Boost cashflow with Mobile Payments

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Cashflow is the lifeblood of every small business.  Small business operators need to be paid as close to the completion of a job as possible.

Chasing unpaid invoices can end up costing more than a job is worth in labour. For many businesses, chasing payments is put off until cash is needed to pay bills or staff wages, as they are too snowed under with current work. Generally, the owner cries “How can we not have enough money?  We’re so busy!”

ServiceM8 has integrated with Stripe, a powerful payment system that gives small business more options to get the money they’re owed.

With no set-up or monthly fees it makes sense to take the 5 minutes to set it up now so you have the option available when you need it.

If your business doesn’t have a mobile payment system, this is an excellent alternative to setting up a merchant account with a bank and then having to lug around a bulky device. For businesses already using a mobile payment system, we see this as an excellent backup for when the main system is not at hand, not working or not charged.

As the field technician will always have their iPhone/iPad on them, they’ll always have a method for taking payment. Along with taking payments in the field, you can send invoices to your customers via email or SMS which they can pay online.

So why not set your account up now? Here’s how:

How to activate Mobile Payments. Detailed Instructions

  1. Click this link
  2. Sign into your account.
  3. Click Activate.
  4. Fill in the Stripe account form.
  5. Follow the prompts and you’re done.

How to take credit card payments through the app. Detailed Instructions

  1. You will have a new option when receiving payments on the app: ‘Take Payment’.
  2. Select ‘Take Payment’ and enter the card details.
  3. Tap ‘Charge Card’ and you’re done! It’s that easy.

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How to accept credit card payments via SMS Invoicing or Email. Detailed Instructions

When Stripe is activated a Pay Now button will appear automatically on SMS invoices, but for Email it requires that you add a field to your Email template for sending invoices..

  1. Add the field code {document} to any Email or SMS template you want your customers to be able to pay an invoice.
  2. The field will change automatically to a link to your invoice online, where there is a ‘Pay Now’ Button
  3. Your customers can click or tap ‘Pay Now’, enter their card details and pay for the invoice wherever they are.
  4. Best of all the invoice page works on any mobile device or browser, so your customers can pay on their SmartPhone, PC or Mac.

 

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What does it cost?

You will be charged 30c plus 1.95% to 3.2% per transaction. The transaction fee varies depending on country. There are no monthly fees or set-up costs. Find out pricing for your country

 

When do I receive the money?

Stripe holds payment for 7 days to ensure the money clears.  The 7 day holding period is the only way a payment system can work without creating a merchant account with a bank, which is time consuming process. After 7 days the payment is transferred into your nominated bank account, minus the transaction fees.

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3 Comments

  • David Mitchell October 5, 2014, 12:20 pm Reply

    Can a 2% charge be passed onto the client automatically?
    After the 7 days for clearing the funds is the payment irreversible?

  • Keith Clifford October 26, 2014, 4:58 pm Reply

    The fees I could handle but 7 day holding is not helping cash flow

  • rusty November 6, 2014, 3:35 pm Reply

    Nice Work. Much needed

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