I recently received a box from one of the most reputable international shipping businesses. The package must clear customs, which means I must pay some costs. I chose collect-on-delivery (COD) payment because the company accepts it. Surprisingly, the delivery man insists that the fees be paid in cash - or via bank transfer - before the delivery is completed.

I don't know about you, but because I rarely have cash on hand, this arrangement is far from ideal for me. "Why on earth do such large businesses not permit payment collection via credit/debit card method?" I wondered. They will almost certainly lose a customer because, obviously, I have lots of other shipping firms who offer COD using wireless gadgets and applications - for my convenience.

What is the story's moral? Technology is widely available and is frequently a sensible investment. When you provide consumers cash-on-delivery or collect-on-delivery services, make sure you invest in the correct tools and apps that can help you a lot with payment collection... and customer retention.

With that out of the way, I'd like to recommend eight critical small business sales tools to support your 2014 business strategies and methods.

All of the apps by type of https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fax-from-iphone-fax-app/id1563922708 listed below are free to download, but keep in mind that while free, most apps have less features than the "Pro" versions available. However, most business owners discover that they don't require the Pro features the majority of the time.

Payment processing is unavoidably expensive; nevertheless, the two options listed below are far less expensive than standard online and offline processing techniques.

Square Square charges $2.75 for every $100 in credit card purchases, for a total of 2.75% on each purchase. When compared to Paypal's sending/receiving fees and confusing currency-conversion methodology, this is a blessing. The main benefit is that you can set it up on your "I" or Android-powered device to collect payments from your clients effortlessly and efficiently - they don't need to join into a Paypal account, and you don't need to fill out a credit application like you would with other large payment processors.

Fees decrease as your company grows. Once you reach a quarter-million in annual sales, you may apparently ask them about cutting your costs - albeit you must contact them directly about this, as they keep the actual amounts and discounts hidden. Order the proprietary 'Square dongle' for your smartphone to use in-store or on the go, or install their script on your website, and you'll be accepting all major payment methods right immediately!

Live Cashier

Cashier Live is an interesting point-of-sale app. It differs from Square in that you must work with one of their card processing partners, which means you must qualify, as opposed to the Square arrangement. Fees vary depending on your situation and demands, ranging from $20 to $100 each month. This is one of the numerous drawbacks of Cashier over Square, but the integration features make it valuable for many business owners.

The main difference with Cashier Live is that it is a full-service POS, with card processing, barcode scanning, inventory management, customer tracking, multi-level reports, integration with Quickbooks and Milo, and mobile support. They also sell a variety of hardware products to make your life easier.

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