Credit card machine

I just signed up with propay, in spite of their membership fee.

Paypal is free, just so everyone knows.

The reason I signed up is because of the web site name, propay.com. Short and simple.

How funny is this, though:

From the Propay site

And then when you sign up, you get this:

Perhaps ProPay needs a ProPay account so that they can accept credit cards? Or maybe a PayPal account. :smiley:

That’s pretty funny. :mrgreen: I also just signed up. Makes me wonder. I did check them out with BBB though. They are a member and they have no complaints.

The reference made to payfuse is through HomeGauge’s Gold services. HomeGauge actually wrote the code that will force a payment for the benefit of its Gold service users. The inspector uploads the report and sends a link and a password to the agent and client. The inspector can however, force a payment before he sends the link. The buyer or agent arrives to pick up the report and then a friendly message says " There is an unpaid balance of $400 on this inspection. Please click the pay now button to view your report." This eliminates collections 100%

Cost $7.50 a month (thats it. no hidden fees, monthly fees other than $7.50 a month). When someone uses their card the inspector is charged a percentage near 2.5%

If you lose one inspection a year to an unpaid it would have paid for itself.

We do have inspectors that are using our Gold service and is not using HomeGauge. You can upload any report (pdf) and take advantage of many Gold service benefits beyond the force payment option.
http://www.homegauge.com/inspector/services/plans.html

This has been a good thread for thinking through the different payment options. I have been using PayPal a lot recently, with more and more out-of-state clients, and it’s been just right for me. Flat $5 fee per inspection payment, customers are all familiar with it and comfortable with it. No monthly fees, etc. I earn about 4% interest on any money I leave in my PayPal account, and I get 1% cashback when I use the PayPal card for purchases. PayPal does have dispute resolution process, if someone wants to dispute their payment, but I’ve never used it.

Checks have been fine, too. No bad checks yet, in almost four years of inspecting. There have been a few times when I really wondered if the check would clear, so I mentioned that to the buyer’s agent. Each time, the agent said that if there is a problem, to let the escrow agent or title company know, in writing, and they will include the inspection fee in the closing settlement. I’ve never had to do that, so I don’t know how well it would work. My payment policy says that I don’t do payments through escrow at closing. But if that was the only way to collect, I suppose I could do that, and maybe tack on a $50 escrow fee.

That’s it.
Seems like you’re losing money.
I charge $10 for inspections up to $400 and lose money on those between about $359 and $399. Above $400, I charge 3%, rounded off to whatever I feel like rounding it off to, always trying to end in a nine (399, 409, 419, 429, etc–the Power of Nines).

Hey Russel:

PAYPAL will drop you for charging an upcharge fee. It is a part of their agreement with you.

Truthfully, if an inspector is worried about losing $10-$25 because of a credit card transaction fee, then consider what the client thinks when you ask them for the extra cash to cover the cost. I believe the inspection process goes south when you try to tack on $5 or $10 to the client.

You can always raise your prices and offer a check/cash discount of 3% if your that concerned over the fee.

OK guys heres the deal, I have been using paypal for a few years now and this is what I do…
Pay pal is connected to my business account, the money that sits in my paypal account earns 4.25 ( has been as high as 4.75)percent intrest as of this post, they charge me 3 percent of inspection fee to process the clients card, If I use the paypal debit mastercard for purchases they pay me back 1 percent of everything I buy ,Immediately … so I figure with the interest and the instant 1 percent I am breaking even or ahead of the game depending on the interest rate. Also I can transfer any of said funds in 2 to 3 days to my business account at no extra charge:shock:

Works for ME:roll:

I know. Which is why, like the gas stations, I have a credit price and a cash price, which you noted in the bottom of your post.

Probably not in today’s age of credit and cash prices at gas stations, which everyone probably visits at least once a week.

Exactly.

And for me. Everything you state are reasons why I decided to open a PayPal account.

Still doesn’t prevent me from passing on my costs to my customers, though. There’s no need to absorb costs if the customer is willing to pay for them in one form or fashion.

Regarding the paypal processing option that some of you are using…does the customer have to have a paypal account? Is there an option for you to enter the information in the event of a client who does not have a computer (yes I still occassionally run into this, though they generally pay by check)? How long do Paypal generally take for the funds to hit your account?

The company I am using, which has been ok but I think is too expensive, just upped my rate, which I believe will allow me to get out of my contract. So I am intersted in other options. As much as I am wary of Paypal, from a bad personal experience, this seem like a decent option, especially from a security standpoint of not handling their card info.

Thanks.

No the customer does not have to have a PayPal account. They are paying into your account. As soon as they reply to the Invoice/email you send it will take them to another site where they are asked to enter their account # and type of card. The money is automatically deposited into your PayPal account. They then will automatically receive another email in the form of a receipt for their payment and you will also receive an email stating you have been paid. You can then let the money build up in your PayPal account or you can transfer it into your bank account that you have to have on record. Setting up your account to receive payments is very simple, very detailed instructions. It will cost a few bucks each time you use it but the hassles are basically eliminated. The fees are a tax deduction so it is figured into the cost of doing business. Great for the out of town buyers and you can control when you get paid by simply holding the report back until payment is received.

I’m finding that the customer does have to have a PayPal account. Seems that PayPal had some serious issues when they first started up, and I have had a couple of customers who were not going to open up another PayPal account due to those issues. So far, everyone who has paid me through PayPal have had to open an account.

Money from credit card payments is automatically deposited into your PayPal account, but note that they can pay by check, also. Money from check payments is delayed until the check clears, but that’s really no different from the hold that banks put on check deposits anyway, so no big deal there.

PayPal Website Payments Standard

The easy way to get paid

  • Start accepting payments today–no approval or shopping cart required
  • Customers shop on your website and pay you on PayPal, even without a PayPal account
  • No annual commitment required
  • No monthly, startup, or cancellation fees
  • Optional: Accept credit cards via phone, fax, mail, or in person (monthly fees apply)*
    I hope that this is truly the case (my bold, underline), I have made accepting credit card payment through PayPal (without having my customers needing a PayPal account) part of my business model. I have not tested this, so please keep me informed if the glitch has been worked out.

Thanks - Joe.

How do you handle the client who decides at the inspection to pay with credit? Sedn them the email link before sending the report? I think I like this model, it will just take a little more prep and communication than my old one. But worth it to save significantly on fees. My biggest concern would be the no paypal account issue. Followed closely by not wanting to leave the money in a Paypal controlled or accessable account because of my previous bad experience with them. Which will not be hard to overcome.

I’m thinking that PayPal has a different definition of “account” than does the general public. PayPal requires that one open an “account” using one’s email address.

Now those of us who receive money must also connect our bank account to an account, and therein, I think, likes the difference in definitions between the general public’s definition of “account” and PayPal’s definition of “account.”

I just went to PayPal to explore this issue further, trying to send money to my account. In all cases, it wanted me to open an account using the email address that I was sending from.

PayPal.JPG

Wireless card swipe machines. They are cool. :cool:

Use paypal’s invoice feature. Set up a standardized invoice form using one of their templates. You then simply fill in the clients email, invoice amount and comment about the inspection address and off it goes. I advise the clients, I can’t release the finished report until I receive confirmation of payment from paypal. The charge for the service varies. $275.00 invoice, I net $270.00 two days ago I sent an invoice for $700.00 my net $679.40. You can leave the money in an interest bearing paypal account, put it on a paypal debit card, make purchases with it or transfer it to anyone of your personal bank accounts. No monthly fee’s, if you don’t use it there’s absolutely No fees…

What if the client doesn’t pay right away…and in the interim you leave the office…then he pays, and you don’t log onto paypal again for awhile, while they wait impatiently for their report…not your fault, but inconvenient for them yes?

With my HG service, I am able to send the report as a link to the site of course, and when they pay, it unlocks the report…pretty cool huh?

I am away from my computer quite a bit as I have other interests, so this works great for me…of course you would need to use HomeGauge first.

I always say use whatever works for you. One size does not fit all. Every one of us has different business needs. I’ve used PayPal with clients who didn’t even know what PayPal was until I told them. I sent them an email, they responded to it, paid their bill and never once had to open an account. I do not know what anyone else is experiencing but so far it has been flawless in performance and execution. Minimum hassles for everyone Ive talked to and the clients thought it was the best thing since someone invented “sitting down”. I don’t have to use it often as most people either use check or cash (had someone actually asked me if I accepted cash the other day!) Yep! Cash is still KING in my book.