Boost your bottom line and make your restaurant grow bigger!
Boosting Sales
In our economy today, every cent counts and adding them to your bottom line is possible despite the economic crisis. Are are some steps that will increase your profits, by boosting your sales, reducing debit card fees and expenses, and most of all block theft.
In the food service industry, if you’re running a restaurant point of sale system then this simple tips can greatly help you drive your business to success!
Take Checks
They are still widely used, especially among older customers. So if you have not been accepting checks, better start soon. There are POS equipments that can scan checks easily and quickly as debit cards, check out and measure them against a nationwide database of bad check writers, electronically deposit the money, and guarantee you receive your funds within a few days. In addition, the cost is typically lower than for credit cards and could add 10-15 percent to sales—and possibly more if you have many senior customers.
Accept all Cards
Of course, you’re already accepting cards like Visa and MasterCard. What about Discover and American Express? Particularly, the latter accompanies larger transactions in general. You might have hesitated because of the high fees, but do reconsider—the difference might be a paltry one percent or so, and because American Express transactions are often larger than those of other cards, you’ll make it up in gross profit. Furthermore, if you’re known for accepting all forms of credit and debit cards, customers would probably be more likely to visit again.
Researching
Many merchants think their fees are 1.69% plus $.19 because that’s their qualified rate on a tiered pricing program. But often fewer than 20 out of 100 transactions receives low qualified rate and all the rest downgrade and cost one, two, or even three percent. By researching for alternate programs that offer different interchange rates that may end up saving more than what you’ve expected.
Understandable Statements
You and your bookkeeper don’t have to scratch your heads over a complex credit card statement that just doesn’t fit. There are several companies that have made far more than usual efforts to simply their reports. You should be able to come into terms with your statement and rates without exceeding 15 minutes.
Online Reports
Don’t wait for the post office to deliver a letter disputing a charge. With Internet reporting, you’ll exactly know what’s up within 24 hours, allows you to aggressively defend against chargebacks. With a quick response, it can help increase your success rates and reduce your losses.
No need to scratch your head over complex credit card statements and for your bookkeeper as well.
Using Card Validation Value and Address Verification System. These highly effective fraud screens are proven to reduce losses, and when you use them correctly, you obtain the lowest possible rate for discounts.
Also, you need to avoid computer hackers by being PCI compliant. There are mammoth fines charged to merchants who are hacked, and they can drive you out of business. Take the time to read Visa’s report on noncompliant systems, so you’d always be alert.
Reducing Chargebacks
For Internet and phone orders, implementing the “Verified by Visa” or “MasterCard Secure Code” plug-in on your web site eliminates all cardholder nonauthorization chargebacks. Liability for these chargebacks is shifted away from you to the issuing card bank, and you qualify for the lowest discount rate available. By this simple step, you can eliminate up to 80% of all chargebacks and increase your profits.
With over 20 years of restaurant point of sale experience and helping businesses in the food-service industry nationwide increase their efficiency and bottom-line profits, the author of this article is the VP of Customer Relations at POS-For-Restaurants.com.
Visit POS-For-Restaurants.com for more information on how our national network of restaurant point of sale professionals can help your business achieve greater success in these difficult economic times.
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