Credit Card Advice

Archive for the ‘credit card processing’ Category

It’s hard to know what to do with old financial statements – which ones to keep and which to shred. But there are guidelines, and in general, if the statement could have to do with taxes, you should keep it for a long time, perhaps several years. Of course, if you do all your banking online, it is rather a moot point, because there aren’t paper records to protect. But how do you know what to do with other financial statements?

Tax returns should have the longest shelf life, as should cheques and receipts for things like charity contributions, mortgage interest, and other documents that may affect your taxes. You should keep such records for several years, if not permanently.

Documents related to pensions should be kept for at least a year, and permanently if possible. The same goes for bank statements where there might be something that relates to your taxes. For bank statements that don’t have any long term importance, you can get rid of them after a year.

You should keep your credit card statements anywhere from a couple of months to several years. Again, it depends on whether the statements contain tax related expenses. If not, keep your receipts until you get your monthly credit card statement. If they match up, go ahead and shred the receipts. Hang onto the credit card statement for another month or so, and if there are no purchases with long term importance or related to taxes, you can get rid of them then.

The term “get rid of” goes well beyond tossing your statements into the bin. At the very least, they should be run through a shredder. Cross cut shredders are more destructive than regular shredders, but even with regular shredders, if you mix up the shredded paper that collects, you’re going to put off all but the most determined (or crazy) criminals wanting your financial information.

Some people go farther than shredding their financial records. Some incinerate them, and others get very creative, using them to line the cat box or composting the bits with chicken manure (if they have chickens). These measures are probably not necessary, but it does point up the need to keep your financial information close to the chest.

If you have the option of having your statements online, it may be worthwhile. For one thing, they’ll be archived, and for another, you won’t accidentally leave them lying around in plain view where a dishonest repairman or dodgy roommate might see them.

If you have a small business, you probably want to be able to take credit cards. They allow your customers to be more flexible about what’s on their shopping lists, and you don’t have the worries you might about bounced cheques. If you are a small or home based business, you may have to pay fees at a higher rate than a large or established business.

In general, the length of time you’ve been in business, and the percentage of sales you make over the internet or phone, and the type of business you’re in will affect the rates and fees you will have to pay card processing services. For home and small businesses, rates of 2.25 to 3% are typical. There are processing companies that will ask 5%, but you shouldn’t accept it unless all other possibilities for a lower rate have been exhausted.

Three options for credit card processing in Ireland are PayPal, Realex, and USBSwiper.com

If you already have a PayPal account, you can set up with their Pro Solutions service and take credit cards online. It is really easy to do, but you may balk at the fees you pay. However, if you don’t need to process very many online credit card orders, it could be worthwhile.

Realex Payments has offices in Dublin, London, and Paris, and does payment processing for over 3,000 clients. Realex specializes in payment processing for online businesses, and works with Aer Lingus, Virgin Atlantic, and Vodafone. You can apply online and Realex will get in touch with you about what they can offer you and the pricing schedule.

USBSwiper.com bills itself as an affordable wireless credit card processing solution. USBSwiper uses equipment you already have with a USBSwiper card reader. USBSwiper charges a flat transaction rate for all the major credit cards of between 2.2% and 2.9% depending on the monthly volume of credit card charges.

Accepting credit cards at your small business is really a necessity these days. People pay with plastic more than ever, and they want to shop at places where they have the flexibility of paying with a credit or debit card. Yes, as a small business, especially if you’re new, you will most likely pay higher fees and rates than merchant accounts of businesses that are long established. Whatever credit card processor you choose, if they offer a low introductory rate schedule, make sure you understand all the terms and conditions. You could be locking yourself into a long term commitment with rates that will go way up once the introductory period is over.