How to Get Paid as a Restaurant in 2019

If you only accept cash in your restaurant, you are missing out on a lot of opportunities. In 2015, only 32% of US buyers paid using cash. The percentage went below 30% in 2018. In the restaurant industry, a significantly higher number of customers pay using cash than the national average.

Still, that’s no reason not to accept multiple payment methods. More than half your customers in 2019 will ask to pay using credit cards or another method. A high number will request to pay using online means. Find out how to accept payments from different types of customers below.

Cash

The saying “cash is king” is quickly fading in the retail business. In a 2016 study by Consumer Payment, 40% of people surveyed said if they had a choice, they preferred using credit cards to debit or cash. 35% use debit while only 11% use cash. Younger people particularly love cashless payments.

In reality, a high number of restaurant buyers pay using cash. Most people don’t know any other way to tip waiters apart from cash also. Don’t get rid of your cash register yet. Don’t stop there also. Customers love a business that supports multiple payment methods.

There are some challenges to accepting cash that you should be aware of. Your accountants are more prone to making errors while dealing with cash compared to credit cards. There is also the risk of theft from robbers and your employees.

Credit Cards

Credit cards are more popular than cash in many modern retail businesses. In fact, some restaurants have turned into credit card-only businesses. Accepting credit cards is easy and requires little investment.

Find a point of sale system as a start. The systems consist of software that enables you to accept different kinds of payments. With a PoS system, you then need to find a credit card processing company. These companies cut a percentage of all payments done by customers. Take time to find a good processor.

The costs of installing a POS system and paying for a credit card processor can cost between $100 and $1500. If you are tech-savvy, you will want an online POS system. That way, you’ll save on equipment costs and only pay a small fee per month.

There are numerous online POS systems in the market. But few of them offers the ease of use, prices, and compatibility offered by Toast. Find a complete review of the company at, https://www.thetop10sites.com/pos-software/toast/.

Still on credit card processors, choose a company with little or no monthly fees. Make sure the cost per transaction is less than 3%. Considered choosing a tiered system where you will pay less the more you gain customers.

Online Payments

There are more than 50 major online payment methods and millions of people who use them. Like credit cards, a point of sale system goes a long way in enabling the payments. Your customers can make orders via the POS systems. Once done, they can pay using their laptops or smartphones and don’t have to make any queues.

Besides the obvious payment methods like PayPal and SquareCash, your business could also accept bitcoins. In large cities like New York and Tokyo, there are restaurants that solely accept crypto payments. The method is slightly similar to credit cards. You need a payment processor and customers must have a bitcoin wallet with them.

The biggest challenge with bitcoin payments is that they fluctuate frequently. $50 worth of bitcoin today could be worth $40 by the time you convert them into cash. They could also be $100. Another challenge is that some crypto payments take time to be processed. Evaluate these challenges before accepting payments.

Mobile Payments

Most customers that want to pay online at restaurants have their smartphones around—and not laptops. If you are going to accept online payments, make them mobile-friendly. Companies like PayPal have apps that make it easy for customers to pay from their smartphones.

Some companies like Square, offer you a free point of sale when you work with them. There is no maintenance fee for the systems but they get 2.75% for every transaction made by your customers. By contrast, you may have to pay up to $600 to support some mobile payment methods. Work with affordable payments that work with normal POS systems.

Near Field Communication Methods

Digital wallets have been disrupting the restaurant industry for a while now. The latest technology in this field is the Near Field Communication system used by Google and Apple Pay methods. With NFC, payment apps communicate with your restaurant’s processors in a wireless manner.

The customer taps her phone onto your POS system, and the payment is made. So far, not many restaurants support NFC payments. But with thousands of Apple and Google customers trying these services, buy a POS that supports them.

Most of the companies that offer NFC payments don’t charge extra fees. Ideally, customers with Apple Pay or Google Pay have their accounts linked to their credit cards. When they tap their phones onto your systems, it’s their credit cards charged. If your credit card processor charges you 2% per transaction, that’s all you pay.

Debit Cards

Debits are different from credit cards even though people tend to confuse the two. If you have money in your bank, you get a debit card. If you need money; you approach credit card companies for help. They give you a credit card with money in it to be paid as a loan.

Despite the difference, debits are accepted everywhere credit cards are allowed. There is no special integration needed to accept debits. Most credit card processors also process debit cards. Because of that, you don’t have to announce to your customers you accept debits.

Simply buy a POS that accept credit and debit cards. Find a good processor or work with multiple processors. Your customers will get to choose how to pay you and all your money is accounted for by the systems.

There are multiple ways to get paid as a restaurant. With every payment, you need a point of sale. You need a place where customers pay and the money is credited into your account. Online Point of Sale systems handle these services efficiently. They accept all the payments outlined above. They are secure, easy to use and accurate.

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