Category Archives: Payments

5 Reasons Why You Need Clover POS Gift Cards.

Clover Gift Card

5 Reasons Why You Need Clover POS Gift Cards.

For nine years straight, gift cards have topped holiday wish lists, according to the National Retail Federation’s Holiday Consumer Spending Survey. If that’s not testament to how much shoppers love gift cards, how about this? Each year, 93 percent of Americans buy or receive a gift card. So it really goes without saying that if you’re the proprietor of a quick-serve restaurant, like a coffee shop, deli, or frozen yogurt vendor, or a retail store, you want to make this hot seller available to your customers.

Husband and wife team Justin and Brie Henshaw, owners of Fuse Frozen Yogurt, have witnessed the importance of gift cards to their small business’s bottom line. Customers regularly hit up Fuse – which has locations on St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island off the coast of Georgia – for their tasty froyo, gelato, sorbet, and soft serve fruit, but gift cards are extremely popular, too.

The Henshaws use Gyft to sell both physical and digital gift cards. Despite some minor bumps along the way (like the ability to purchase only one gift card per transaction), they’d recommend Gyft to other small business owners. Here’s why.

1. They’re attractive to Millennials.

For those who prefer to remain old-school, Gyft offers plastic cards. But for members of the 18- to 34-year-old crowd that want to keep their entire lives on their smartphone, Gyft also offers digital cards. Buyers can purchase digital gift cards in-store, online, or over the phone and have them sent directly to recipients’ phones. When it’s time to purchase, recipients just fire up the Gyft app and redeem the card value from there. No more wallets bulging with plastic cards, and you always know where your balance stands. There’s also the option of purchasing a physical card that the recipient can upload it to her phone.

2. They’re word-of-mouth advertising for your business.

Gift cards aren’t just an additional service to offer customers, they’re also an easy, low-cost way to build brand recognition. Someone may be unfamiliar with your business, but if he receives a gift card, it’s going to entice him into visiting. Gift cards “reconfirm our brand and give customers who wouldn’t have come, the chance to come and be a fan,” explains Justin. Gift cards also bring loyal customers back through the doors since they’re likely to include them on a holiday or birthday wish list.

3. Gift cards provide valuable information about customer buying habits.

As a small business owner, you won’t need to wonder if gift cards are one of your top sellers. Nor will you need to spend hours sorting through receipts to find out. Gyft sales data downloads directly into your Clover system, providing you details about your customers’ purchasing habits in just minutes — giving you the ability to adapt your marketing plans nimbly to reach your patrons more effectively.

4. They’re relatively trouble-free.

Ever experience a barista or clerk grumble when you ask to buy a gift card? Chances are, they’re ringing you up on a cumbersome, non-intuitive POS system. That won’t happen for merchants using Gyft (the app integrates with Clover’s API), which the Henshaws transitioned onto right before the busy Christmas season. Even better? Gyft’s customer service. “You call Matt right away, and you always get him on the phone, and he always takes care of things,” says Justin.

5. The economics of gift cards are great for merchants.

To an outsider, it may seem like swiping a gift card and swiping a credit card are the same thing. But when you’re a business owner, that same action has different costs associated with it. Both are convenient, but payment processing costs are cheaper for merchants when a customer pays with a gift card. Additionally, most consumers spend  20 percent more than the gift card’s face value, so this method of payment reaps more revenue for business owners. And since Gyft makes it easy for users to add value to (or “re-up”) a card once it’s been depleted (a key offering for coffee shops, ice cream parlors and the like), it’s likely that the sale of the original gift card will lead to more purchases from a single consumer.

 

As the Henshaws experienced first-hand, selling gift cards is an effective way to expand your business for little cost. “Having a gift card option allows us to reach new customers,” Brie says. “But it also brings loyal customers back in as well.”

Sounds like a gift worth giving to yourself.

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EMV Transition Has Been A Nightmare For Businesses. This Guide Should Help.

EMV Chip Card

EMV Transition Has Been A Nightmare For Businesses. This Guide Should Help.

EMV Chip Card

 

Transitioning to accept EMV chip cards has been a nightmare for businesses, small and large. And the result of this confusion has been loss of millions of dollars and growing, in fraudulent chargebacks!

So here is a must-read EMV transition guide that will walk you through everything you need to know step-by-step.

What is EMV?

EMV stands for Euronet, masterCard and visa. It is a security standard adopted by the payment industry to reign in on billions of dollars of credit card frauds committed every year in US alone. This security standard has been adopted in most parts of the world, but is still fairly new to the United States. It just had it’s first year anniversary.

EMV is also popularly referred to as ‘chip card’ as well.

Why should I upgrade my equipment?

For starters, EMV Compliance is NOT a law as many people assume. You are not doing anything illegal if you still using the old “Swipe and Sign” process on your terminal or integrated POS.

However, it is important to know that you will be held liable for any fraudulent transactions that happen at your location because you did not upgrade to an EMV compliant equipment.

Previously when you fell victim to a chargeback, the issuing bank investigated and based on the proof submitted, covered you for the disputed amount.

But starting October 1, 2015 the responsibility has been shifted to the merchant or the one with the weakest link in the payment process.

The image below is a great illustration to help you understand these changes:

emv-email-img-blog-1

 

Chargebacks have been on rise exponentially, in thousands of dollars every month, especially at Lounges/Bars, High-End Restaurants, Liquor stores and Gas stations.

A discovery channel video below shows how easy it is for credit card fraudsters to make fake credit cards and use at your locations.

How to upgrade and how much it cost?

The first step to upgrade to EMV is to understand your needs. Do you need to be able to accept EMV chip cards only or you need to adjust tips as well on those EMV transaction.

Or you  want your customers to enter their debit card PIN on those EMV transactions?

There are various different features that you need to be aware of and then decide the terminal model.

Especially if you are a business that takes tips.

Not ALL terminals support tip adjustment at the end of the day. It depends on the type of terminal and the processor that supports it.

There are 2 components that make up your EMV compliance.

  1. Hardware – The equipment needs to have the slot to enter the chip card
  2. Software Certification – Software needs to be certified by the processor for that particular hardware to accept EMV.

Every processor supports different terminal/hardware for EMV and Tip Adjust. So for example, if Ingenico ict220  is supported by First Data for EMV + Tip Adjust, does not mean all other processors will support the same hardware for EMV + Tip adjust.

The terminals below are certified by First Data to accept chip cards.

  1. Verifone Vx520 – Accepts chip cards, Accepts Tip adjust after the sale.

           Recommended for restaurants or businesses that accept tips.

 

Verifone Vx520

 

 2. Ingenico ict220 – Accepts EMV chip cards + Tip adjust.

Recommended for businesses that need to accept tips.

 

Ingenico 250

 

Approx: $250

3. Clover Mini – Accepts EMV chip cards with Debit PIN + Tip adjust, Apple Pay and Android Pay and can connect using Wi-Fi.

Features to Note:

  1. Customer can sign using their finger on screen and opt for text, email or paper receipt.
  2. Clover Mini can also be connected to cash drawer and replace your old cash register.
  3. Retailers can also download Register software and turn this into a full fledged POS SYSTEM.

Recommended for any businesses that need to accept debit cards with PIN, better receipt management or POS functionality.

clover-mini

Approx: $450

  1. FD 130 – Accepts EMV chip cards + Tip adjust, Apple Pay, Android Pay and can be connected using Wi-Fi.

Recommended for businesses that need to accept tips, and Debit PIN

FD 130 EMV

 

Approx: $350

Once you figure out what features you need and what terminal you want to buy, it’s time to go shopping.

BUT, let me warn you – Don’t just buy from the cheapest place you can find. You might buy something that’s totally worthless for you. Not all equipment will work with your processor. Usually, the terminals are locked to a specific processor just like how your cell phone is locked to works with a certain wireless provider.

Don’t just buy from the cheapest place you can find. You might buy something that’s totally worthless for you. Not all equipment will work with your processor. Usually, the terminals are locked to a specific processor just like how your cell phone is locked to works with a certain wireless provider.

Usually, the terminals are locked to a specific processor just like how your cell phone is locked to work with ONLY certain wireless provider.

Option 1:

If you already have a service provider you can call them and ask for their pricing but make sure they are not locking you in multi-year processing contract, a lease or any monthly rental fee.

It’s ALWAYS best to buy your own equipment. Not only will you get the best deal on your processing but you have the flexibility to move your processing to someone else and use the same terminal.

The saying ” There is NO free lunch” cannot be more true in credit card processing industry.

A brand new Verifone VX520 should not cost you more than $250. If the provider quotes anything more than that, here are two things you should do:

  1. Buy your own terminal online and stay with your current company if you are happy with their processing rates. But before you place an order, ask your processor if they support Verifone Vx520 or any other terminal you wish to order and will provide all the features you need.

Pitfalls to look out for while ordering online:

  1. Never buy a used terminal as they may be locked to work with certain processor only.
  2. Avoid buying from Ebay, Craigslist, or Amazon or any other reseller sites. Many companies will sell you very cheap just so they can get you into processing agreement with them. Just make sure you do your homework.
  3. Look for a new company that will provide a terminal at a fair price or subsidized price for the equipment.
  4. While hardware equipment is one component of your merchant account, processing rates are something that must NOT be ignored.

Always make sure you are getting a fair deal without any contracts. To understand a little more about the same, definitely read through our post on how to get best deal on your merchant processing.

Or better, subscribe to our FREE Savings course and learn how to save ridiculous amount of money on credit card processing by clicking  HERE.

We hope this guide was simple to understand and will help you in implementing the EMV migration successfully.

We here at Onesto Payments believe in absolute transparency and love to educate our customers. Feel free to contact us to get our equipment and credit card processing rates. You will be glad you did.!

 

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This is how you make payment in Space using Clover POS

This is how you make payment in Space using Clover POS

Clover goes where no payment has gone before.

Recently, Clover partnered with UK financial institution Nationwide Building Society to focus on the future of payments by asking the question, “What about making a card payment happen in space?” The question is only somewhat fanciful: figuring out how to make payments happen in extreme conditions — at spacelike altitudes and temperatures — offer insights into what’s possible here on Earth.

A team up to the task recently launched a Clover device into the stratosphere and made a payment happen there, for the first time ever. Read the full infographic below to follow their experiment from the ground, into near space, and back again.

Clover POS

So, on your next trip to space forget the cash 🙂 We got you covered!!

Originally posted on www.Clover.Com

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Everything You Need To Know About NFC & Mobile Payments

Everything You Need To Know About NFC & Mobile Payments

Have you recently noticed customers standing in a queue, with their mobile phones in hand, in a grocery store during  check-out? Well, that’s because they are likely to pay with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Android Pay. This type of “wireless” transaction is called NFC or Near Field Communication payments.

A recent report from analyst firm TrendForce has revealed that consumers across the globe will use their mobile phones to spend a total of $620 billion on all forms of mobile transactions in 2016 – a 37.8 percent increase from last year. Also, total mobile payment volumes will reach $780 billion by 2017.

trendforcegraph530

Today, many retailers such as Target, Macy’s and Walgreens have already installed terminals in place to make mobile payments smooth and easy. Phones compatible with Google Wallet, along with Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus can be used against these terminals.

How NFC Works

The technology allows two devices, equipped with an NFC chip and placed within a few centimeters of each other, to exchange data. There are two kinds of communication processes that take place through NFC:

a. One-way communication: Remember how you are issued a faux credit card every time you go to the food court in your favorite mall? And, whenever you buy something from one of the eateries, the payment terminal subtracts money from your card? This happens because the terminal is powered by NFC and your credit card reads and writes the amount to the NFC chip.

b. Two-way communication: Here, two devices read and write to each other. For instance, you can touch two Android devices together, using NFC, to transfer data such as contacts, photos, audio files, etc.

Why Use NFC To Pay

This technology revolutionizes the payment structure. It safely accepts any form of payment that comes across the counter and is beneficial to both retailers and customers.

Here are three major reasons why it is worthwhile to accept NFC mobile payments now:

TransferJet-Near-Field-Communication-Technologies-to-Launch-at-MWC-2013-2source

1. It is secure: NFC acts as a shield for customer wallets against theft and fraud. The mobile payment structure is highly complex and that makes any hacking or intercepting a difficult task. One-time tokens are created, for each transaction, that act as a stand-in for the credit card number.

Apple Pay, for instance, has a physical chip available only in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. This chip is the Secure Element (SE) that generates a random one-time use code number in place of the credit or debit card number.

Apple Pay also makes use of Apple’s fingerprint technology, Touch ID to restrict its access to just one person i.e. user. So even if you lose your phone, no one can access your financial credentials.

2. It is super fast: NFC mobile payments are quick. All customers have to do is hold their mobile devices close to the NFC-powered terminal/reader with their finger on the identification button to complete the process.

This is because of the advent of EMV chip cards. In December 2015, it was reported that 53% of cards processed on Square Stand were EMV chip cards, as compared to 12% in January 2015. EMV also prevents security and fraud.

3. It saves device battery: If the NFC feature on your mobile phone is on, you should turn it off to avoid the battery from secretly draining in the background. Despite this, it still uses considerably less power, unlike Bluetooth. This aspect is especially important because mobile phones may, one day, completely replace wallets.

Moreover, NFC completely eliminates the process of discovering the device, pairing it with your phone and then, entering the pass code to enable the transfer – which in turn cause the battery to drain at a fast pace. NFC provides a seamless platform to make payments.

Devices Using NFC Technology

It is available on iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, Apple Watch, iPad Pro, iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, including their newer versions.

Other devices using this technology are:

20140524042754-NFC_Enabled_Phonessource

For retailers, especially, making secure and transparent transactions is important.

Onesto Payments, for example, offers solving payments and POS challenges of small scale businesses. The solutions provided them are perfect for all retail formats. Moreover, they protect the customers from the risk of being cheated by technology providers.

Want to learn more about keeping payments simple and smooth?

Visit the website or call on 201-546-5555 to book a free POS consultation right away!

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A Beginner’s Guide To Using Apple Pay

A Beginner’s Guide To Using Apple Pay

Launched in 2014, Apple Pay is Apple’s mobile payment service that lets the user purchase goods or services using debit or credit information stored in the iPhone. This means you can actually buy things with a touch of your finger or wave your hand over an enabled Point of Sale (POS).

Voila! Looks interesting, right? Yes, it is!

It’s incredibly safe to use as the card information is stored on a Secure Element – that is never synced out of the cloud. The authorization is handled by a passcode or Touch ID. One-time tokens are created to make the payments and your card’s information is never shared with the retailers.

Currently available in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, Apple Pay works on iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, Apple Watch, iPad Pro, iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, including their newer versions.

To make this payment model a success, Apple has collaborated with more than 500 banks (and counting). Some of the names that are on board are Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Wells Fargo, Citi and Chase. You can check theentire list on Apple Pay’s website.

McDonalds, Starbucks, Petco, Sephora, Target, Anthropologie, Staples, Panera, Chevron, Macy’s and Whole Food’s are just a few brands that accept payments via Apple Pay from the overwhelming, ever-expanding list of 220,000+ retailers.

source

In the US, 20% of iPhone users reported using the service at least once. So if you meet all the criteria for using Apple Pay but don’t know where to start from, let us help you out by answering three basic questions.

How does Apple Pay work?

The payment system makes use of a type of wireless technology called NFC or “near-field communication”. It allows you to make payments within a small distance to a retailer or restaurant’s corresponding card reader – that only accepts payments once you have confirmed.

Source

Why should I use Apple Pay?

It is not easy to digest the fact that a technology as complicated as this can make conducting transactions so simple!

But trust us, this is real and it is happening – all thanks to Apple Pay.

  • Fast: Apple Pay offers a super quick mode of payment. This means you don’t have to stand in long lines to complete the transaction. The payment can literally happen on your fingertips.
  • Safety: It is more secure than traditional credit cards. It requires Touch ID or fingerprint verification to complete the purchase. Do you know that you don’t even need to look down at your iPhone during the transaction? All you have to do is wait for confirmation – which happens through a “subtle vibration and beep”.
  • Convenient: Now you don’t have to worry about “not carrying your cards”. You can make purchases while on-the-go! And if, God forbid, you lose your iPhone with the credit card information stored in it, wipe it clean by using the “Find My iPhone” feature and put your device in “Lost Mode” to lock itself down.

How do I start using Apple Play?

Before start making purchases, you need to set up Apple Play on your device. Here’s how you can do it:

  • Open Wallet in your iPhone. If you are on your iPad, go to Settings and choose Wallet & Apple Play.
  • Tap the plus sign at the top-right corner of the screen to add card preference – credit or debit.
  • Tap Next.
  • Enter the details of your card manually. You can capture the image of your card with your device as well.
  • Tap Next. Your bank will then verify the information and determine whether or not, you can add the card to Apple Play. You might even have to provide some additional information to verify.
  • Once the verification is done, tap Next.

Your Apple Play is up and about. You can now make your first transaction.

While Apple Pay is a fantastic option to make payments with, it is not available “everywhere”. For retailers, especially, making secure and honest transactions is a must.

Onesto Payments, for instance, offers solving payments and POS challenges for small businesses. The solutions provided them are ideal for all retail formats and the customers are free from the risk of being cheated by technology providers.

Want to learn more about their various modes of payment? Visit the website or call on 201-546-5555 to book a free POS consultation right now!

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6 Things To Consider When Scouting Locations for Your Pop-Up Shop

6 Things To Consider When Scouting Locations for Your Pop-Up Shop

The concept of pop-up shops or temporary retail started way back in the 1990s in four major metropolitan cities of the world – London, New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo. These retail spaces, that were set up for not more than 3 months, were aimed at selling merchandise of all kinds.

That’s right!

From tech gadgets and fashion accessories to food and art – just about every consumer product was sold via these unique, short-term stores. Even today, the pop-up retail format is quite popular, selling a variety of commodities – despite the digitization of most businesses.

source

This is due to a number of reasons:

However, creating an awesome pop-up shop experience is a challenge! And, its success relies heavily on the area where it is set up.

A retail space should be selected on the basis of what the brand deems as most important. Here are a few things you must consider:

1. Potential Location

In the last two decades, the pop-up scene has seen big-brands, small businesses and even independent artists set up their stores. But, how do they pick a location? Firstly, they select those areas that receive high-volume foot-traffic.

Secondly, they skim through the neighbouring shops to gauge the competition they might get. In an ideal situation, other retail shops must align themselves with similar values and aesthetic as the brand – but at the same time, be different enough not to attract competition.

Lastly, they also conduct a recce of the areas in the vicinity to learn about the upcoming events that can benefit them once their shop is up and running.

2. Cleanliness Of The Area

No one likes to shop from a place that is unclean. While retail space owners ensure that the interiors of the shop be spic ‘n’ span upon the arrival of the customers, they often forget about the exteriors.

No, no one expects them to clean every spot of the sidewalk every day – but it is expected of them to make sure that it does get cleaned before the customers start pouring in. Whether the task involves binning the trash bag or wiping every smudge off of the windows of the place – pop-up shop owners must assume responsibility of maintaining cleanliness.

3. Entrance Sign

Whether the pop-up shop is located in an ordinary building with a small entrance sign or in a grand building with a bold signage – both have their pros and cons. Customers may associate the pop-up shop to the brand more organically if the signage of the building is not visible.

However, when the pop-up shop is situated in an established building, the brand may go unnoticed by the customers because of the grandness of the edifice or its large signage. The brand has to ensure that the intent of opening a pop-up shop is not diminished because of this.

4. Parking Facility

A shopping mall with a huge parking space will invariably attract more customers than a complex where there’s a parking crunch. If a parking area is near the pop-up shop, then that’s good. But if it is not, then creating accessibility is in the hands of the pop-up retail owner.

One way of doing so is by curating the shop somewhere near to the public transit routes such bus stations, cab stands or metro stations. With a proper strategy in place, the pop-up retailer can even advertise the route to reach the store to attract potential buyers.

5. Storage Space and Display

Since pop-up shops are small, it is a challenge to not only store inventory conveniently but also beautify the existing vacant space. Therefore, the store must either have a back room or a make-shift partition (with curtains), so that the short-term shop looks professional and uncluttered.

Moreover, it is necessary to manipulate lighting in a pop-up space to display merchandise stylishly. If the brand is more attune with a modern customer base, then bright lighting would work well. Similarly, it is wise to opt for softer lights for a brand that reflects a classic aesthetic.

6. Convenient Payment Channels

Shopping at a pop-up store is fun and thrifty. And so is making the purchase – provided the brands keep the transaction process simple and convenient. Today, almost all retail spaces have the option of paying by cash and/or debit or credit card.

Onesto Payments, for instance, offers solving payments and POS challenges for small businesses. This solution is apt for such retail formats as the customers are free from the risk of being cheated by technology providers.

A pop-up shop should ultimately unify with the brand’s personality – which is why it is impossible to take chances with the location or retail space. The shop must be functional to succeed from every aspect.

Looking to curate a pop-up shop and want the right payments solution for it? Call us @ 201-546-5555 or visit us at OnestoPayments.com for a free POS consultation right now!

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How Cloud POS Can Save You And Your Customers Significant Time

How Cloud POS Can Save You And Your Customers Significant Time

Customers are the kings of the market. They are the people who generate demand for products. They want and expect the best of services in a short span of time. Naturally, all businesses strive hard to maintain the perfect balance between customer satisfaction and organizational growth.

However, there is one thing that is common for customers and business owners: Time.

As a busy, on-the-go business owner, you will agree that the most important thing for you is time optimization. Since it is the basis on which your business runs so seamlessly, why not save time specifically at the Point of Sale (POS)?

A good POS software can holistically improve your small business’ back-end system and shopping experience of the customers. Adding to this thought, here are 4 points you must keep in mind when picking a POS software for your business:

1. Choose an integrated cloud POS system

Most of the modern POS systems have  integrated Customer Relationship Management (CRM), social media marketing, financial management, Payroll management and inventory management built in.

These tools can solve basic queries such as which menu item is bringing repeat customers, which marketing efforts are yielding maximum results and which server is generating the most revenue to name a few. A fully-integrated POS system can do wonders for you.

Amburapp

2. Use a POS system that accepts all kinds of payments

As a small business owner, it is your responsibility to offer your customers a secure payment mode, involving cards and assure them that their credit card information is being handled in a secure environment.

Let us call the current times “the age of financial fluidity”. From credit/debit cards to Apple Pay, Android Pay, NFC and cash—payments are being done in various ways. Apple and Android pay have also seen a rise in recent times and are expected to grow significantly over the years.

Therefore, as a small business owner, you must choose a POS system that helps you accept payments in every form for the sake of customers’ convenience.

This is also feasible for your employees as they don’t have to swing back and forth—from a cash register to a credit/debit card reader—when the customers are paying.

ANDROID PAY Applepay

cardlogos

3. Opt for a tablet-based POS system

Gone are the days when you had to settle for expensive and clunky POS systems like Micros, Aloha, Posiflex, etc. Unfortunately, those systems have not caught up with time and lack many of the basic features that newer tablet-based POS systems provide.

It is not possible for you or your employees to crunch numbers post office hours. This task is highly laborious and time-intensive. Using a cloud-based POS system will enable you to access POS data at any time of the day or night and from anywhere. This will help you manage your time better and gain insights about your business like never before!

4. Get a POS software that simplifies tax preparation

Keeping a tab on total sales, sales tax, expenses and other payments can be tedious. Use a POS software that can perform and save complex calculations for you. So the next time you pay your taxes, you will be sure of the fact that your income is being reported accurately.

Many cloud-based POS systems have the ability to sync automatically with QuickBooks and that saves the accountants significant time.

5. Train employees on the system

Do you want to piss off your customers while your employees try to figure out a way to accept a payment or input a discount on the machine? No, right?  Enable your employees to make the most of the technology by providing them an extensive training program. Many modern POS systems have a great video library that can help you train your employees.

6. Staff rotation

How can you think of running an effective business if you are not able to track peak periods or busy days? You can and must use your POS software to do all the required tracking for you so that you can hire extra hands accordingly.

7. Use table service option

Many newer POS systems have the option to add a “mobile” unit to the existing POS station. With tablet-based systems like Revel, ShopKeep and Talech, you can take orders at-the-table and pay at-the-table by default!

But if you have Clover POS, consider adding “Clover Mobile”, so you can expedite your orders and payments for dine-in customers and use the actual station for pick-up orders or deliveries.

Clover POS
Clover POS

 

Clover Mobile
Clover Mobile

Remember: There are many POS systems to choose from and all of them have their their own set of strengths and weaknesses. There are many features and functionalities that need to be considered before implementing any new system.

Let us help you choose the right solution for your business! Call us @ 201-546-5555 or visit us at OnestoPayments.com for a free POS consultation.

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How to Use Negative Restaurant Reviews to Drive Growth And Revenue

How to Use Negative Restaurant Reviews to Drive Growth And Revenue

It is true that in the restaurant business, the importance of word-of-mouth can’t be underestimated. Whether it is through a feedback form or a small interaction with the restaurant manager, an honest customer review always helps in improving the organization’s services for continued growth.

negative restaurant reviews

In this digital time and age, restaurants rely heavily on online reviews. Today, it is the number of positive online customer reviews that drives the organization’s revenues. But what if the reviews are negative?

Here’s how you can use negative restaurant reviews to tap into potential business:

1. Instant response to feedback

Got a bad review? Don’t fret! Take immediate steps to respond. Be proactive in executing a response strategy while handling negative reviews. If possible, assign someone to respond to customer feedback on a daily basis.

When a restaurant is quick in responding, it shows a high level of dedication to the customer. The goal of “simply” responding to reviews is enough to develop customer loyalty. So, deal with such situations with sincerity.

Drop a friendly email. First, thank the customer for taking out time to review your restaurant. Then, apologize to him or her for the inconvenience caused. If you can reach out to your unhappy customers personally, there’s nothing like it!

Also, train your servers to ask for a feedback when the customers are paying the bill or having a meal. This will highlight the fact that you not only care about them but also are open to listening to customer suggestions and complaints.

2. Revise menu items

Improvisation is the key to success in the restaurant business. Online reviews can give you fresh ideas for menu items. Similarly, if one particular cuisine has been disliked by many, you can remove that from the menu altogether.

In fact, by doing so you will always retain an element of surprise for your customers—which in turn will drive your profits and thus assist in a sustainable restaurant business. So keep revising the menu to “surprise” and “delight” your customers!

Another interesting scheme you can apply here can include asking the customers (with negative reviews) about specific cuisines or beverages they would like to see on the menu. You can call for their opinion on those platforms where they have left a review about your restaurant itself (such as food search and discovery platforms, social media channels or restaurant website).

Once the customers start feeling they matter to your restaurant, your restaurant will start mattering to them. It’s that simple!

3. Offer incentives to customers with negative reviews

A smart marketing strategy is one which re-targets all the customers—including the ones who were not particularly impressed with your restaurant. Your mission should be to steer your marketing efforts to encourage the ones with bad reviews to visit the restaurant again.

It is not as difficult as it sounds. Ask them for a second chance to make things right by offering them attractive incentives. They can either be monetary or nonmonetary—depending upon the damage done. Give a 10% discount on their next meal or please them with a free appetizer or dessert (today’s special).

No one says “no” to free food or an affordable check. Initiate this strategy to win the hearts of the customers genuinely. If you incentivize your efforts to convert the negative reviews into positive ones, don’t!

4. Promote your restaurant

Why? This is because promoting your business will encourage prospective customers to visit at least once. Not only this, make use of tools such as Google+ and Facebook to invite customers, who have been to your restaurant, to review and leave feedback.

Maintain a proper online website and hyperlink your social media pages and blogs (if any) to give a complete understanding of your restaurant. A digital presence is extremely important to your reputation as it will showcase you as a business that is easily approachable. And, this is one quality is a must in the service business.

Engage in a humble conduct and try to generate a positive publicity for your business. This will overshadow the occasional negative reviews and give you the time and space to rectify them properly.

Apart from this, use your website to establish communication with your customers and keep them informed about special menus, additional cuisines, daily deals, price changes and announcements about events at your restaurant.

Negative reviews are everywhere. Your restaurant can’t hide from negativity. It can’t function flawlessly. No matter how good the business is, your restaurant can’t ensure the happiness of all customers. So yes, negative reviews are inevitable but they can work to your advantage, provided you embrace them with confidence and sincerity.

Think of reviews as customer research. You can certainly extract valuable insights that can be used to accelerate your restaurant’s business development and profits. Remember: It’s all about maintaining the right kind of attitude!

Now, all of these can be done manually by visiting each social media and review sites, but it is certainly time consuming. And to be honest, it’s just not sustainable!

Another alternative is to use a free analytics software which will pull all the reviews from relevant sites and present to you in an easy-to-read dashboard. You can use the data from the dashboard to improve your menu, get insights on your servers and ultimately provide a better customer experience.

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Let us help you understand your business better! Contact us today at 201-546-5555 or at OnestoPayments.Com

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5 Things Retailers and Small Businesses Should Do This New Year (2016)

5 Things Retailers and Small Businesses Should Do This New Year (2016)

New Year celebrations are incomplete without a long, inspiring list of resolutions. As an individual, you might have already written them down on a piece of paper and posted it on your fridge. But as the owner of a small business, it is equally important to jot down a multitude of tasks you wish to accomplish in the next 12 months.

Why?

Because all successful businesses—small or big—thrive on improvement and what’s better than the New Year to take a fresh spin on the way forward of your small business?

Ones to payments 1 - Jan

Adding to this thought, here are 5 inspiring resolutions that can help your small business achieve absolute success in 2016:

1. Invest In Your Employees

Each year, your company hires a multitude of people from different fields and demographic backgrounds—who work on a range of projects in the firm. In short, employees form the backbone of your small business.

Therefore, it is necessary to speak to them periodically to get to know their thoughts and opinions. Issue a survey to all the employees asking them about how you can help them be more efficient and how the business can up its game. Adjust your efforts to not only mentor them but also provide them job satisfaction.

In addition to this, send them to conferences and seminars to help them grow professionally. Leverage their hidden talents and enable them to take more responsibilities that will not only benefit the business but also them.

2. Strengthen Your Formal Partnerships

As a small business owner, you must think from a 360 degree point of view. While investing in employees is important, you must also be open and communicative with the organizations you partner with, such as your vendors.

When was the last time you had a face-to-face meeting or a telephonic conversation with one of your important alliances? If you are taking more than a second to think of a name, then you should certainly focus on maintaining these integral relationships.

After all, it’s nice to put a face to the people who are making things happen for your organization.

3. Focus More On Customer Experience Than Sales

Customers and sales are two sides of the same coin in a business. While sales are important for a business to produce profits and thrive, expanding the customer base is immensely critical as well.

Today, companies are taking the route of customer experience to distinguish their brands due to increased competition. The thing is when a customer makes a purchase with your business, (s)he wants to feel in a certain way.

This is the reason why your small business must come up with different ways to enhance the customer experience. This can be through gift vouchers, after-sales service or free installation assistance among others.

4. Give Back to Your Community

As the owner of a small business, you must follow the simple rule of not only “selling” but also “giving back” sometimes. If your customer base and community don’t know what your business’ mission is, they are less likely to shop from you.

Therefore, make a generous donation, sponsor a small event, hold a contest to engage the customers or collaborate with and cross-promote small businesses—there are many powerful ways through which you can give back to your community effectively.

By doing this, you will connect with the community on a far more personal level that will certainly benefit your business in the long run.

5. Secure Your Payment Transactions From Fraud

As the owner of a small business, have you asked yourself this question: “Are my customers comfortable making payments to my company? Am I offering them the right payment method?” It is good that you are raising questions on the payment mode; given that not everyone carries cash all the time.

Hence, offering a secure payment method makes the customers more confident about making payments with cards and also gives them the assurance of the fact that their money is not being associated with wrong things.

Onesto Payments, for instance, solve payments and POS challenges for small businesses. With absolutely no risk of being cheated on by technology providers, Onesto not only equips the businesses with the best but also shares knowledgeable information to keep them updated.

Lastly, learn to take time off this year. It is true that as the owner, you don’t get time to relax. But by taking time to rejuvenate, you are only going to focus better and work harder—which will ultimately help you run a more successful small business. Let the New Year inspire you to not only revolutionize your business but your own work ethics.

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5 Ways To Give Back To Your Customers This Holiday Season

5 Ways To Give Back To Your Customers This Holiday Season

Your customers play a big role in the success of your small business. From expanding your brand’s visibility to magnifying your company’s revenues – customers have a hand in everything. As the owner of a small business, you must follow the simple rule of not only “selling” but also “giving back” sometimes.

5 Ways To Give Back To Your Customers This Holiday Season

This practice does most certainly establish a vested interest between your brand and the customers – as this will give you the opportunity to truly appreciate them. And what’s better than the holiday season to “give back” and show some gratitude? Here are a few ways to get started right now:

1. Make a donation

Donating a percentage of your business’ profits is an effective way to “give back” to the customer base. How? Well, you can choose a charitable organization or NGO that holds significance to you or to your family. It can even be an association that your business as a whole believes in.

92% of people want to buy products from businesses that support a cause.

(Cone Study)

To start spreading awareness about the same, you can drop an email to the customers—sharing what you’re doing this holiday. Give them proper context and reasons for taking this noble step. Try to strike an emotional chord with them. They will definitely appreciate this charitable activity of the business and even talk about it in their circles.

2. Sponsor an event

Sponsor a local marathon of the city/town, a school sports event or simply a small promotional event where people get the chance to interact with you. This is a great way to increase brand visibility. Identify what kinds of events or interactions your audience likes and go for it!

The truth is that this arrangement works for the other party too—as this will fuel their noble motives financially! If you see the bigger picture, such associations make the customers feel that your business is going beyond the mainstream business events to engage with them.

3. Throw a get-together

Because, why not? When most festivals are celebrated within all organizations, your small business should think out of the box too. Throw a get-together for your employees and customers! This activity is exciting and will create a buzz within the customer base as they get to see who is working on what behind-the-scenes.

Send invites via e-mails or social media. Plan and execute a campaign on digital platforms  to create hype and engage customers from the beginning. For the party, you can order some snacks, serve mocktails and give out goodie bags to all the attendees. Everyone likes to socialize and receive return gifts—no matter how big or small the gifts are.

4. Hold a contest for the customers

Ask your employees to host contests on both offline and online platforms for the customers. Keep a prize for not only the winner(s) but also give out small vouchers to those who participate in them. This encourages massive participation and engagement.

In addition to this, you will gain lots of traction (and support) from your customers. The thing is—it is the holiday season and everyone is in a celebratory, festive spirit. Such activities will only spread more cheer amongst them and give your small business ‘positive results’.

5. Collaborate and cross-promote local businesses

Why not collaborate with another small business for a campaign or an event? This way their customer base will also gain visibility of your brand and vice versa. Go for a local business that compliments what you offer and does not sell products/services that are similar to yours.

Nothing works better than cross-networking. Your brand will get more exposure in lieu of some exposure that you get for the other business.  In addition to this, your business can then open up in different markets and understand diversified needs that you can make a part of your offerings.

6. Ensure a secure mode of payment to customers

As a small business owner, it is your responsibility to make sure customers are comfortable making payments to you. After all, not everyone is carrying cash at all times. Offering a secure payment method removes the hesitancy of making payments with cards and gives them an assurance that their money is not going to be associated with wrong things.

Now given the fact that most small businesses aren’t aware of such payment solutions, we at Onesto solve payments and POS challenges for them. With absolutely no risk of being cheated on by technology providers, we not only equip you with the best but also share knowledgable information to keep you updated.

Successful businesses are rewarded for making the effort to “give back” to the community. Charitable acts, social activities and casual events or simply making their customers feel comfortable with the entire purchase cycle—making your intention to sell “subtle” during the holiday season is the key to giving a boost to your business!

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