Are you thinking about setting up an online payments form to your business? It is likely that you will be deciding between third-party options and your own solution. Each option comes with its own pros and cons. This article will show you how to set up an online payment system and optimize it to make it easy for customers.
What’s an online payment form?
More business processes are being done online every day. Online payment forms allow your customers to make online purchases and pay invoices from any device at any time. Although these forms are usually less robust than a full-scale shopping basket on a website, they are still strong enough to handle ongoing or one-time service payments.
The most convenient way to pay is via a payment form. This increases the chance that you will get paid. It’s also an excellent way to collect customer information, such as telephone numbers and email addresses, at the time you pay. You can even safely keep customers’ credit card information on file with this payment form for recurring payments.
No matter the size of your business, payment forms can be a benefit.
A payment form is essential for any small business that sells handmade products. It’s essential for larger companies. A solid website payment platform is essential. It must be user-friendly, quick, and easy to use.
Consider the pros and cons to in-house development versus third party online payment forms solutions before you create an online payment system.
Benefits of Third-Party Online Payment Form Software
Online sales require customers to be able to use an online payment system. After you have determined that you require one, you can use a third-party provider to create your online payment forms.
- Simplicity – No need for complex software development to implement online payments from an all-in-one solution in your business.
- Security – Working with a software provider will allow you to rely on them to meet your security needs.
- Guidance – Third-party software, which integrates with merchant accounts, can help you in the underwriting process. It will automatically integrate your merchant bank with your online payment solution.
- Simple website integration – Many solutions allow you to set up payment forms that can be linked from email and your website, so you can easily get paid online.
- Very low upfront and ongoing costs – It’s very affordable to get started with an outsourced solution. Although you will have to pay monthly service charges for the platform outsourced, you don’t need to pay any hosting fees.
Set up an online payment form using third-party software
These are the steps you should take if you have decided to use a third-party payment solution.
- Explore your options
There are many payments acceptance software and solutions available. It is wise to research. When weighing your options, there are some things you need to keep in mind:
- Setup fees
- Funding methods (directly to your bank account, versus retrieving funds from the provider).
- Monthly service fees
- Additional transaction fees
You should also make sure that your payment processor integrates with the form. Not all providers do.
- Register your merchant account
Depending on the option you select in step 1, you may or not need to go through merchant account oversight.
The software provider that you choose will guide you through the underwriting process if you decide to open a merchant account for faster funding, lower fees or other benefits.
- Create the payment form
You can now customize your payment forms using your new software.
Identify the products and services you want to offer. Upload your logo, then activate the form.
- Integrate into your practice
It will be a hassle-free transition to online payments in the end.
You’ll need to notify your customers first and get used to the system. It is up to you to decide whether to link the form via your website or through email.
Before you Decide
Consider these questions before you decide between in-house or third-party development.
Take stock of your resources. A third-party solution may be a better option for small businesses that don’t have in-house experts or development teams. This way you won’t need to hire additional people. If you have the technical resources to solve the problem internally, it might be a smart move to do so to allow for flexibility in your business and processes.
The second step is to examine the costs of your options as well as what functionality you require for your form. There are significant differences between the two options in terms of setup fees, hosting costs, security, and processing costs. The development of functionality for the form may take more time and require technical knowledge.
Online payment forms allow your customers to pay online regardless of what you do. This improves efficiency, cash flow and customer satisfaction. This could lead to significant growth and improvements for your business.
The Balanced Processing Partners offer many options for accepting online payments. We can help you get an online payment system on your site if your budget is not sufficient.
For questions, please feel free to contact us at (800) 354-6256 or via email at [email protected].