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How to boost your restaurant's sales and lessen chargebacks?

Boosting Sales

In our today's economy, every cent counts and adding them to your bottom line is possible despite the economic crisis. Here are a few steps that will increase your profits, either by boosting sales, reducing credit card fees and expenses, or blocking theft.

For businesses in the food service industry, running a restaurant point of sale system, this can greatly help you!

 

Checks

Checks may not seem that appealing to you, but their still widely used by older customers. If you haven’t been accepting checks, start soon. There’s equipment that will scan the check as quickly as a credit card, measure them against a nationwide database of bad check writers, transfers the money to your account electronically, and can guarantee that you'll receive the funds within a couple of days. In addition, the cost is typically lower than for credit cards and could add 10-15 percent to sales—and possibly more if you have many senior customers.

 

Credit Cards

If you do accept credit cards, you're probably accepting Visa and MasterCard already. What about Discover and American Express? Particularly, the latter accompanies larger transactions in general. You might have hesitated because of the high fees, but do reconsider—the difference might be a paltry one percent or so, and because American Express transactions are often larger than those of other cards, you’ll make it up in gross profit. Furthermore, it helps keep your customers coming back because your business will be well know of accepting all forms of credit cards.

 

Researching For Alternatives

Many merchants think their fees are 1.69% plus an additional $.19 because that’s their qualified rate on a tiered pricing program. Though fewer than 20 out of 100 transactions receive the low qualified rate and all the rest downgrade and cost one, two, or even three percent. By researching for alternate programs that offer different interchange rates might just help you out in saving more.

 

Understanding Statements

You or your bookkeeper shouldn’t have to scratch your heads over a complex credit card statement that just doesn’t add up. There are several companies that have made far more than usual efforts to simply their reports. You should be able to come into terms with your statement and rates without exceeding 15 minutes.

 

Online Reports

The post office is slow, don't wait any longer for them to deliver you a letter of disputing a charge. With Internet reporting, you'll exactly know what's up within 24 hours, which gives you the ability to aggressively defend against chargebacks. This type of quick action will increase your success rates and reduce your losses.

No need to scratch your head over complex credit card statements and for your bookkeeper as well.

Use the Card Validation Value and Address Verification System. These highly effective fraud screens proven to reduce losses, and by using them correctly, you can achieve the lowest possible rate for discounts.

In addition, avoid by being PCI compliant. Hackers can cause merchants mammoth of fines, and even drives them out of business. Take the time to read Visa’s report on noncompliant systems, so you'd always be alert.

 

Reducing Chargebacks

If you run an online or phone ordering business, it's always a great idea to implement the “Verified by Visa” or “MasterCard Secure Code” plug-in on your web site. This helps eliminate the chargebacks on cardholder nonauthorization. The state of being legally obliged and responsible for these chargebacks is shifted away from you to the issuing card bank, and you qualify for the lowest discount rate available. This simple step could eliminate up to 80 percent of all chargebacks and increase your profits.

 

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The author of this article is the VP of Customer Relations at POS-For-Restaurants.com with over 20 years experience helping restaurants nationwide increase their efficiency and bottom-line profits with restaurant point of sale systems.

Visit POS-For-Restaurants.com for more information on how our national network of restaurant point of sale professionals can help your business achieve greater success in these difficult economic times.

 

Car won't start when the temperature is below 20 degrees. It is a 95' Pontiac Grand Prix. It is a POS.

Any tips? It is supposed to be very cold here in Indiana for the next week or so. But I'd still like to drive it to school.

Move South where the weather never goes below 20.

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