Credit Card Processing for Salons and Spas
Should you have a credit card processing machine in your salon or spa?
Very often people ask me if they should have a credit card machine in their salon. Of course the answer is …. It depends! No, really, it does depend on several factors, such as:
- The type of treatments you do. If, say, you run a salon where you do lots of little treatments for small amounts of cash (Nothing wrong in this) then processing credit cards will seriously damage your revenues. If however, you sell large ticket items then you’ll struggle to survive without a processing machine.
- Your clientele. If your clientele do/don’t have a credit card (in the majority of cases) then you should/shouldn’t have a machine.
- The amount of retail products you sell. If selling retail really isn’t your ‘thing’ then a machine will be less important to you.
- The type of person you are and want to be. If taking over the world with a global salon presence really isn’t on your ‘radar’ and you’re more than happy with your lot in life (And again absolutely nothing wrong in that) then, perhaps, a machine isn’t for you.
However, what I would say, is that if you want to expand sales. If you want to maximise retail opportunities. If you want to earn every single penny you can then you simply must have a credit card processing machine. Period. End of.
Why you need a credit card processing machine
Remember: when you hand over your credit card to pay for something, well, it’s just not the same as handing over the cash is it? Lets face it, you’d probably think about your purchases just that little bit more if you’d have to hand over cash rather than your credit card. Wouldn’t you?
Now, if you think in that way then - you’ve guessed it - so do your clients. Your clients will spend more money with you if you can process their credit cards rather than simply accepting cash.
What does a credit card processing machine cost?
Most typically, you’ll be expected to pay a set up charge for getting a credit card processing machine. Typically this can be expected to be around the £200/ US$320 mark.
You’ll then be charged a monthly amount for the machine and the connection. Again this is around the £20/US$32 per month. Then (as if all of that isn’t enough!) you’ll then be charged per transaction. This will depend on the type of card presented to you. Typically charges vary from a flat rate to a percentage of the sale.
Using the machine could really not be easier. Full training should be supplied, coupled to a very user friendly manual.
So, to sum up: you need to ensure that, if you’re going to have a credit card processing machine, you’re going to use it. You need to ensure that the costs associated with the credit card machine will be covered within your pricing structure. (You don’t want to be making a loss from accepting credit cards) And, lastly, all your staff (and you) are fully trained on how to use your credit card machine.
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