by Barbara A. Frantz
In the process of melding Amy’s law practice and mine together, we needed to get a new merchant card account. This is the account that manages credit card charges from our clients. A client comes in, pays with a credit card, it gets deposited into our Client Trust Account, and after the work is done and our client is billed, we write ourselves a check from the Client Trust Account to our General Account. At that time, the money becomes ours. In the meantime, any fees that the merchant card company charges for the credit card transaction comes out of our General Account. There are several merchant card companies that offer this service, Elavon took over for Nova and is offered through Costco.
Each bank has services associated with a business owner’s bank account. Some services are on the computer only and others are through a “swipe” processor. The experience of comparing a new company with my old one was horrific. Every company starts out with about the same rate that they advertise: 1.99% of the charge on the computer, or 1.69% if you swipe the card plus 27 cents per transaction. But then when we dug deeper, the quagmire of variable rates begins.
If a client uses a card with no spending limit, such as Master Card World or Visa Signature, the card is considered “Not Qualified”, and the charge for the transaction can be as much as 7%. If the card is qualified, that is, it is a straight credit card with no rewards attached, you will get the 1.99%, but if the card includes rewards like the Southwest Chase Visa, you will pay at least 2.96% plus 33cents per transaction. If we don’t add the security code or the address on the charge we will pay 3.8% plus 33 cents per transaction. So the average probate avoidance living trust package could cost our firm as much as $105.
Business credit cards cost more to process than personal cards. Retail stores that have many transactions can pay even more. American Express cards cost the most to process. So the credit card companies make money on both ends of the transaction. The business is charged a premium for taking credit cards with rewards, and the consumer is charged a premium interest rate for using a credit card with rewards. This is a perfect project for David Horowitz as far as I am concerned.
The information above is not a substitute for seeking legal advice. Barbara Frantz, local resident for 16 years, has 34 years of legal experience, offering proven solutions for business owners to increase revenues and achieve their long range goals. Barbara has recently joined forces with Amy Alvis to form Alvis Frantz and Associates, a Professional Law Corporation.
In the process of melding Amy’s law practice and mine together, we needed to get a new merchant card account. This is the account that manages credit card charges from our clients. A client comes in, pays with a credit card, it gets deposited into our Client Trust Account, and after the work is done and our client is billed, we write ourselves a check from the Client Trust Account to our General Account. At that time, the money becomes ours. In the meantime, any fees that the merchant card company charges for the credit card transaction comes out of our General Account. There are several merchant card companies that offer this service, Elavon took over for Nova and is offered through Costco.
Each bank has services associated with a business owner’s bank account. Some services are on the computer only and others are through a “swipe” processor. The experience of comparing a new company with my old one was horrific. Every company starts out with about the same rate that they advertise: 1.99% of the charge on the computer, or 1.69% if you swipe the card plus 27 cents per transaction. But then when we dug deeper, the quagmire of variable rates begins.
If a client uses a card with no spending limit, such as Master Card World or Visa Signature, the card is considered “Not Qualified”, and the charge for the transaction can be as much as 7%. If the card is qualified, that is, it is a straight credit card with no rewards attached, you will get the 1.99%, but if the card includes rewards like the Southwest Chase Visa, you will pay at least 2.96% plus 33cents per transaction. If we don’t add the security code or the address on the charge we will pay 3.8% plus 33 cents per transaction. So the average probate avoidance living trust package could cost our firm as much as $105.
Business credit cards cost more to process than personal cards. Retail stores that have many transactions can pay even more. American Express cards cost the most to process. So the credit card companies make money on both ends of the transaction. The business is charged a premium for taking credit cards with rewards, and the consumer is charged a premium interest rate for using a credit card with rewards. This is a perfect project for David Horowitz as far as I am concerned.
The information above is not a substitute for seeking legal advice. Barbara Frantz, local resident for 16 years, has 34 years of legal experience, offering proven solutions for business owners to increase revenues and achieve their long range goals. Barbara has recently joined forces with Amy Alvis to form Alvis Frantz and Associates, a Professional Law Corporation.
For more details about the services that they provide, please visit http://www.alvisfrantzlaw.com/ or call 925-516-1617. All Rights Reserved.
