they want?\nWhat are the pain points of your ideal customer?\nWhy would people buy from you?\nWhat prices should you charge? What are competitors charging?\nWhat are your business goals and how will you reach them in this current market?\nGet to know your customer\nIn order to sell anything to anyone you have to know and understand who you are selling to. You need to know how to appeal to your target demographic. \nDuring the market research phase, you should uncover some important information about your target customer. \nInformation you should know about your target audience:\nAge\nGender\nEducation level\nProfession\nLocation of residence\nIncome level\nInterests\nWhat they do during free time\nMotivations\nBiggest challenges\nSpending/purchasing habits\nResearch habits (where do they go for information?)\nLearning these things about your customers will give you a better success rate of marketing and selling to those customers. You can’t just blast information about your business and expect to get qualified customers running to your store. \nhandwritten note profile of ideal customer for market research small business\nYou need to strategically plan for the type of customer you want and then appeal to the things that you know about them. \nEstablish funding\nYou can’t start a business without the proper funding. Even if you are able to work out of your home doing a service with equipment that you already own, you will need funding for marketing at the very least. \nThe more likely scenario is that you’ll need funding for a commercial space, capital to manufacturer a product or purchase equipment, and of course the money to start a good marketing campaign (including getting a website up). \nBeyond simply saving up the money you need to start your venture (also known as bootstrapping), here are a few ways to can acquire the necessary funding:\nBorrow from trusted friends and family. It’s not always ideal to be in debt to people you are close with, but if you are confident in your plan and are confident that you can pay them back quickly, then this isn’t a bad way to go. \nYou could always try crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is a way to let friends and friends of friends and all of their friends (and complete strangers) make their own contribution to your business. You’ve probably heard of GoFundMe, which is primarily meant for raising money for special life events and challenging circumstances. There are tons of platforms like this devoted to specifically helping small business owners like you get started.  \nTaking out a business loan is always an option if you have the credit score and collateral to back up the loan. \nGo deeper: \nGuide to small business loans: How to apply, best types, and tips\nStructure your business\nIt’s important to choose the right corporate structure for your small business. Do your research to find out if you should incorporate or if you should stick with a sole proprietorship until you see some significant growth. \nWe have a great guide that can help you learn more about sole proprietorship versus a corporation and what type of corporation is the best for your business. \nCheck it out here: \nHow and when to incorporate your small business\n\nStart marketing\nOnce you are satisfied with your business idea, you understand the market and your audience, and you’ve got the funding and structure in place, it’s time to get your name out there. \nIn this world of constant change and growing markets, it is imperative that you start a marketing campaign to help your business get found. \nThere are tons of ways that you can start your marketing, but the best place to start is the search engines and the places where your target audience spends most of their time. Are they big social media nuts or are they constantly on the road listening to the radio?\nCheck out these guides to get a good start to your marketing campaign:\n25 free local advertising ideas for small businesses\nLocal SEO: 15 free tips for better search rankings\n5 best DIY websites for small businesses on a budget\nLearn more: \n4 crucial steps to an effective small business marketing plan\n

6 best practices for successfully launching a small business

In this article: \nStrategies for growing your business in a “down year.”\nStrategies to prepare for increased demand during recovery\nAdditional resources to help with financial struggles\nOne of the biggest strategies small business owners are continuously trying to implement is how to grow their business. After all, business growth means that you are gaining success and more profits. \nBut what happens when the economy takes a turn for the worse? It can be difficult to continue growing or even to maintain your current level of profits during a recession or “down year.” \nThroughout this article, we’ll go over the best strategies for growing your business during an economic downturn, how to prepare for increased business as the economy recovers, and financial assistance resources you can reach out to during crisis situations. \nWhat strategies can you implement to grow your business when the economy is slow?\nGrowing your business really comes down to two things: getting new customers and having the resources in place to acquire and maintain new customers. The following strategies can help you accomplish these goals. \nImprove your cashflow\nCashflow is crucial to a thriving business, whether during a thriving economy or a recession. You need to pay your bills and operating expenses in order to gain new customers and you need that incoming profit from new customers to continue paying your operating expenses, and the cycle continues. \nA cashflow strategy should come well before an economic downturn if you have an established business. And if you are just starting out, you should have a plan to keep your incoming cashflow strong, especially through times of economic turmoil. \nCheck out this article: \n6 common small business cash flow problems and how to solve them\nFind ways to reduce costs\nThis strategy comes back to cash flow and having enough money to put towards your other growth strategies. Finding ways to reduce unnecessary expenses will help you allocate those funds towards improving the function and outlook of your company. \nDo an audit of your current expenses and determine what you can reasonably cut down to improve your spend in other areas. If you have an office or brick-and-mortar location, some common places that you can try to reduce costs include:\nUtilities: reduce your electric, water, and sewage costs by utilizing more renewable energy strategies\nInternet and phone plans: these companies are always trying to keep competitive quotes, so ask around for better pricing\nGo paperless and reduce the use of office supplies\nCut down on “luxuries” in the workplace, like expensed meals, trips, and more\nKeep marketing your business\nOne place where many business owners hurt themselves during a recession is marketing. When money gets tight, the marketing and advertising budget is often the first thing to go. But how do you expect to gain new business if you aren’t getting your name out there and keeping people informed? Cutting off marketing can cause a vicious spiral that can hurt your business even more than it already is.\nThis is especially important during a time like a global pandemic when people are more cautious about visiting businesses and staying at home more. \nRather than shutting off your marketing efforts, you need to get creative about how you can reach your customers during this time. Think about what they are going through and how your product or services can help them. Use that to appeal to them and gain their business. \nUse resources like social media, your website, and Google ads to help get your name and promotions out there. \n(Image)\n\nHow can you better prepare for increased growth as the economy recovers?\nAs the economy moves into a recovery and growth phase, it's crucial to prepare for the influx of business that will occur. What can you do to prepare for that increased demand?\nExploit opportunities to reduce costs while the demand is low\nYes, this is important here too. Before the recovery phase begins, you can look for opportunities to reduce costs that will help you to prepare for the increased growth that will occur. \nLook for some of the following opportunities in your community:\nCommercial rentals at a lower cost (you may even be able to use this to negotiate a deal with your current landlord)\nDeals on equipment \nUpgrades in software, internet plans, marketing campaigns, etc., due to the lower demand\nDon’t take on too much too fast\nIt’s an exciting time when the sales leads are constantly flowing in, but it’s important to be realistic in the amount of work that you can handle. Don’t accept every lead that walks in the (real or virtual) door, or if you do, set realistic expectations for your clients of when you’ll be able to get to their project. \nYou may have to turn down some business during this time, and that’s okay. It’s better to turn down a couple of leads that you don’t have the capacity to handle than to take on too much and not deliver on the work that you’ve promised. Just know your limits and be smart about the work that you take on. \nContinue your marketing efforts\nWe will always recommend you keep up your marketing efforts, even if it’s just finding \nfree ways to market your business\n within your community. \nEven as demand increases, it’s important to keep up marketing efforts that revolve around brand awareness and maintaining your online visibility. The high demand won’t last forever, and you’ll want to have continued business growth as things slow down again. Tasks like social media posting, email marketing, and SEO can all help with your long-term marketing strategy for gaining new customers. \nYou may also like:\n\nWhy small business email marketing should be your top priority\n\n\nTop social media strategies for small businesses\n\n\nThe small business marketing success guide\n\n\n15 free tips for better local search rankings\n\nWhat resources are available to help small businesses during economic struggles?\nIf you are struggling to keep positive cashflow or need help financially supporting the influx of business as the economy starts to recover, there are resources available that you can reach out to. \nA few options that can help in an economic downturn or emergency situation:\n\nSBA Disaster Assistance\n\n\nSBA-associated grants\n\n\nEconomic Injury Disaster Loan\n (EIDL) Program \nTalk to your bank about a \nsmall business loan\n\nSeek out small business investors\n

How to grow your small business in a slow economy

In this article:\nStart your own online order and delivery service\nUse alternative third-party services\nKeep up on your marketing efforts\nDuring the COVID-19 pandemic many businesses were forced to adapt to new methods of reaching their customers, primarily online. Restaurants were especially impacted by this, as most restaurants across the country had to close their dining rooms during statewide shutdowns. \nHowever, this may be a silver lining, as moving to online orders, curbside pickup, and delivery services has helped many restaurants continue to serve their local communities and many employees to keep their jobs. And as the recovery continues, these additional services and offerings can help restaurants to maximize revenue and customer satisfaction.\nIt’s important to continue to leave online and to-go services available for those who are still taking precautions and for those who just want to easily order with the tap of their fingers. \nSmall businesses that move toward “omnichannel” or “unified commerce” sales models, with multiple avenues for customers to order, pay, and receive product, will be able to weather financial and socioeconomic storms better than those that stick with traditional sales models.\nWhy don't some restaurant owners want to work with Uber Eats, DoorDash, or Grubhub?\nIf your restaurant isn’t providing online ordering or delivery services, now is the ideal time to start. Some restaurant owners have been averse to starting online and delivery services because they don’t want to work through the big three third-party platforms: DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub, which may increase your reach but they take a healthy bite of what can be very slim profit margins.\nAdditionally, many restaurant owners are averse to giving control over the customer experience (and quality of food) to someone outside of their control. It can hinder the customer’s view of the restaurant if food takes too long to arrive or is cold and soggy when it does. \nSo, are there other options?\nCheck out this article: \nWhy (and how) you need to put your restaurant’s menu online\nAlternative options for restaurants to sell online that don’t involve DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub\nYou don’t have to use one of “the big three” to get your food selling online and delivered to your customers. While they can make it easier for new restaurants, or restaurants new to delivery, to get their name out there, you do have other options. \nThe first of these is to offer online ordering and delivery services directly from the source: your restaurant. \nYou may also like: \n9 reasons your restaurant needs online ordering and delivery services\nStart online restaurant orders and delivery services on your own\nYou don’t need a third-party to offer online ordering and delivery services. If you have a website, a point-of-sale (POS) system, and employees that can drive, you have the means to start these services on your own. \nIt might take a little more work in the beginning to get everything integrated and working properly and to train your employees on their new responsibilities, but in the long run this could save you money. And it keeps everything in-house and under your control. \n(Image)\n\nSome things that you’ll need in order to offer online and delivery services:\nWebsite or online ordering platform—most modern POS (Point Of Sale) systems and/or online “shopping carts” have some way to integrate online ordering capabilities\nHigh-speed internet to ensure that you are receiving the orders as they come in\nDrivers and method of transportation for them (even if it’s their own vehicle)\nBags and takeout containers\nGo deeper: \n\nHow to get your restaurant started with delivery or carry-out\n\nThe 5 best DIY websites for small businesses on a budget\nWant to keep it “old school”? Telephone ordering can still work for your restaurant\nIf you have the capacity to take phone orders, this can still be effective, though most younger customers now will expect an online/mobile/app-based ordering system. \nIf you don’t have the capability or desire to go online for some reason, setting up a dedicated phone line and publishing your call-ahead/takeout/delivery order number far and wide can allow customers to call in their orders and either pick them up or ask you to deliver them. \nThis has been the model for lots of Chinese and pizza restaurants for decades, and with the increased demand lately for ordering ahead, you could still add profits and satisfy more customers’ wants in this way while keeping control of the entire process.\n(Image)\n\nOther third-party platforms for restaurant ordering and delivery\nIf starting all of this on your own feels like too much, there are other third-party companies you can use to allow online ordering and delivery for your restaurant. These are some great alternatives to DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. \nPostmates\nPostmates used to be a third-party online ordering and delivery service similar to “the big three,” but it was acquired by Uber in 2020. It's still run separately and fees may be a little better. Postmates is a little less common in certain areas of the U.S. This can be a good and bad thing. If your market isn’t familiar with Postmates, it could take a little extra marketing to get your name out there. But if Postmates is really common where you are, then it could bring in a lot more business. \nGet started at \npostmates.com\n. \nChowNow\nChowNow is another third-party online ordering and delivery solution that can help your restaurant get food out to your customers. ChowNow has an online ordering app and website similar to the other solutions out there, but they’ll also create a branded app specifically for your restaurant that customers can download and use to reorder their favorites with ease. \nInterested in this solution? Get started at \nchownow.com\n. \nOne awesome feature of ChowNow and Postmates is that they can integrate online ordering with your Google Business listing. That means that customers could find you on Google and be provided with a link to order online, without having to sign into another app. As long as they are already logged into Google, the process is seamless. \nUp your marketing game\nIf you’re trying to get away from using popular apps and solutions that have big marketing advantages, it’s important to compensate for that. You’ll need to hone in your marketing strategy to reach customers in new and innovative ways. \nFirst, make sure your current customers know that you are providing online ordering and delivery services. Get the word out with newsletters, \nsocial media posts\n, and sharing the news on your website. \nIn order to reach new online customers, you’ll need to invest in some small business advertising. That could be \nGoogle Ads\n, \nsocial media advertising\n, \nbillboards\n, and more. \nFocus some marketing efforts on \nSEO\n and building a good online reputation so your restaurant shows up when people are looking on places like Google, Yelp, and Bing. \nHere are a few helpful marketing guides to get you started:\n25 free local advertising ideas for small businesses\n5 ways to promote your restaurant on Google\n\nHow to set up Facebook Ads Manager for your small business\n\n

Restaurant alternatives to DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub for online ordering and delivery

In this article:\nMerchant accounts and traditional payments processors\nPayment service providers\nEcommerce solutions\nIn today’s digital world, customers expect to be able to make their purchases with a credit or debit card, even when paying super-small, one-person businesses. Fewer people carry cash or checks than ever before, so having some kind of credit card payment capability will be a valuable asset for your business. \nWe’ll walk through the most common ways to accept credit card payments and help you determine which way will work best for your business. \nHow to accept credit card payments in your business\nThere are three main ways to accept credit card payments:\nUse a merchant account/traditional payments processor\nUse a payment service provider\nUse an ecommerce solution\nIn some instances, you may even use a combination of some or all of these methods. \nMerchant accounts / payments processors\nA merchant account is essentially a bank account that assists businesses in accepting credit card purchases. You can use a merchant account through your bank or another financial institution that offers this service. \nMerchant accounts are not business bank accounts though. Their purpose is to accept the funds from your credit card transactions, and the money will then need to be moved into your business bank account once the transactions are complete. \nCheck out this article: \nSmall business guide: What is credit card processing?\nMerchant account providers will generally set you up with the tools and equipment you need to process credit card payments too, like a terminal, tablet, or phone add-on. These are commonly called POS (Point Of Sale) systems. Your bank may act as the “payments processor” or they may have an agreement with one of the many payments processor companies.\nIf you use a smaller bank that doesn’t provide payments processing or merchant accounts including credit card processing, ask around the local small businesses in your area and ask them who they process with, and see if they like their solution, POS system, and rates.\nOne thing to keep in mind is that most merchant accounts require you to sign a contract for a set amount of time. So before getting too deep into this process, make sure you are ready to commit to the provider you have selected. A good merchant services provider can explain all the rates and fees to you, and may be able to get you better rates overall than some of the third-party service providers, particularly if you do a lot of business.\nPayment service providers\nPayment service providers are third-party services, like Square/Block, Stripe, etc. that provide simpler online methods for processing credit cards. While you can still use a merchant account with this method, you don’t need to have one in order to use a payment service provider. \nThis is one reason why these payment service providers has been so disruptive to the traditional payments processor market space. They streamlined and simplified the process of accepting credit cards for small businesses, and their fee structure is very easily understood. This is all good for small businesses, particularly those who don’t know the ins and outs of the “payments” space.\nHowever, depending on your merchant account, you might actually get a better deal from one of the more traditional processors, so be sure to ask around, speak to your merchant services agent or salesperson, and ask whether they can give you better rates.\nMany payment service providers can provide you with a terminal for your store or office, mobile devices and add-ons, and online integrations for processing credit card payments. \nSome payment processors even have their own POS systems that you can use to track inventory, customer order history, and more. If you need or want a multifunctional POS system, be sure to ask your representative and compare features and prices between providers and processors. \nNote for independent contractors, micro-businesses, and one-person shops: Depending on the size of your business, you may also benefit from payments service providers like PayPal, Zelle, or Venmo. These allow bank-to-bank and person-to-person transfers for a fee (or sometimes no fees, depending on the funding source). If you are a one-person operation just starting out, you may be able to utilize this type of payment. PayPal users can pay you with a credit card (and you will have to pay the fee, about 3%, which is close to what accepting payments via a typical business processing setup would cost you). Learn more in our article: \nWhat are alternative payment methods and why should your business consider them?\n\nEcommerce solutions\nIf you only want to sell online and don’t have a need for accepting payments in-person, then an ecommerce solution like Etsy or Shopify could be a great option for your business. \nThese ecommerce platforms have credit card processing built-in to them for all of their users to take advantage of. \nAgain, this can also be combined with one or both of the other two methods. It doesn’t have to be an online-only solution. You could have a physical store with a merchant account or payment processor and then use one of these ecommerce solutions for your online store. \nYou might be interested in: \nHow to get your business started selling online\nThere may (well, there WILL) be fees associated with each of these methods for accepting credit card payments. Within each method, there are several solutions available to choose from. Determine the method that seems the most fitting for your business and then research the different platforms available to find the most competitive offers and prices. It’s can be a good idea to talk to a local merchant services provider and develop a relationship there. They will may be able to provide you the best prices and service, and it doesn't hurt to check.\nHow to choose which way to accept credit card payments\nOnly you can decide which form of credit card processing will be the most beneficial to your business, but we’ll provide some instances when each of these methods can be useful. \nTraditional merchant accounts are the most beneficial for brick and mortar businesses or businesses where you are physically selling something in-person. If you have offerings online, ask your merchant services provider if they offer an online store/shopping cart or ecommerce solution in addition to your merchant account, as many do.\nPayment service providers are generally great for self-employed individuals and businesses that offer in-person and online solutions. Whether you are selling a product or a service, you can use this solution to allow your customers to pay online. The added benefit of including flexible and often lower-cost POS systems with your provider can be especially handy for retailers whether you have an online store or not. \nEcommerce solutions are great when you are selling a product online, particularly if you start small and sell only online. This allows you a way to start marketing your products without having to invest in a storefront. \nSolo makes it easy to pay and get paid\nSolo is not a bank, but is a financial super-app for small businesses, freelancers, sole proprietors, contractors, and more. Solo is the easy way to pay and get paid. Your customers don't have to sign up to pay you, and can use several payment methods, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and cards. QR codes make it easy to get paid, and you can easily cash out your Solo account balance for free, or spend it using your Solo Cash Card anywhere Visa is accepted. Learn more at \nSolo.co\n.

3 most common ways to accept credit card payments for your small business

In this 5-minute read:\nWhat’s the lowest-cost option for processing credit cards\nFlate-rate processing vs. interchange plus\nSubscription flat-rate processing pros and cons\nExamples of credit card processing fees for different business models\nOne reason that many small business owners are reluctant to get set up to accept credit cards is that the fees for the service eat into their profits. Depending on your business model, your processing agreement, and the number and amount of your transactions, these fees can be significant. \nHowever, today’s customers expect every business—even super-small, local businesses and roadside carts—to accept credit cards, so not having a credit card payment option can prevent your small business from growing and staying profitable.\nLet’s go over what credit card processing really costs so you can determine a good fit for your business. \nThe “interchange plus” credit card processing pricing model is usually the lowest cost overall\nA lot of small businesses use one of the newer payments services providers or “aggregators” (like Square, Stripe, Clover, etc.) because they seem simpler and people can easily understand “flat rate” processing.\nWhat is flat-rate processing?\nIn typical flat-rate processing agreements, you pay a simple percentage for each card transaction (typically between 2.4% and 3.5% of the total purchase price) plus a fee per transaction (usually between $.10 and $.30). That’s it. This may seem like a good deal, especially when most of these payments providers will give you a simple card reader for free and get you set up to accept payments relatively quickly.\nHowever, you may get the lowest rates and pay the least overall if you opt for a traditional processor who offers competitive “interchange plus” pricing.\nWhat is interchange plus processing? \nEvery credit card network (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) charges an interchange fee that your processor pays to facilitate each transaction. Providers that use “interchange plus” pricing model charge the interchange rate plus a markup. So for interchange plus pricing, you pay the current interchange rate, plus your processor’s markup, plus a transaction fee (similar to the transaction fee added to flat-rate purchases discussed above), plus sometimes an additional monthly fee.\nThis may sound complicated, as interchange rates are subject to change so you might not always be paying the exact same fees for processing card transactions. But the fact is the interchange rate doesn’t vary much, and most businesses find that a reliable processor charging interchange plus will save them around 20% on processing costs (or more) compared to the flat-rate aggregators.\nWhat is subscription or “zero markup” flat-rate processing?\nSubscription flat-rate processing is gaining in popularity for a couple of reasons: it’s simple to understand, and it sounds like it would be cheaper than either the interchange plus model or the typical flat rate model. Some providers pump up the “zero markup” angle to imply that you will be paying less per transaction than with other pricing models.\nIn a subscription flat-rate processing agreement, you pay a fixed monthly cost to maintain your processing capability, plus a set fee per transaction. Since the monthly costs and transaction fees for various providers vary widely, it’s not practical to estimate what you might expect to pay for this type of processing from an average provider. Depending on how large your transactions are and how often you transact, a subscription flat-rate processor might be competitively priced with a traditional interchange plus processor, or it might be quite a bit more expensive.\nLet’s look at a couple of examples, as elucidated in \nthis article\n by Ben Dwyer at CardFellow:\nLet’s say that you sell furniture. You’re likely processing higher average ticket transactions, but fewer transactions per day than some other types of businesses. You’ve decided to take credit cards, and you have an offer from Processor A using interchange plus pricing with a markup of 0.10% and 10 cents per transaction and from Processor B using subscription flat rate pricing with a markup of 0% and 25 cents per transaction. Processor A has a $10 monthly fee, and Processor B has a $29 monthly fee.\nYou sell a couch for $2,000.\nWith Processor A, you’d pay $2.10 to the processor for their markup. (2000 x 0.001 + 0.10) With Processor B, you’d pay 25 cents. On the surface, it looks like a no-brainer in favor of the subscription pricing. However, to get the most accurate number, you’d also include your monthly fee divided by your number of transactions for that month. If you only sell that one couch all month, you’d be paying $12.10 to Processor A as a markup or $29.25 as a markup to Processor B.\nIf you sold 10 of those couches in a month, you’d pay Processor A $21 (20,000 x 0.001 + 10 x 0.10) and Processor B $2.50 (10 x 0.25). Again it looks like a big savings with the subscription pricing, but the monthly fee changes that. The monthly fee would add another $1.00 per sale with Processor A for a total of $31 or $2.90 per sale with Processor B for a total of $31.50. Those costs are pretty close, but it’s important to remember that the disparity could be even greater if you have a higher monthly fee for your subscription pricing. Memberships from some processors start as high as $69 for a basic plan.\nBut what if you sell smaller-ticket items but process more transactions daily? Let’s look at another example from Ben’s article:\nNow let’s say that you own a shoe store. Your average sale is $50 and you have 10 sales per day for a total of 300 transactions per month. With Processor A, that’ll cost you 15 cents per transaction (50 x 0.001 + 0.10). Adding in our monthly fee of $10 adds 3 cents per transaction for Processor A, bringing the total to 18 cents per transaction. With Processor B, it’ll cost you 25 cents per transaction, plus the monthly fee of $29 split over 300 transactions, equaling 35 cents per transaction. (29 / 300 + 0.25). For the month, you’d pay a total markup of $55 with the interchange plus pricing (300 x .15 + 10) or $104 with the membership pricing. (300 x .25 + 29). Guess what? That 0% processing just cost close to double as much as the competitive interchange plus processing. It’s easy to disregard the monthly cost because it doesn’t seem like it’s part of your processing costs, but these examples illustrate that it’s important to take it into account. When searching for the lowest cost processing, 0% markup doesn’t automatically equal lowest cost.\nAdditionally, Ben points out that, while the subscription flat-rate model may be a cost-effective option for new and growing businesses, you need to understand that many subscription pricing processors set a limit on the number of transactions you can process at each membership level. If your business processes more transactions, you might need to change to a more expensive monthly membership, which of course means you’re averaging more in overall costs per transaction.\nThe bottom line is that you need to discuss your needs and options with your merchant level sales agent or processor, and determine whether you value simplicity, or the absolute lowest processing cost, or personalized customer service, or useful value-added options that come with many processor agreements.\nSolo makes it easy to pay and get paid\nSolo is not a bank, but is a financial super-app for small businesses, freelancers, sole proprietors, contractors, and more. Solo is the easy way to pay and get paid. Your customers don't have to sign up to pay you, and can use several payment methods, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and cards. QR codes make it easy to get paid, and you can easily cash out your Solo account balance for free, or spend it using your Solo Cash Card anywhere Visa is accepted. Learn more at \nSolo.co\n.

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