Have you looked at your financial statements lately?As a small business owner, you’re probably always thinking of ways to boost profit margins. That means cutting costs and increasing revenue, right?It sounds easy enough. But as you also know, many things in business are easier said than done. What if we told you that there was a simple, risk-free (and 100% legal) way to immediately increase your profits? Of course that would be intriguing. But you may be thinking: Again, easier said than done. As it turns out, it’s not! All you need is to do is change how you accept payments. Whether you have your own veterinary clinic, run a fashion boutique, or operate a food truck, you can get zero-cost credit card processing by implementing a new payment system.Even better: Your customers will thank you for it. So, let’s dive deeper into how you can get zero-cost credit card processing and start seeing your revenue increase.
Consider this scenario: You’re a veterinarian. You have your own clinic that brings in $700,000 a year (the average for an animal hospital or vet clinic, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association). After paying your staff and covering rent, utilities, and equipment expenses, you have a net profit of $100,000 for yourself, which puts you slightly above the median average for veterinary salary. You may think: I’m doing just fine as a vet. And you’d be correct! But you could also be earning much more…Now, the average cost of a vet office visit can run anywhere from less than $40 to more than $300, depending on the reason for the visit. If it’s for an annual physical exam or just one or two vaccines, it won’t be too much. If it’s for surgery or a blood test, however, it could cost much more.Given the cost of many trips to the vet, your customers are more likely to pay with a credit card (according to Federal Reserve research, credit card usage rates increase as transaction values increase). And if credit cards are used for 40% of everyday retail transactions, it’s possible that as many as half of your clients pay with plastic. So, out of that $700,000 in veterinary revenue, as much as $350,000 may be left subject to credit card transaction fees (if 50% of your revenue comes from credit cards). To see how much that decreases your income, we need to calculate the cost of veterinary clinic credit card processing fees. According to data collected by the Motley Fool, you’ll pay anywhere from 1.29% to 3.30%—plus a per-transaction fee.
And your credit card transaction fees don’t end there. The payment processing company will also charge you for hardware, software, and other services. All told, you could be paying more than 3% per transaction for your veterinary credit card processing system. If you pay an average of just 3.5% in processing fees on that $350,000 in revenue at your vet clinic, that’s $12,250 lost each year! That’s a lot of money to pay just for credit card processing. Now, imagine that you have totally free credit card processing. If this were the case, you would have $12,250 more each year. That’s a salary increase of 12.25%!You read that right. By getting zero-cost credit card processing, you could increase your profits by more than 10%.Think of all that you could do with that extra money:
The point is this: With the best credit card processing, you can put money back into your wallet (or your business). The money you make should be yours—not the credit card company’s.
No traditional merchant service provider (MSP) is going to offer zero-cost credit card processing. If they did, they would lose money and, eventually, go out of business. So, you have to look elsewhere for free payment processing. Fortunately, we know the best strategy for doing so. First, you’ll want to research and identify good merchant service providers. The ideal MSP will have experience with small businesses, charge minimal fees, and provide the hardware and software capabilities your business needs. You’ll want to make sure that the MSPs you’re researching provide mobile credit card processing, PIN debit card processing, and all types of e-commerce credit card processing. From there, filter out any payment processing companies that use a tiered-pricing model. While tiered pricing may make transactions appear cheaper at first glance, you won’t necessarily know how each transaction will be categorized. All too often, purchases are marked as ‘non-qualified’ or ‘mid-qualified,’ meaning you’ll pay higher fees. Instead of dealing with tiered pricing, opt for pass-through pricing. Under this model, businesses pay a fixed fee, plus an MSP markup. It’s much more transparent—and almost always cheaper. Once you’ve narrowed down your research, select your top three MSPs. Then, compare the following:
Now, you may think there’s no way to get rid of these credit card transaction fees. The truth is: There isn’t. You’ll still have to pay the interchange, network, and assessment fees. You can, however, negotiate the MSP markup. We regularly see business owners get 5–10% off payment processor’s fees. That could save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars per year. It may be even easier for you to negotiate the MSP markup if your business generates a certain amount of revenue. For instance, if your veterinary clinic brings in $1,000,000 in revenue each year, you can leverage that high revenue to get a better deal with your payment system provider. After negotiating the markup, go with the credit card processor that will bring the most value to your business. In many cases, this is the cheapest MSP. Keep in mind, however, that if you complete many transactions each day, you’ll want to make sure that the processing system has the speed you need. Once you’ve found the right MSP, you’re ready for the next step: Implementing a solution that will deliver zero-cost credit card processing.
You may be wondering: What’s a surcharge solution?In short, it’s your path to taking home 100% of your revenue. Whether your credit card processing system is for a restaurant or a veterinary clinic, a surcharge program allows you to completely eliminate transaction fees. So, how does it work? Your customers still have the option to pay with a credit card, debit card, cash, or check. However, if they pay with a credit card, they’ll have to cover the processing fees. So, if a customer pays you $100, you’ll see all $100 at the end of the day.To help you better understand this, take a look at how we implement our surcharge solution at NadaPayments:
Now, let’s revisit the vet clinic example. Let’s say you perform a surgery on a dog that costs $1,000. By using a veterinary credit card processing system with an integrated surcharge program, you’ll save $35 in transaction fees. How awesome is that?
Surcharge programs are 100% legal and work seamlessly with credit card installment plans. No matter your business, signing up for a surcharge program will allow you to start taking home 100% of your revenue. At NadaPayments, we’re ready to help you get started right away. We’ll get you set up in no time so that you can focus on what matters: Running your business. Contact us at +1 (929) 293-1800 or click the link below.
