2. If I decide to accept checks what other pertinent information should I know first?
There are other fees associated with accepting debit cards, however you may want to consider the consequences of dealing with a bounced check. This is a lot more secure and you are guaranteed to have the funds available to you.
Equipment cost - You could buy a separate check processing machine which would cost a lot of money usually in the $600 - $900 range. What most merchants prefer to do is have their terminal programmed to accept checks. This saves a lot of money and can usually be reporgrammed for free.
Cost per transaction - When you are processing checks the transactions are approved by risk which is based on the industry the check originated from. You merchant account service provider will detail how much the fees will be and are similiar to credit card processing fees.
Monthly service fee - There is usually a monthly fee associated with check processing and is usually between $10 - $20 per month. You may pay more on the application or set up fee. It still makes a lot of business sense to accept checks as another payment option. The more options that you have available the better chance of converting your potential sales into sales.
Monthly minimum - In order to make sure that your account is profitable for the processor they may assess a monthly fee to cover their costs. This fee can range anywhere from $0 to $100. It is a good idea to check with the processor and find out how much it is. This is not a separate fee but a set minimum on your transactions. For example if your monthly minimum is $20.00 and you only process $15.00 worth of transactions you automatically pay the difference of $5.00. If you process $25.00 in a month then you pay no monthly minimum.
