A convenience fee is an amount you add to the purchase price; the customer pays this fee in return for being able to use a more convenient payment method. The important thing to remember is that the customer must always have the choice to use another standard method of payment that does not require the added convenience fee. The fee isn’t technically related to taking credit cards. It is meant to help the merchant recoup the added cost for setting up a new payment channel.

To avoid merchant processing agreement auto-renewals be sure to read your merchant processing agreement before signing. It’s possible to negotiate an auto-renewal clause out of your merchant agreement. Additionally, you may consider merchant service providers with month-to-month or pay-as-you go billing options.

A credit card refund fee is a penalty fee on refunded transactions and are charged by credit card processing companies. In most cases, merchants will not have to pay a credit card refund fee, but they will not be refunded the processing costs they paid during the initial transaction.

Gusto is a cloud-based payroll solution that seamlessly combines benefits administration, 401(k)s, HR, and onboarding. The company takes care of payroll The software’s only downsides are the limited time tracking, potentially long payroll processing, and limited reporting. Health benefits are also not available in every state yet.

From “hire to retire,” Paychex offers an incredible number of services, including payroll, HR, benefits administration, business insurance, retirement plans, health care, and more. These features make Paychex a good solution for businesses looking to manage multiple areas of their payroll and HR duties in a single platform.

When it comes to accounting software, there are several alternatives to Wave worth considering. Check out these best alternatives.

Every QuickBooks Desktop Payroll option is compatible with QuickBooks Desktop Pro, QuickBooks Desktop Premier, and QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise. (If you use the Gold or Platinum version of QuickBooks Enterprise, payroll is already included in your subscription).

We compare two of the top accounting programs, QuickBooks Online vs. QuickBooks Desktop, so you can know which is right for your business. Learn the key differences between features, pricing, and more.

From speeding up the checkout process to garnering extra trust from customers and reducing your own risk of fraud in your business, alternative payment methods have a plethora of benefits and don’t require too much fancy footwork to get set up. Let’s explore some of the biggest trends, such as digital wallets, bank transfers, and a few more you may not have heard of just yet.

If you accept credit card payments, at some point you’re going to encounter the term “rolling reserve” — read on to find out what a reserve fund is, how likely you are to face one, and how to keep your business afloat in the worst-case scenario.