Accept monthly payments from clients

[AbbeyWebs]

I'm currently looking at my options for taking payments from clients. The service I'm offering clients has a monthly cost and I'm wondering whats the best way to take payment off the clients. Is the best way to do this to get the client to set up a standing order or are there other ways out there that would be better. Does paypal offer a service like this and if so has anyone used it? Are there alternatives to paypal. Thanks.

 

[Forbairt]

Standing order would probably be best from their account to yours

Paypal / Realex and so on you're going to be taking a hit of 3 or 4 % which seems rather silly (don't have exact figures but you get the idea)

 

[AbbeyWebs]

Thanks for the quick reply. Ya standing order would probably be the simplest. I was just thinking of which looked more professional.

For setting up the standing order are there links or forms I can put on my site to help the client set it up or just give them my account details and get them to go to their bank? Thanks again

 

[philipboyle]

I think it depends on where your customers are. If they're all in Ireland then standing orders are no real problem. We use Realex and Paypal because ours are spread across a large number of countries.

One thing to think about is "how do people want to pay?", and you'll only find that out by asking them. You don't want to lose business just because you only offer one method of payment, supposing that additional methods aren't going to cost you too much.

 

[mneylon]

I think it depends on where your customers are. If they're all in Ireland then standing orders are no real problem. We use Realex and Paypal because ours are spread across a large number of countries.

One thing to think about is "how do people want to pay?", and you'll only find that out by asking them. You don't want to lose business just because you only offer one method of payment, supposing that additional methods aren't going to cost you too much.

Yeah, but some forms of payment aren't going to be feasible

For example, AMEX is practically unworkable in Ireland

 

[philipboyle]

Yeah, but some forms of payment aren't going to be feasible

For example, AMEX is practically unworkable in Ireland

True - we don't take Amex for that very reason. My point though is that some other methods of payment are easy to set up and not doing so can affect your business without you knowing about it. So ask people how they'd prefer to pay to find out how they want to do it, and implement the ways that are feasible and cost effective whilst at the same time maximising potential revenue.

Sounds so easy, right?

 

[mneylon]

True - we don't take Amex for that very reason.

Which is insane

I'd love to be able to take AMEX but not in Euro

My point though is that some other methods of payment are easy to set up and not doing so can affect your business without you knowing about it. So ask people how they'd prefer to pay to find out how they want to do it, and implement the ways that are feasible and cost effective whilst at the same time maximising potential revenue.

Sounds so easy, right?

Well I'd prefer to find out which payment methods people use elsewhere and then see what can be offered ...

A lot of the options become more than a bit unattractive when you look at them up close