Is it important to have a low interest rate on your credit card? Great customer support for your car insurance? If yes, then you may want to start thinking the same way about your ACH payment processing provider.
Every owner of a small business has thousands of decisions like this to make: do I have the coverage I need? Is the functionality what I or my customers prefer? If I have an issue, can I talk to someone and get it resolved quickly? Here are a few things you should explore and expect from your ACH provider.
Ease of Use
The first thing you should consider when shopping for an ACH payment processing provider is the ease of use. This is a tool that is vital to your business, and if you aren’t able to easily understand how it works and use its platforms to do the things you need to do quickly and with much hassle, you may consider shopping around a bit more. You want to look for an ACH system that has a helpful and easy-to-understand dashboard and helpful key functions.
High Speed and Security
Speed is an asset we take for granted until it’s gone, then we miss it dearly. Talking with your ACH provider or potential provider upfront about processing speeds could save you a lot of time.
On the other side of the coin, don’t sacrifice good security measures for that warp speed: ask questions about their cybersecurity and fraud protection programs. ACH processing as a whole is much safer than many other forms of payment and payment processing systems, but making sure there is a good infrastructure in place to combat these potential issues is always a good practice.
Good Customer Support Track Record
Every day, people are taking to the review sections to let everyone know about their experience. And as readers, we tend to elevate the value of negative reviews slightly higher than positive reviews, even if most of the reviews on a specific business or product are overwhelmingly positive.
When looking at ACH providers, make sure you research or talk about the process they have in place for resolving your issues. Phone trees and automated call options save the business a ton of time, but often they just transfer that time to you, the customer, and no one – especially a busy small business owner – has the time to sit through 15 menus only to be transferred to an answering machine, or to be disconnected.
Does the provider you are considering have a good plan for supporting you when you need them? It’s worth your time to find out.
Recurring Payments
Many, but not all ACH payment processing providers are equipped with automatic recurring payment setup. On-demand payments are standard, the ACH system establishes a link between the business and the customer to make payments easy and convenient, but if you offer monthly subscriptions or other services that would benefit from a recurring payment system, it’s good to check with your provider about those options.
Types of Reporting
Using your dashboard and ease of online transactions is only part of the benefit of having an ACH payment processor. There are also many reporting capabilities that are generally offered.
Before you choose an ACH provider, it could be beneficial to think through what kinds of reporting tools and options you’d like to see, and then you can explore what each provider has available. Things like real-time reporting, transaction status (void, pending, approved, settled, for example), and detailed reporting of every facet of a transaction are all things that can be done with the right ACH system.
We wanted to discuss this topic to get you thinking about all the things you might want to look for when shopping around for the best ACH payment processing system for your business. All businesses, particularly small and independent companies, have specific needs and functions, and there’s no reason to pay for a tool that doesn’t work for you.
ReliaFund’s ACH processing software can enhance your business. Contact us to learn more.