There are a number of ways businesses can collect payment for products sold or services rendered. Beyond the usual brick-and-mortar POS (point of sale) options, the main ones are direct debits, bank transfers, online credit or debit card transactions and digital wallet payments.
If your business doesn’t accept online payments, adding online payment options could benefit you in a number of ways. Offering customers new payment options is the obvious one, but here are a few more advantages to allowing online payments:
Meet customer expectations. People are increasingly comfortable paying online. When customers want to do business with you, they want to do it easily and quickly – being able to pay online facilitates this.
Speed of payments. Online payments are faster than other payment methods – for example, you don’t have to wait for a check to clear or deposit cash earnings at the bank. The whole process, from submitting the online payment to posting it to your bank account, can take seconds. As such, this can result in improved cash flow for your business and lets you know immediately whether the person making the payment has sufficient funds to cover the transaction.
Convenience. Online payment processing can save you a lot of time and trouble recording payments manually and depositing checks and cash. When you set up online payments, transactions are automatically processed – you don’t store or handle any credit card information or payment information.
When combined with invoicing and CRM software, payment solutions have even more advantages. With your tools synced up, you can:
Centralize customer invoicing and payment info reducing manual work and double-entry of information between CRM and invoicing tools.
Report and forecast revenue and cash flow
Know who hasn't paid and have everything required for bookkeeping and tax-filing
Easily keep track of subscriptions or renewals, as well as one-off and recurring payments
Follow up with and chase customers for late payments
Although the thought of adding online payment methods may seem a little overwhelming, we provide you with the basic knowledge in this article that will help you navigate some of the different online payment solutions for small businesses and provide you with other helpful tools that can help you manage your business finances more effectively.
Online payment solutions that can help businesses
Here are some of our recommendations for online payment solutions that can help your business:
Stripe
With no monthly setup or hidden fees, Stripe is one of the most flexible payment processors on the market. Whether you’re a small business or a large organization, Stripe’s robust API allows you to tailor its platform to your needs.
Stripe integrates with hundreds of other applications, including Pipedrive, so even if you’re not a coding expert, you can get up and running quickly. Learn more about Stripe for Pipedrive.
PayPal
With over 305 million active users, PayPal is one of the most widely known e-commerce payment providers. Because of its popularity, there’s a pretty good chance that your current and potential customers already have PayPal accounts, which makes payments even more accessible.
PayPal puts tremendous importance on security, meaning you won’t be storing any credit card information from your customers like you would with other e-commerce payment processors.
Google Pay
Formerly known as Google Checkout, Google Pay is an online payment service that allows users to send simple, safe, fast money transfers from their smartphone, web browser, or Gmail account. Customers can store debit cards, credit cards, gift cards and loyalty cards in their digital wallets.
Apple Pay
Out of all the online payment solutions on the market, Apple Pay offers the most seamless solution. Users can instantly pay using touch ID confirmation or fingerprint scan.
However, it should be noted that they’re not a payment processing service, so you’ll need to set one up through one of the other payment processing solutions mentioned here if you want to be able to accept different kinds of payments like Visa and Mastercard.
Square
Square was one of the first online processing solutions to introduce a credit card swiper that could process credit card payment transactions, be paired with a mobile app and be attached to a cell phone. Over the years, Square’s technology has improved, with inclusive software and advanced tap features to process mobile payments securely and safely. You can also send electronic invoices, and get paid, through the Square Cash App.
Dwolla
If you require multiple payment structures like multiple-stage interests, installment payments and varying recurring billing charges, Dwolla could be the solution. To top it off, its pricing structure is also very competitive.
Due
Through its time-tracking and invoicing tools, which are especially useful for small business owners, Due offers a comprehensive solution with multiple forms of payment. Due gives users access to digital wallets and secure transactions.
Authorize.net
Authorize.net is probably one of the oldest and most used payment solutions on our list. Authorize.net’s online payment system supports almost all payment types and the company is known for staying on top of payment method trends while providing award-winning API integrations.
Intuit GoPayment
Intuit is a good all-in-one solution for small business owners. Besides being able to accept payments both in person and online with its GoPayment mobile credit card processor, Intuit can also assist with calculating taxes and payroll.
Freshbooks
In addition to being an online payment processor, Freshbooks offers robust accounting solutions that are used by millions of businesses worldwide. Freshbooks boasts transparent financial reporting, a good user experience and supportive customer service.
Other tools that can help you manage business finances
Here are some other tools that you might find helpful for managing your business finances.
QuickBooks
QuickBooks is an accounting software package geared mainly toward startups and small and medium-sized businesses. It offers on-premises accounting applications and cloud-based versions to help you pay bills, accept business payments and manage payroll functions.
QuickBooks also integrates easily with other applications, including Pipedrive. With the Pipedrive-QuickBooks integration app, you can create invoices from Pipedrive’s deal details view without switching between apps.
Xero
Xero provides an all-in-one cloud-based accounting software for small and medium-sized businesses. It allows you to automate admin, track cash flow and send invoices from almost anywhere with an internet connection.
Xero also integrates easily with thousands of other applications, including Pipedrive. With the Pipedrive-Xero integration app, you can sync Xero records with Pipedrive to view invoices, quotes and payments directly in Pipedrive.
Smart Docs
Smart Docs is a content management software program designed to help Pipedrive users collate content from various documents and manage, share and view them on a unified platform.
With the Pipedrive Smart Docs add-on, you can centralize the entire documentation process by sending trackable quotes, proposals and contracts from within Pipedrive. Get notified when they are opened by a customer and request e-signatures from your clients to close deals faster.
Paycove
Paycove is an automated quoting, invoicing and payments solution that integrates seamlessly with CRM and accounting software.
With the Pipedrive-Paycove integration app your sales team can work directly in their CRM to instantly provide quotes, invoices, contracts and other documents. Payments can be scheduled or captured automatically. Customers can get custom documents, quotes and invoices that fit their internal processes while also being able to pay how and when they choose.
Final thoughts
Like it or not, online payments are necessary if you want to reach all your customers and maximize your revenue potential. The great news is that there are many online payment platform options to choose from, all with their own unique advantages and disadvantages. So, make sure to do your homework before settling on an online payment solution that best fits your business needs.
