Guest post from Regpack
Running a pet business is exciting. You get to meet cute, furry friends and take care of them while their owners are away on vacation or at their day job. However, don’t let these adorable pets distract from the nitty-gritty of running a business.
When running a dog daycare or another similar pet business, you’re going to need a couple of core management tools to help organize your furry clients and ensure that you’re effectively meeting their needs. After all, these are living beings, and their owners are entrusting you with them. These tools will include check-in and check-out tools, employee management capabilities, a pet business marketing platform, and your payment processing solution.
In particular, how you process payments is crucial to the success of your business, especially if you’re facilitating online payments. While purchasing your services online is extremely convenient, it also leaves the risk open for hacks and financial fraud.
We at Regpack often work with small business owners to help them organize their offerings and accept payments securely online, so we decided to offer some insight for pet business owners with this guide. You’ll be exploring the following top payment processing tips for pet businesses:
- Use a trusted payment processor
- Accept multiple types of payment
- Make use of recurring subscription payments
- Consistently compile reports
We know that dealing with financial data is overwhelming for any business leader, especially if you’re not aware of any fraud prevention measures. That’s why using a trusted payment processor is our first tip. Ready to learn more? Let’s begin.
1. Use a trusted payment processor
Facilitating online payments is a wonderful way to make the payment process efficient and quick. However, none of this matters if the tool you use isn’t trusted. One bad incident of financial fraud or data hacking can shine a negative light on your business and mar your reputation. This can take a while to recover from, so it’s critical to try all you can to avoid this type of situation.
But what does a trusted payment processor look like? Make sure the tools you use have these protection measures in place:
- PCI compliance. All tools that process online transactions must be PCI compliant and adhere to the guidelines set up by the Payment Card Industry.
- Encryption and tokenization. This is an easy way to authenticate the client during the purchase without affecting the security of a transaction. It uses random strings of characters, also known as tokens, to encrypt sensitive information such as a 16-digit credit card number
- Two-factor or multi-factor authentication. This requires all users to authenticate their identity with more than just one factor. This will usually include a password, along with a security token or fingerprint that only the user should have.
- Strong customer support. This is important in case fraud does happen. The payment provider should conduct a vulnerability assessment and a refund in case of any fraud.
Taking the steps to protect your client’s sensitive data should always be a priority. According to our Regpack page on online payment software, ensuring a secure payment process can even increase your cash flow by 30% and result in 25% fewer cancellations.
It’s recommended that you use an integrated payment solution. This way all of your data is centralized in your core system and you leave less risk to any payment security issues. With a core system, you also have access to all relevant payment information for use in other integrated tools. Utilize key financial data for your email marketing and client management solutions.
2. Accept multiple types of payment
One of the most attractive parts about paying for something online is the convenience of it. No longer do you have to pick up the phone or even go in person to purchase a service. The same goes for your pet business. Be sure to maximize this convenience by allowing customers to pay with their preferred payment method.
For example, there’s the rising popularity of digital wallets and payment apps as well as the typical credit card. However, be sure to read the fine print—each type of payment method likely comes with its own fees that you as the business must pay if you want to accept that method. For instance, credit cards are notorious for having fees alongside them, but they’re generally thought of as a “necessary evil” of doing business.
Along with accepting multiple types of payment for your online transactions, consider how you’ll accept payments in person. Ensure that your point-of-sale system can accept credit card payments with a swipe, dip, or tap.
Accepting the most popular types of payments can help you increase your client base and improve their experience with your pet business. Who knows, maybe they’ll even be inclined to offer an additional tip! Make tipping easy by adding a little check box or field with the desired amount during check out so that your customers can quickly show their appreciation for your services.
3. Make use of recurring subscription payments
Because you’re the leader of a pet business, you likely have a good amount of regular customers. Pets don’t do well going to a new daycare or grooming service every time it’s needed. Owners will often choose one core provider and continue going to them since the staff members are already familiar with their pets.
This is why it’s crucial that your payment processor can facilitate recurring subscription payments. This will automatically charge your client on the appropriate day for your continued service.
Here are the top benefits as to why you should make use of recurring subscription payments:
- You have a more consistent and reliable revenue stream.
- Checkout is much easier for returning customers.
- You build a loyal customer base.
- It helps your business plan for growth and projected revenue.
- You can create custom pricing plans for special customers.
Offering recurring subscription payments is convenient for both you and your customers. You have a more consistent and reliable source of revenue, while clients can rest easy knowing that their pet care bill is being paid automatically.
4. Consistently compile reports
One of the best parts of using software solutions and online tools to help run your pet business is that you can compile lots of data. From the information in your registration form to each transaction made online, your tools should be collecting these key metrics in an integrated and centralized database.
Use this comprehensive data to compile reports. Reports pull valuable metrics and compile them in a digestible format that is easy for staff members to understand and make insights off of.
Reports and data are pet business essentials, especially if you want to improve your operations and increase the revenue for your business. Compile reports specifically on your payment processing and financial data to give you a clue into which services were most profitable and which might be causing you to lose money.
Having a comprehensive understanding of your financial revenue can help you determine future budgets, plan services accordingly, and even aid in how you compensate your employees. Being able to pull reports from your pet business solution and payment processing tool is crucial to making data-driven decisions, so ensure you have this information at your fingertips.
To summarize, your payment processing solution is a key component of your entire pet management system. If you want to increase success for your pet business, make sure your payment tool is secure, accepts multiple types of payment, and can facilitate recurring subscriptions. Above all, try and find an integrated solution. This way, all of your important data is centralized and your operations support each other. Good luck!
