New to point of sale? Here’s all you need to know about payments

You’ll need a merchant account to process electronic card payments. Merchant accounts are set up with acquiring banks, like Elavon, that communicate with card networks and customer banks to authorise payments and process transactions.

You’ll need a point-of-sale (POS) system: a combination of hardware and software that works together to allow you to process transactions. There are POS systems to suit every business. The best one for you will depend on your industry and how you serve your customers.

Depending on how you serve your customers, you’ll probably need additional hardware accessories to create a complete POS system. Common accessories include printers, cash drawers, barcode scanners and kitchen printers.

Just like your POS system must support how and where you serve customers, your card machine will also need to fit how you do business. Do you only serve customers at the till? Or do you like to serve customers around your business, accepting payments at the table, for example? Perhaps you run a mobile business and go to your customers. This will require a mobile payments solution.

Ultimately, your card-machine options will be fixed, portable or mobile. All Elavon card machines will integrate with your POS system, so your transaction data can always be captured and used to provide insights and reports to help you plan ahead and run things more efficiently.                                                   

The cost of your payments solution is also a factor that should be considered. Finding the right pricing and fee structure is critical, especially for new businesses that are only getting started. The expense of taking card payments should be supported by the revenue you expect to generate.

New businesses that don’t anticipate a high volume of transactions might choose to start with our Elavon Mobile solution: a pocket-sized card reader and smartphone app. There are no monthly software fees or expensive hardware requirements. Purchase the card reader for a low upfront payment and then pay as you go for transactions each month.