Sep/090
Making the days easier with Sage Payment Solutions
ICS Support recently switched from a computer software-based credit card acceptance program to the online Sage Payment Solutions because it promised lower rates for credit card transactions. I was pleasantly surprised to find a few more advantages than just the cost-saving rates.
Send email Receipts
Sending a receipt to a customer for any sale is very easy with Sage Payment Solutions. To send a receipt via email with the old system, I would have to print a receipt to a pdf file or scan and save a printed receipt and then attach it to an email. With Sage Payment Solutions, all I have to do is include an email address in the proper field on the “Bankcard Transaction” screen before the sale is submitted. An email is automatically generated and transmitted for the sale transaction.
Retrieve receipt for past transaction
After ICS switched to Sage Payment Solutions, one of our clients changed their mind after a week or more, and wanted a receipt of a credit card transaction. I had not printed a customer receipt (save a tree!) because it was not requested at the time.
With the old system, after entering the sales information on the computer (same as swiping a card for those of you with a card reader) I would submit the sale and print the needed documentation. After the end of that day and the batch was settled, the only way to retrieve information about a sale was to pull the printed information from the files. If a receipt was not printed at the time of the sale, I could not retrieve the information to reprint a customer receipt.
With the Sage Payment Solutions, I also enter the sales information on a computer screen then step through similar actions as with the software-based system. But here is where the two systems are very different. With Sage Payment Solutions I can retrieve a sales receipt from a past transaction by simply logging into the Sage Payment Solutions virtual terminal and clicking on the “Reporting” tab. Under “Settled Batches” I can select any past batch and drill down to the requested record and reprint a receipt.
Save money
And did I mention the rates were lower than the traditional merchant services accounts? Of course rates depend on a merchant account agreement and can be affected by the number of sales, average sales price and dollar volume per month. In checking the first several months on the overall monthly cost per volume of sales, I confirmed that we were saving money with Sage Payment Solutions.
Do more stuff
Sage Payment Solutions goes beyond my simple need for occasional manual credit card transactions. The ability to reprint a receipt is just a simple feature of the online reporting capabilities. The online service can be used in e-commerce applications and it integrates with a number of software packages. Call Gary Jefferson at ICS Support at 425-284-5425 for more information on how Sage Payment Solutions can make your days easier.
Diane Essington
Office Manager
ICS Support, Inc.