7 replies to this topic

[promojoe]

I have used MerchantPlus.com since starting my business and have some general questions about your merchant services providers. This company has been great and is using me as a source of information about getting into our industry. In fact, they are most likely going to exhibit at PPAI Expo in the business services pavilion. However, they want to tailor their service specifically to our industry and not be "just another credit card processing company". For example, one of the services that they are working on and will offer is a "click to pay invoice" where a supplier or even a distributor can send a link to a customer that will take them to a secure online credit card form. So, instead of faxing or pdf'ing a credit card form that the client needs to fill out and fax back, this would be a much quicker and easier way of collecting money.

Does this sound like something that could be a good sell in the industry? It sounds like it would make collections easier for me. Are there any other services that you are currently getting or would like to get from your merchant services provider?

Thanks all!

Joe
Executive Brand, Inc.

[royster13]

Does the PPAI have a CC processor?.....I think they do....And if they do, why are they selling booth space to someone else?.....

One thing I would like to see is an online place for clients to pay invoices...I have one supplier that has such a link on their website....I use Paypal to generate a CC payment link for my clients....Works great....

[biggerfish]

promojoe said:

... one of the services that they are working on and will offer is a "click to pay invoice" where a supplier or even a distributor can send a link to a customer that will take them to a secure online credit card form.

We use a service like this every day, several times a day. It's called Distributor Central. Get a free account there (as a distributor), generate invoices, send them via email to your customers - they click a link and are taken to a secure CC form where their information is captured.

You can even turn on the Authorize.net gateway to immediately process the transaction and get the funds into your bank account.

We don't do that part, instead we just capture the data and then use Paypal's Virtual Terminal to process all flavors of cards for one low rate. It nets out to about 1.7% or something equally trivial.

[royster13]

Rich do you need your own merchant account to use that part of DC?....

[biggerfish]

royster13 said:

Rich do you need your own merchant account to use that part of DC?....

Not at all! All you're doing is capturing the data.

[twistededge]

I think QuickBooks has this integrated into their product if you subscribe to that service. A supplier I just used sent me a link to the invoice and I could download a pdf and there was a space that told me the outstanding amount and I could pay by any number of card types. I had already prepaid by cc so I didn't use that part. I thought it was neat for QB users.

[tmertz]

Rich is correct in that this functionality is built into DC.

Any Distributors that get proofs, order status, invoice, etc.... from TradeNet or any of the Suppliers using DC order management should realize that this functionality is also available for Distributors to use with their Customers.

You can set yourself up as a test customer, enter an order on your DC website and process it to yourself to see the experience as your customer would.

[promojoe]

So it turns out MerchantPlus.com WILL be exhibiting at PPAI Expo (booth# 5856).

So for those distributors/suppliers that don't use Distributor Central for order entry, Merchant Plus really has created a very simple to use tool that doesn't need order retails entered in order to use...

The distributor logs into the site, enters the client name/ID, the PO# and the total amount due, and then clicks the "Generate Link" button. This will simultaneously generate that invoice page on the backend and will generate a SECURE link that the distributor can email to the client which will take them to a secure credit card form. This page will not have any invoice details however, so the distributor can include a detailed invoice as a separate attachment if necessary. Once the client enters their cc info and hits submit, that information is sent to the distributor, the client's card is NOT charged in this process, the distributor is still responsible for running the card. There is a checkbox that asks the client if they would like a receipt emailed to them once the card is processed. This way, the distributor (or supplier) can take prepayment and wait until shipping to charge the card. Ultimately, this is just an easier and more secure way for distributors and suppliers to collect credit card information. This service is being offered for FREE with a new account with Merchant Plus.

I've used them for a 3 years and their rates are very competitive, but what I like best about them is that they are very transparent, no hidden fees. Stop by their booth if you're going to be at the show.