Everyone in life likes multiple options. We like multiple options when it comes to ordering our food and even the color of our vehicle. MSPs are the same; any MSP likes to choose from the best technology and tools that save money and offer the best value for their business.
Often, an MSP is limited to two ways to process payments when using software to accept a quote. Either you’re stuck using a check, which as we’ve discussed before are dangerous and outdated, or forced to use credit card processing and pay a lot of various fees.
Credit cards are the way of the future, but when you’re a small MSP trying to make it, all those extra costs per transaction can chip away at your profit.
ACH payments are gaining popularity. More business tools, and payment processing companies are beginning to offer them to a lot of companies, but many MSPs aren’t sure if ACH payments are an option for them and will work with their existing tools.
So today we want to discuss the benefits of ACH payments, and whether or not they’re a practical option for your business.
What do ACH payments cost?
One of the main appeals of ACH payments compared to credit card processing is it’s cheaper, but is that true?
Let’s crunch some numbers.
Credit card processing can be a bit complicated as there are base interchange rates, and on top of that, there could be a flat monthly fee. So you could average anything between 2%-3% per transaction (or higher depending on your processing company), which adds up. 3% of a $1000 is still $30 a transaction.
What about ACH?
Well, there are still some costs associated with ACH payments, mainly some start-up costs of $200, and usually a minimum fee for not processing over a certain amount. But other than that you could be paying for under $0.80 per transaction! That sure beats the percentage cost for running a significant transaction with credit cards.
ACH is also a great way to accept payments from a security standpoint. Safer then checks, if you use a secured method of saving payments, you can easily keep your customer’s billing information securely on file, with the convenience of auto-pay for your MSP and your customer.
So is ACH worth it? Even though there is an initial set up cost, ACH payments are traditionally a cheaper option for many small businesses looking to save on credit card processing fees.
Do ACH payments work in quoting tools?
Traditionally, one of the main reasons a business wouldn’t take advantage of the low rates of ACH was primarily due to two factors.
#1 ACH wasn’t available through their payment processor
#2 ACH didn’t integrate with the other software products an MSP uses
Low costs are great, but not if it sacrifices the efficiency of your operations. ACH low price to accept payments is not worth sacrificing the time and inconvenience of working without your favorite software tool.
QuoteWerks is a great tool many MSPs use because it makes sending and accepting quotes to clients easy. In the past, you had to swallow the cost of credit card processing to use a tool that you loved and made your business run more efficiently.
Now, you don’t have chose between QuoteWerks and ACH; you can use them both!
QuoteWerks has partnered with us to provide your business with a cheaper method of accepting payments through QuoteValet.
We know that all businesses have many avenues of incoming cash flow from payments on quotes, invoices, service agreements and in person. Because of that, we worked to centralize the systems you use and have all your tools working together.
You can then add that payment record in QuoteWerks when you want to set up an auto agreement. You’ll never have to ask a client to submit a payment method or log in to your payment portal, ever again.
If your business is interested in switching to ACH payments to save money on your credit card processing rates, find out more about our integration.
