Credit Card Sales are Low for Small Business
With the state of the economy, small business restaurants are seeing the effect
The economy is making it hard for many businesses to stay afloat--and it looks like the small business owner is taking the brunt of it. With some major corporations receiving bail out money, it is easier for them to stay ahead of the game than for the average small business owner. One big hit and it could send them crumbling down.
Credit card sales are a major part of any restaurants revenue, if people are not using credit cards, it could pose a problem for the smaller restaurants. According to the Small Business Credit Sales Report, “same-store credit sales decreased 8.67 percent at small-business restaurants in Q4.”
The same report suggests the reason for the drop in sales is due to people saving money, which means people are more likely to stop using credit cards as much. Another reason is that the banks are cutting credit limits and in some case stopping credit all together.
Credit card processing itself can be hard for the small business restaurant. Credit card companies tend to add charges to the retailer, and in some cases restaurants have chosen to stop accepting credit cards. But there could be a better option for restaurant owners who would like an alternative way to process credit cards.
A new device called Square can hook up to an audio jack; it allows anyone to except credit cards through many different electronics including iPhones, BlackBerrys and desktop computers. If your restaurant doesn’t have a point of sales (POS) system, this could be a great alternative to look at.
Apple is rumored to be manufacturing a POS system soon as well. Already using this system in their Apple stores, it is basically an iPod Touch set up with POS capabilities. We will have to wait and see if this comes to fruition, but it could be a great attribute for the small business world.
No matter how you process your credit cards, the point here is to make the whole process easy for your customers. Having your guests wait a few minuets to get their bill processed can be frustrating for them. So make sure you make this transition as easy as possible, and look into alternative ways to process credit cards if you feel it could benefit your restaurant.
Shannon Suetos is a writer based in San Diego, California. She writes extensively for Resource Nation, an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs.
