Accepting credit cards!

I'm not sure if this is the best place for this, or if this might be something you all already know about, but I wanted to tell you all about a cool thing that I offer my customers so they can pay with all 4 of the major credit cards. I've tried Paypal and Propay, but the fees were driving me bonkers and I had a friend who had thousands of dollars stollen by fraudulent use of Paypal. So, since my husband is a techno geek (web application developer) he recommended a service called "squareup".

It is a small magnetic strip scanner that plugs into my iPhone or iPad and I can swipe credit cards on the go. The customer signs the screen if the iphone or iPad and then the software mails them a receipt! I never see the CC number on my device. There is a low fee per transaction, but it is much lower then Propay used to charge me and the fee is the same for all 4 major CC types. You can also use your iPad like a cash register and keep track of checks and cash that you take in too! This has helped me out especially when I'm at a party and the parent would like me to stay for an extra hour, but they don't have any extra cash handy.

Just thought I would share my success with this business tool.

Here in Canada, we have GetPayd. It is the same idea as the Square. They are also offering merchant business software to help with sales, costing, projections.
I have not used my GetPayd terminal (it plugs into my audio jack of my iPhone and is about 2" wide and is about 1.5" tall at the height of the arch of it's "D" shape, with the flat side of the "D" toward my iPhone). Kudos to Perry Noia for pointing me toward this invaluable tool.

My father uses square up for the last year for his business. He has been singing it's praises since day one.

there is a little discussion about it in the business section at the bottom of the forums, but good for you for taking the plunge. I love my PAYD thingy.... it makes deposits SOOOO much easier. I have yet to use it at a PPF event yet, but if I need it, it's there with me!

I love my square. I have been using it for art festivals for about a year and a half now. When the recession hit and folks stopped buying large originals I canceled my CC service since it cost me $15 a month even if I didn't have a transaction. Then hubby saw a jeweler using the square at a show and downloaded the software to my phone and started taking cards immediately. Got the scanner that plugged in a week later. It has been wonderful.