We were struck by a long and thoughtful article recently posted on AOL Business, with the headline “Can You Afford to Run a Cash-Only Business?”
The first section dealt with some of the admitted advantages from a “cash on the barrelhead” approach — every penny that comes in stays with the business, and you are also absolved from any worries about security breaches, hacks, banks raising fees, etc.
But the second section talked about benefits accruing from taking plastic. The article quotes colorful, Florida-based publisher Mike Arman, who says “My number-one rule of business is ‘always make it easy for people to give you money. I’ve been running businesses for 40 years, and you never know how someone is going to want to pay you. Credit cards, debit cards, checks, letters of credit, cash — I don’t care. I’ll take it all.”
“Turning down credit cards is stupidity squared,” Arman continues. “Customers sometimes don’t have cash and will invariably buy more on plastic than they will for cash. Would you rather have 100 percent of nothing, or 97 percent of $1,000 because you took a credit card?”
And business owners are likewise absolved of any worries that come from word getting out that large batches — or bags! — of cash are laying about, as is the case with a cash-only business.
And of course, there’s virtually no way to have an online business, or one keeping up with customers’ mobility, if you’re cash only.
The Small Business Administration has an essay on their website weighing in on the same thing, and they note that only are “ Card payments are evolving into the most common method of customer payment,” but more to the point “The convenience of using credit cards generally increases the likelihood of consumer ‘impulse purchases,’ which ultimately contributes to an increase in a business’s average sale. Customers are more likely to make these purchases if they have access to credit or their available bank account funds.”
You know how we feel about it here at AVP Solutions! If you’re looking to expand payment options for your customers — whether in offering gift cards, taking eChecks, becoming more mobile, or whatever you seek to do — get in touch today.
As the AOL article says, “ having a variety of ways for customers to pay maximizes cash flow.”
And isn’t that something you’d like to make as “maximum” as possible?