Virtual Assistants and Small Businesses See More Profits with a Virtual Terminal

Jul 20
10:59

2009

Diana Ennen

Diana Ennen

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Can a virtual terminal help your virtual assistant business or small business? Absolutely. With the ability to accept credit cards virtually, the ability to set up automatic recurring billing & shopping cart capabilities, businesses thrive with the right virtual terminal.

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Virtual Terminals are helping virtual assistants and other small businesses succeed by allowing them the ability to accept credit card payments virtually. As most virtual assistants work remotely,Virtual Assistants and Small Businesses See More Profits with a Virtual Terminal Articles this is just one more asset to being virtual.  Small businesses such as those in direct sales, speakers, coaches, etc., also benefit with the ability to allow their clients easy payment options.  Also, because most clients prefer to use credit these days, it’s an added benefit to not only the virtual assistant or small business, but their client as well.

Accepting payments through a virtual terminal means that payments can be made remotely with 24-hour access to a secure reliable cost effective payment processor through the Internet. A secure network provides instant authorization on credit transactions.  Some systems can also be combined with your website to allow online shoppers to pay for goods instantly. The shopping cart ability is especially beneficial for virtual assistants as not only do they utilize shopping carts for their businesses, but also for their client’s businesses as well.  This can be an excellent alternative to Paypal and other payment options and give businesses more control over each transaction. 

Other benefits abound as well.  For example, having the ability to set up automated recurring billing is a big plus for those businesses who routinely bill on a retainer basis or who have scheduled billing, such as advertising or membership dues, as then customers can pre-arrange to automatically make payments directly. How often as a business owner do we hear the check is in the mail, or I’ll send that out tomorrow, only to wait for a payment that is severely late or never comes at all?  With automated recurring billing, that waiting time is eliminated and each month, or whenever the next payment is due, the bill is processed automatically.  It’s also a tremendous benefit for clients as well as then they don’t have to worry about the billing aspect of doing business. 

Another big advantage to virtual terminals is that some companies, including CellCharge, Inc., offer a virtual terminal and phone plan combined.  This is perfect for businesses that conduct work in and out of the office allowing them the ability to not only accept payments through the virtual terminal, but also through their existing phones, even their iPhones.   So even when out in the field conducting business, sales can be processed.

As Dave Garboski, President of CellCharge states, “By utilizing a virtual terminal and phone based system, service companies and other small businesses can now process transactions from any touch tone phone or any computer with internet access, eliminating the need to have to buy or lease any equipment to process credit card payments. Other benefits will often include ease of use, recurring billing feature and built in shopping carts. Some companies offering virtual terminals require you to implement a 3rd party shopping cart to sell items on your website, which just means more fees and more headaches.  Look for one that has a shopping cart included or that allows you to integrate an existing shopping cart with the virtual terminal.”

When looking for the right virtual terminal, make sure to find one that requires no additional software be installed on your computer, is easy to use and operate and is affordable.  Some companies even offer partnership programs whereby not only can virtual assistants help their client set up virtual terminals, but they can make a few extra dollars as well.

Being virtual offers so many advantages and the virtual terminal is just one more to add to the list.  Visit companies such as CellCharge to find out how you too can benefit with a virtual terminal.