Posted by Sarah Jordan

With all of the great fundraising events in your region and nationwide, as a business owner, it’s hard to decide which one to donate to. To help, don’t feel like you should just write a check—get involved!

What fundraising committees love, even more than a check in the mail, is community involvement. Volunteer, show up to cheer on participants, or even….participate! But don’t just be one of the crowd by sending in 50 dollars. Your staff will not only have a joint activity to have fun with, but your business can also get some great PR out of it.

During the summer there are numerous fundraising activities to get involved in, one of which is the MS 150. This 150-mile bike race raises money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and has rides all over the country that you can take part in by riding, volunteering, donating, or cheering on the day of the race.

PaySimple is actually teaming up with Merrill Lynch to ride in the Colorado Chapter MS 150. Check out our PaySimple Team page to donate to a rider or read about the event. Your company too can take part in this great event.

Read the press release.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Technorati Tags: fundraising, business, community, Volunteer, MS 150, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, donate

Posted by Sarah Jordan

We recently spoke with a prospective customer about our services, and when asked about his website, he replied sternly, “I don’t have a website, and I have no interest in having website.”

Really? I was under the impression that the view of the Web and e-commerce as just a fad brought on by techie kids in their basements was an idea that has long since died. Yes, the Internet is a popular social medium for adolescents. But even with The Dotcom Crash in the early 2000s, the Internet has unmistakably grown into an integral part of the commerce world and has opened doors that businesses twenty years ago would not have thought possible—especially small businesses.

With all of the disadvantages small businesses have today competing with large corporations, it is baffling that there is an inexpensive medium to help them better compete, but so many are resistant to use it.

If you’re not ready to accept online payments, set up online retail, or even have a website, at least get out there and check out the free resources available to you. I especially recommend joining a few small business forums. You can post your questions and other experts will offer you their advice for free!

Here are a couple of my favorite Q&A forums: Yahoo! Answers, HiAnswer.com

The New York Times also recently added a small business section filled with great articles and advice: NY Times Small Business

Popularity: 5% [?]

Technorati Tags: e-commerce, techie, Internet, small business, forums

Posted by Sarah Jordan

According to a recent report by the Council of State Governments called “Acceptance and Use of Electronic Payments for State Taxes and Fees,” state governments are increasingly using electronic payments as a method to collect taxes and fees. Of the 33 states that replied, 30 states said they were using an electronic payment program and most said they were planning on expanding it.

What were the reported benefits to state governments?
The following were the most commonly cited benefits and considered the most important:

• Decreased processing costs

• Reduced processing time

• Lower delinquency rates

• Faster transaction verification

• Increased security and accuracy

• Added convenience for taxpayers

See complete report

Just as businesses are realizing the importance of collecting payments more efficiently, so are government institutions. (And typically government is behind the trend. So if you’re a business without electronic payments, you’re way behind!)

Whether you’re collecting a local tourist tax, driver’s license fee, or state income tax, government offices will reap the benefits of increased efficiencies and taxpayers will appreciate the convenience and expediency.

Read about how PaySimple integrated electronic payments with a local government tax collection system.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Technorati Tags: State Governments, Electronic Payments, Taxes

Posted by Sarah Jordan

To give a quick breakdown of the recent Payments 2007 conference—hosted by NACHA, The Electronic Payments Association—ACH payments grew by 2 billion transactions across all payment types and totaled almost 16 billion transactions in 2006. The Federal government exceeded 1 billion ACH payments for the first time, and financial institutions originated the remaining 15 billion for consumer and business payments.

Major areas of growth for consumer and business payments in 2006 include:

• Consumers made almost 8 billion ACH payments via direct-debits, Internet and telephone transactions, and check conversions.

• Check conversion increased by 32 percent to 2.8 billion.

• ACH payments made over the Internet (WEB transactions) grew by 35 percent to 1.8 billion.

• Business to business ACH payments increased by 10.9 percent to 2.3 billion.

Meanwhile, in other areas of the payment processing world, paper check usage decreased by 4 percent.

Read full article from NACHA

Learn more about ACH

Popularity: 6% [?]

Technorati Tags: NACHA, ACH, business payments, Check conversion, payment processing

Posted by Sarah Jordan

If you’re like many busy, working individuals, paying your bills is a last-minute activity that you start after noticing that it’s about the 25^th of the month and there is a stack of unopened envelopes on your kitchen table. Or perhaps it’s been especially hectic this month and somehow it’s already the due date. After checking the clock, you reassure yourself there is still time to get it to the mailbox before the postman comes. You scramble for your checkbook, scribble an illegible amount, stuff it into an envelope and start searching for stamps. Damn. Buying stamps is on the to-do list.

If you are a small business owner whose only method of bill collection is by paper check, you are not only creating a burden for your customers, but also inhibiting your business’s flexibility—opening yourself up to late payments and cash flow problems.

Payment option variety is becoming an increasingly important factor to consumers. There are numerous benefits of recurring billing, electronic checks, and direct-debit for both you and your customers. Your customers will be rid of the cost and stress of paying bills on time, being stocked with envelopes, and remembering to buy stamps. Your business will be providing better customer service, decreasing late payments, improving cash flow, and reducing cost and manual labor associated with paper checks. So the real question isn’t, “Why don’t customers pay their bills on time?,” but “Why aren’t we making bill pay easier for our customers?”.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Technorati Tags: small business, bill collection, recurring billing, electronic checks, direct-debit, customer service, late payments

Posted by Sarah Jordan

The new 2007 Consumer Bill Payment Survey conducted by Harris Interactive and Marketing Workshop showed that, for the first time, households with Internet connections are paying more bills online (39%) than with paper checks (34%). More than ever before, consumers are realizing the benefits of electronic payments and are considering online bill pay to be a service they demand rather than a nice feature. See full article.

So what does all of this mean to small business owners? In an age where consumers are less brand-conscious a more feature and cost focused, consumers are more likely to pick a service that has the options and flexibility they need—including payment options. Can you accept online payments, set up recurring billing schedules, or directly debit a checking account? If your answer is “no,” you may be falling behind other businesses trying to keep up with consumer demands.

The good news is accepting online payments is a win-win situation for you and your customers. They get to easily and quickly pay from their computers, and all you have to do is watch the money deposit to your account. If you’re a small to medium-sized business owner trying to compete in the marketplace, online bill pay is an easy, inexpensive way to do it.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Technorati Tags: electronic payments, online bill pay, small business, payment options, online payments, recurring billing