Accepting credit cards question

Robin, sorry if this isn't the right forum, and please feel free to move it.

I signed up for squareup to accept credit cards. Anyone have history with them? Likes? Dislikes? Issues? One of the lowest rates and fast cash turnovers I found.

[Robin Garr]

Robin, sorry if this isn't the right forum, and please feel free to move it.

I signed up for squareup to accept credit cards. Anyone have history with them? Likes? Dislikes? Issues? One of the lowest rates and fast cash turnovers I found.

Square.com, the company that lets you use your iPad or iPhone for transactions and sends the money to your bank account less a 3% fee? I think it's incredible. We've got it. It's merchant banking for the rest of us.

My only concerns might be whether they still have something like a hold on funds over $1,000 within a certain period, and if that could be a cash-flow issue for a small business. Read the small print.

But in principle, I think it's great. The fee structure is better than you'll get from a bank, and the company appears to be stable.

I LOVE Square! Easy to use, and you have you money the next day. (Well not on weekend purchases.) Charges are the EASIEST to understand from any company and customers actually think it's cool to use. And you can have Square suggest tip amounts also. The reader is free. The reports are available online and easy to read. Seriously, I haven't found a downside.

I have a regular credit card machine and service for my B&B. Had that one since 1997 from a variety of companies. There are always hidden charges (well, buried in the fine print charges) with traditional credit card processors.

Square = easy, free reader, and cool to use.

Also, they will raise the $1K per day limit if you start bumping up against it and you just ask them. They want you to build up a history with them and determine that you're not a drug dealer.

Red Hot Roasters after being cash only forever has been using it for about 3 months now.
We got a couple of old ipod touches to use--one for each store.
And we LOVE LOVE LOVE it. We have it set up for no signature under $25. We can take it out to farmer's markets and events off site. Every once and a while it is slow to process the transaction and you have to have a wifi connection....so if Insight is down we are in trouble.
Most customers respond positively to it. A few have wanted a receipt or been wigged out that their CC information might not be safe.
The two drawbacks we have had are once you hit "skip receipt" you can't go back to resend a receipt if the customer changes their mind. And its not easy to refund or void a transaction if you make a mistake.
Also I don't believe you can talk to a actual person in their customer service department. Which hasn't been an issue.
I hope this helps!

i had my first experience with this 2 days ago at the hairdressers. they had just received their ipad and signed up for square, and were still learning how to slide the card and do the transaction on the proper screen.
it took literally 20 minutes and 7 card swipes. i kept thinking if each of those card swipes goes thru i'm in the hole for $420.00.
anyway, she figured it out and i saw on the ipad the correct amount. ( i hope) so then i asked her for a receipt and she tells me their isn't one to give, but i can have it sent to my email. there was 2 other options, sent to your phone and i can't remember the third option. got home checked my email and there is was. right on the dollar plus tip.
all in all i thought it was neat, except for the 20 minutes it took for her to figure out the screen.
technology, gotta love it...

We've never had a problem like this. Sometimes you have to swipe it a couple of times to read the strip, but no more than any other machine.
The technology is simple to use. And you really have to try to make a mistake and overcharge. The one hiccup we had was a customer that decided after we already ran the transaction that she wanted to use a different card and it was complicated to void it.
Also if you are running into trouble, Square also give you the option to punch in the numbers for a little higher percentage.

LOVE LOVE LOVE Square. The wife got it to make sales at art fairs and art shows more accessible for buyers and ever since then she has been the biggest Square booster there is. So simple, so easy and so very convenient.

The only minor critique is that the reader can sometimes be a little sensitive.

Other than that Square ROCKS!

We use square during beer fests and other out of store events. Worked fast right out of the box. It has enabled us to increase merchandise sales. Our customers love the e-mailed receipts.

I've had customers send a receipt to their own cell phone and it's on their screen before they leave the window of the Truck. Seriously, love Square!

The owners of Gavi's downtown have had Square for months now. They are VERY happy with it.