Ok .. here is my experience.

Cons ...

Credit cards will add an additional complexity to your business accounting ...

A bit more liability ...

There are some start up cost to get started.

More overhead ... ( fixed overhead even if you don't use the card )

It's not free .. you will give a percentage on everything you charge ..

If you do not use the credit card often enough and don't maintain a high enough volume of credit sales keeping the cards will become a dead end expense ...so look over your sales history.

Also .. if a client cancels a sale it will cost you .. you need to decide how to handle this transaction.

Pros ...

I have made some sales that would of been impossible without the cards .. you will have an additional sales tool when the client needs to pay. Cash or charge ??

Myself I did a lot of small repair jobs .. irrigation .. the card was very useful ... overall offering credit cards was useful but you need to keep credit sales up to make the card worthwhile.

By the way there are a lot of scams out there .. sometimes a small new company may have a hard time getting set up with credit cards .. you need a credit history / bank account ect .. there are scam artist out there that promise to set you up with credit cards and sell you very expensive contracts or gear ect .. shop around .. there are some start up cost involved but these should be very modest.

Good Day ...

I do most of my sales wholesale, and have an established customer base. They get billed and credit cards are not an issue. I have had some interesting reactions to retail sales however where credit cards are concerned.

I've resisted for fifteen years from accepting them. I explain why to those customers who ask. It would increase the cost of my product. Does it affect sales? Usually not. I do extend 30 day interest free billing. It accomplishes the same end result for both buyer and seller.

But.....a couple times a year a customer will walk out and go elsewhere where plastic is accepted. I suspect this tells me whomever could not afford to cut a check for that amount, given a month to cough up the money. Sometimes that's a good thing to know if contract work is involved.

its a given that people spend more with a credit card in their hands. and i think it gives the buyer the impression that u are willing to be a true business person and not some fly by night scam. its a natural progression to grow your company.

froggy

I agree with froggy. I think it will make you seem more "professional", especially if you are starting out.
good luck!
Susan

irrigation bids:
contractor A: $2,400
contractor B: $3,000
contractor C: $6,000
My bid: $4,000

Contractor A seems like a hack, contractor B seems competent and his price is enticing, contractor C seems like he's trying to rip them off, or has the 20 person staff to feed.
They really like me for whatever reason... My presentation is the best, but price is high.
I whip out the "I take credit cards" line, and waalaa. I got the job.

this has happened dozens of times.
drew

If you do decide to accept credit cards, my company does, keep in mind any customers who want a deal, but are paying with a card, get a lesser discount based on the rate you are being charged.

So while a cash customer gets 10% off, a credit card customer gets 6% off. By doing this, and explaining why I do it to the customer, I've had people decide to pay in cash to get the better deal.

Great idea plantman314!

Check with your bank. We started accepting a year ago with NO UPFRONT COSTS. We don't use a machine...we just call the card in to an 800 number, get an approval code and fill out a deposit slip for our records. Money goes into our account the next day. It is easy and it DOES GET YOU EXTRA BUSINESS. Try to find out if the customer will be paying that method before you quote your price. If you know this, you can usually cover the 3 percent fee.