Easiest way to set up a payment method?

[shutupdan]

So we have a small project going on, basically it's landscaping services packaged kina like Uber, our employees are basically freelance workers with there own lawn mower, truck, tools etc. placed all over the state, so when someone needs work done, they contact us, and we contact the closest employee to go do it. The problem we are running into is that a lot of people are uncomfortable with paying with Paypal for the service, even though they don't believe they're getting scammed(they already got landscaped when they pay), but they still want to pay with other methods, and I'm not sure what the best method is about setting up a simpler way to pay is?

[Owen]

So we have a small project going on, basically it's landscaping services packaged kina like Uber, our employees are basically freelance workers with there own lawn mower, truck, tools etc. placed all over the state, so when someone needs work done, they contact us, and we contact the closest employee to go do it. The problem we are running into is that a lot of people are uncomfortable with paying with Paypal for the service, even though they don't believe they're getting scammed(they already got landscaped when they pay), but they still want to pay with other methods, and I'm not sure what the best method is about setting up a simpler way to pay is?

Braintree. I cannot stress it enough. It is owned by PayPal, but they put in their credit information as if it weren't PayPal. You can also pay with PayPal if the customer prefers it. All the money goes directly into your PayPal or bank account. It's amazing.

[shutupdan]

Thank you, I'm definitely gonna look into that. We don't even have a real website yet, so I was considering paying someone to implement payment on the site somehow but I don't know.

[Owen]

Thank you, I'm definitely gonna look into that. We don't even have a real website yet, so I was considering paying someone to implement payment on the site somehow but I don't know.

Awesome! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or simply reply. :)

[Harold Mansfield]

You said...

...but they still want to pay with other methods, and I'm not sure what the best method is about setting up a simpler way to pay is?

What other methods are they telling you that they feel better about? Start with what they want, and then figure out who has it and the best way to implement it.

Also, Pay Pal is a normal processor. When people tell me "I don't like using Pay Pal". I tell them "Then don't use it and just pay the invoice with whatever card you want".

Who is running the payments? You? How are you billing them or running their cards? Manually over the phone or are you sending them invoices?
Things like this are important to know so that we can make the right suggestions.

If you don't have a website, then Braintree and every other service that embeds in websites is a waste of time.

[shutupdan]

I mean if we are doing a 20 somethings lawn then paypal is no issue, but the older folks wanna pay in cash which we can't do, and then they try and give us a check which we also can't do, so finally they angrily give us a card and I walk them through the process of paying through paypal with a card. And yeah we're gonna get a website soon enough, so Braintree should be helpful.

[Owen]

I mean if we are doing a 20 somethings lawn then paypal is no issue, but the older folks wanna pay in cash which we can't do, and then they try and give us a check which we also can't do, so finally they angrily give us a card and I walk them through the process of paying through paypal with a card. And yeah we're gonna get a website soon enough, so Braintree should be helpful.

Why can't you do cash? You can't account cash?

[shutupdan]

I'm generally never in physical contact with any of the people we landscape for, and I've only briefly met our freelancers/employees, and I don't know when I would see them again, and I don't want them meeting me every week to get it to me.

[Owen]

I'm generally never in physical contact with any of the people we landscape for, and I've only briefly met our freelancers/employees, and I don't know when I would see them again, and I don't want them meeting me every week to get it to me.

Then have them mail checks to you or have them mail the cash to you or something along those lines. If it's a check, have the customer sign an agreement so if the check bounces then they're financially liable then have the freelancer mail the check to you.

[shutupdan]

That's a good idea. Couldn't I just rent a P.O. box and have everyone send payment that way? That would be SO much easier than dealing with all this other stuff. Thanks for reminding me that mail still exists haha.

[Harold Mansfield]

I mean if we are doing a 20 somethings lawn then paypal is no issue, but the older folks wanna pay in cash which we can't do, and then they try and give us a check which we also can't do, so finally they angrily give us a card and I walk them through the process of paying through paypal with a card. And yeah we're gonna get a website soon enough, so Braintree should be helpful.
So your issue isn't really Pay Pal, it's that some people don't want to use cards regardless of what you are using to run them and you don't have any kind of mobile payment solution set up. I can understand you not taking cash if you or your people aren't on scene.

Just off the top of my head a quick fix (maybe even a permanent one) would be to set up an account with someone like Square, give all of your subs card readers that work on smart phones, which are connected to your account. Readers are cheap, and at least they can take payment on site without you having to walk people through the process on a website or email invoice.

You also need to set expectations of what kind of payment methods you accept before they book you. Do that and you won't have people expecting to pay you in a way that you don't accept. They know what to expect, what the process is and have their card ready when the job is done.

If you are setting up weekly or monthly accounts, Pay Pal invoicing works great for that.

Also check out Freshbooks. They have mobile payment readers, let you add employees, provide some basic bookkeeping functions and the ability to send single invoices and recurring invoices.

[Owen]

So your issue isn't really Pay Pal, it's that some people don't want to use cards regardless of what you are using to run them and you don't have any kind of mobile payment solution set up. I can understand you not taking cash if you or your people aren't on scene.

Just off the top of my head a quick fix (maybe even a permanent one) would be to set up an account with someone like Square, give all of your subs card readers that work on smart phones, which are connected to your account. Readers are cheap, and at least they can take payment on site without you having to walk people through the process on a website or email invoice.

You also need to set expectations of what kind of payment methods you accept before they book you. Do that and you won't have people expecting to pay you in a way that you don't accept. They know what to expect, what the process is and have their card ready when the job is done.

If you are setting up weekly or monthly accounts, Pay Pal invoicing works great for that.

Also check out Freshbooks. They have mobile payment readers, let you add employees, provide some basic bookkeeping functions and the ability to send single invoices and recurring invoices.

PayPal also has a Square-like product it's just shaped like a triangle. The barber I go to uses one, that's how I pay for my snazzy haircuts.

[Bobjob]

I like your business idea Dan. I would engage with the older clientele and find out why they don't want to pay your way. With many people it is the fear of the unknown, once they become used to it they are okay with it. Maybe they've never signed a phone or tablet with their finger or stylus and they are not comfortable with it. But if you coddle them and assist them with being comfortable with it, it will pay off in the long run.