Starting up an ecommerce website?
Ecommerce is a broad phrase meaning many different things. Largely, when we refer to ecommerce we mean trading with a payment system but ecommerce is more than that. There are many different ways in which we can interact with our customers that make all the difference.
Trading on the internet
If you wish to sell your products or service online, we can assist in the decision of the right software to suit your business needs. Some offer accounting integration, others offer database control, there are many options and getting it right will mean you spend less time on administration and more on doing good business.
Payment systems
You’ve got four options when it comes to collecting payment online and settling for the correct method early on will save time and money later on. Let’s take a look at what’s available.
- Bureau
A bureau service is where the payment service provider offer the merchant facility instead of your bank. This can often be the best way to start trading as it doesn’t always require a credit or accounting history. There are, of course, downsides. Bureau’s often charge more per transaction. There are also cases where it may take longer for remittance of funds to your bank. This will vary according to the provider.
- Gateway
A gateway offers a means of possessing a secure checkout form that takes credit and debit cards and clears the money into your account within a few business days. This often works out cheaper than bureau’s per transaction but you will have to provide a merchant ID from your bank and you also run the risk of administration charges from your bank when refunds are issued as the payment facility do not hold the funds.
- CNP Offline Processing
You may be in a position to process credit cards offline with your own facility such as CardNet or StreamLine. These offer far lower transaction rates but also come with caveats. Offline processing requires a secure checkout method, of which you may require your own SSL certificate and means of storing and retrieving the information. There are 3rd party solutions to this. You also need to manually process all transactions which adds an administrative burden.
- Postal Orders / Cheques / BACS / Direct Debit
Traditional payment methods can still be online enabled and integrated into your website. Secure data collection will allow you to process new orders in the way people in the shop will often do. By offering a variety of different payment methods, you create more opportunities for your customers to pay.
You’ll need to ensure that the payment system works for your business in terms of administration and for your customers in terms of paying for goods or services.
How can TN38 Consulting help?
Ecommerce is a huge subject with many potential pitfalls. We are here to ensure you make the right decision. It may not be a case of deciding the model for the online business, you may wish to open communications with your customers while at your online shop. There are tools that allow real-time interaction with your shoppers. Product support can be tailored for in terms of discussion groups, support ticketing systems and much, much more. Contact TN38 Consulting to discuss your e-business requirements.