Whether you are thinking about accepting credit cards online for the first time, or you've been processing payments online for years, there are five issues to consider BEFORE signing up with a merchant account provider.

Here are the five issues you need to figure out BEFORE signing up for any service:

1. Shopping cart/online catalog
2. Product "type" (i.e. physical delivery, digital, etc.), and fulfillment
3. Database/customer list integration
4. Integration with gateway
5. Merchant account set up

Shopping Cart/Online Catalog

Usually this issue has a lot to do with the type of products you are selling online. 

For example, information products typically do not need a shopping cart.  Physical products, allowing for variations in size, color, etc. (i.e. product "modalities") require an online catalog to handle a multitude of products and product types.

So what does this mean for you?

For every piece of software or technology, integration is always important.  Before buying a complicated software platform, make sure it works with your existing (or future) systems.

Product Type

Here are the issues to consider next.  Product fulfillment issues.  For example, physical products require:

1. Fulfillment (i.e. creation, duplication, storage)
   
2. Postage
3. Delivery
4. Integration with a fulfillment center (possibly)
5. Refunds/returns
   

For information products, will you use...

1. Digital downloads
2. Membership content
3. Streaming videos

The list goes on.

Anyway, though most shopping cart solutions can handle physical products, if you are using a fulfillment center to actually handle packaging and shipping you'll want to make sure that email notifications of sale go to you AND the fulfillment center.

Database Integration

Okay, you have customers.  Great.  Now what? 

Your system should be able to capture customer information (name and email address at a minimum) so you can...

do some follow up marketing!

It costs more to sell to a new customer then offering other goods and services to existing clients/customers.

That's a given.  Yet, 90%+ of business owners overlook their customers looking for "the next."

And that's a huge mistake.

Not to mention lost opportunity and revenue.

Gateway Set Up

Your merchant account needs to link up with your website and/or your shopping cart software (or virtual solution).

The key point is to understand that your cart and gateway need to link together seamlessly.

Not all gateways link to all carts. 

Some are proprietary.  Locked down by the provider selling you the software solution.  Most shopping carts should link to most merchant account providers, but the sales person you're talking with may not admit that fact...

Why?  Because the person selling you the cart/software is most likely a reseller of merchant accounts as well. By denying the existing of choice, they can charge you just about whatever they want (and most do).

If you already have a merchant account provider and they offer gateway services, then find a cart that will work with them (or switch to someone who can link with your cart if it matters that much to you).

Get this worked out BEFORE plunking down some money on a cart you can't use.

Merchant Account Set Up

Actually this should be the easiest part of the entire process.  The only "trick" is to make sure your account is configured with your gateway. 

After all, you need to get paid at the end of the day.

Hopefully this article clarified some issues for you.  Now, the question is, what do you do with all this information? 

If you need more info, have a comment or question to share, or just want to share your experiences feel free to visit my blog/website and leave a comment for me there (the link is at the bottom of the page). 

Does that sound fair enough to you?

If you already accept credit cards, we provide the most ACCURATE merchant account reviews in the industry.