Dan, thank you. that is precisely the information I was looking for :)

Glen also checkout google checkout. Very simple and I believe it's 2.?% I'll check later. Easy process and they transfer full amount to your bank account automatically the 2nd business day after the charge is made.

Great Responses
 

Here I was thinking it was a silly question!

In the meantime I did contact my bank that we currently have our business account with and there are 2 basic options for us, first option is called batch advantage, it allows me to take credit card details over the phone and process them with my online merchant account, only $11/month admin + 1.4% transaction fee, there was however a minimum charge of $22/mnth so if I don't use process $1500/month I'm still up for the minimum charge, so effectively minimum monthly commitment was $33 + $0.11 per transaction for SSL encryption.

Other option was to get a mobile terminal (eftpos) that was minimum spend $70/mnth all inclusive, but then added benefit of a mobile eftpos to take to client meetings, planners etc, allowing normal savings or cheque transactions.

Only drawback of either of these was a contract period of 3 years, but hey I'm not planning on getting any smaller in the next 3 years, I also do the odd bit of commercial work, and voiceover work so can really see the advantages of the mobile eftpos facility - and really just need to factor the cost into our pricing structure of which we are currently reviewing.

Thanks again for discussion generated here.

Cheers
Darren

To go down the paypal route (the merchant account without the virtual terminal) the client doesnt need a paypal account. They just enter their CC details like buying on any other website. If they have a PP account they can just sign in and pay easily, if not, enter the details and away they go.

Ive just looked at the google checkout thanks to you guys and its half the cost of PP, just 1.5%!!!!

We have a pay now button for paying the deposit when they book and then send them a paypal invoice to pay the rest. Our entire process is online but we can go manual if they dont have a computer, but that does mean they have to pay via cheque. That reminds me, need to re-jig the booking form.

I enjoyed reading this thread and have started a new one to address my particular circumstances. I would appreciate if you guys could take time to weigh in. Thanks!

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/taking-c...ml#post1519276

Thanks for the good info in this thread.

Credit Card Stategy
 

I use a simple strategy to limit the transaction fees.

For deposits, I accept whatever they are willing to pay with. Check, money order, credit card.

For final payments (much larger) I encourage they not be paid by credit card. I let them know that I have to pay a transaction fee and encourage payment by check. Most people are sympathetic. For those that have no alternative, I bite the bullet and take the cc payment.

I just signed up on google checkout, and send out invoices to two of my clients. So far, I have accepted their payments but it will take 10 days to reflect on my bank account. Ill update you about this

We use to use Paypal, but Google Checkout seemed to offer more for less.

However, for weddings, I think in 10 years we only took maybe 1 or 2 credit card payments. The rest was cash or check.

We only used paypal for online orders at marching band competitions and dance recitals, never like actually at the event... except for Vanderbilt, where they handled all the transactions and paid us.

We take Paypal, but we discourage people from paying w/ credit card, and are considering passing on the fees to the customer. Passing on the fee makes even more sense considering that the customer could decide they don't like our artistic style (or something like that) and do a charge-back. We would win the dispute, but even then it would be time lost.

I agree about passing on the fees...after all our computer store and other shops charge us if we use the card, so in fairness, as long as a client is aware of the charges and are prepared to pay them, it should be fine.

I also believe that with Paypal, there are no fees if payment is made from one paypal account(client) to another (your own). Fees are then applicable upon withdrawal - perhaps someone can clarify?

Ooh! That would be huge!!