John Waldron is co-owner of e-onlinedata, inc., a credit-card merchant-account provider. e-onlinedata assists thousands of ecommerce merchants with domestic and overseas credit-card transactions, and he offers the following advice for merchants who wish accept credit-card payments from international customers.

1. Ask customer for fax verification. For suspect orders or large orders, ask the customer to fax the front and back of his credit card as well as a form of identification. This is better than a phone call.
2. Call your credit-card processor. Your credit-card processor has a staff to assist you with questionable orders. Rely on their expertise.
3. Analyze the order, and be skeptical. Why would a customer purchase, for example, 10 routers? Likewise, why would an overseas customer request overnight shipping?
4. Overseas banks are different. Many overseas banks don’t support the card-code verification system, and they can’t verify billing addresses. Be aware, therefore, that these fraud-prevention steps may not help you with cards that have been issued from such banks.
5. Do a BIN look-up. The first six digits of a credit card are called the bank identification number, or BIN. They tell you which bank has issued the credit card. Go to http://all-nettools.com/toolbox,financial, and enter these six digits. If the issuing bank is located in a country that is different from where the order is originating, you should investigate further.
6. Purchase fraud-detection tools. Many credit-card banks and payment gateways offer effective fraud detection tools that are incredibly inexpensive. Use these tools.

practicalecommerce.com

Wellington, Florida, recently sent an enticing offer to 20,000 customers: $10 off any purchase over $30 using a new payment service, Google Checkout.

Traffic on his site more than tripled, and best of all, he said, Google picked up the tab for the promotion.

“I think it’s fantastic,” he said. “I’m selling the product. Google is getting tons of customers to sign up for Checkout. Customers are happy because they are getting a monster deal.”

And Google is not charging merchants any processing fees through the end of 2007.

newyorktimes.com

What you don’t know can truly hurt your online business.

This has never been more true than when you set out to choose an Internet payment systems.

It’s not so much that making a wrong decision can harm your business irreparably (although, it can); it’s that there is so much information to process before you commit to a payment gateway and merchant account provider.

John Bodine, the vice president of sales and marketing for Authorize.Net, says business owners should choose a provider in much the same way they would any other vendor.

“Get an understanding of who you’re dealing with,” he said.

We did just that and came up with a list of common criteria businesses use to make payment gateway/merchant account decisions:

1. Does the payment system require a conventional merchant account?
2. What type of fraud protection does the vendor offer?
3. Does the vendor make it easy for your business to brand the payment system interface to look like it fits on your website
4. Is it possible to integrate the payment system into an existing billing mechanism?
5. Can your payment systems provider handle global currency?

Practical Ecommerce

Make Mine a $Million™ is a program of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence. OPEN from American Express is the founding partner. The program provides a combination of money, mentoring and marketing tools that women entrepreneurs need to help grow their businesses to a million dollars and beyond.

As a member, your business may be eligible to receive:

• Dream Team Coaching. High Caliber advisors to consult on business hurdles.
• Business & Financial Management, expert consultation, education, training and resources from Intuit, Inc.
• Financing. Receive up to $45,000 in loans from Count Me In and a $10,000 unsecured line of credit from OPEN from American Express^SM.
• Exposure. Media opportunities to spotlight your business.
• Technology. Cisco Smart Business Communications network valued at up to $20,000. Smart Business Workshop & Technology Assessment from Cisco local partner.
• Networking. Access to a community of successful business women locally and nationally.
• Savings. Gift cards valued at $250 each to be applied toward select FedEx shipping services and FedEx Kinko’s Office and Print business services.

Visit Make Mine a $Million

Most business owners know that certain entertainment expenses are deductible under some circumstances, but judging by the large number of questions I get on this topic, I don´t think many people actually know the rules.

Like all business deductions, entertainment costs must be “ordinary and necessary” in order to qualify. If your business is a used furniture shop, it´s not very likely that the cost of taking one of your customers to dinner and a movie would be an ordinary and necessary business expense. On the other hand, it could be, if for example the customer you take out for the evening is furnishing a motel and is prepared to spend $45,000 on furniture.

Here is the information Sara needs to record in order for the cost of taking Emily to lunch to qualify as a deductible business expense:

• The location — Mavis´s Downtown Country Cooking
• Names of people entertained — Emily (in “real life” you would want to include the person´s last name), owner Clean as a Whistle
• Date — November 8, 2006
• Business purpose — Discuss flex plan with business owner
• Amount spent — $35

Treasury Regulations state that this information must be recorded in a timely manner — in other words, you should record the information soon after the entertainment event rather than waiting until the day before an IRS audit.

The location, date, and amount spent are already on the receipt Sara gets from the restaurant, so all Sara needs to do is write Emily´s name and the business purpose somewhere on the receipt and make sure the receipt is properly filed.

All Business

Cash flow is a problem that plagues every small office from time to time. On paper you look like you’re doing very well. Your sales are higher than your expenses. Things look like you should be making a profit. But your creditors are breathing down your neck and you’re always playing catch up. What can you do about it? Here are some tips to get you moving in the right direction.

1. Get Invoices Out Promptly
2. Raise Your Prices
3. Blame it on your accountant
4. Work on retainer
5. Watch check clearance times
6. Accept credit cards to speed up cash flow
7. Shift your receivables to a finance company
8. Get some or all of your money up-front
9. Check credit ratings before the sale
10. Catch credit problems early

Business Know How

On-site workers (i.e. plumbers and electricians) and those who sell through trade shows have a wide range of credit-card processing options for immediate sales and possible data capture. As wireless technology evolves, you need to consider carefully which method serves you best.

Here are the advantages of mobile commerce:

1. Improved cash flow.
2. Secure credit and debit transactions in seconds.
3. Reduced credit-card fraud and chargebacks.
4. The ability to conduct business without phone lines.
5. Here are the most popular forms of mobile credit-card processing and some of the add-ons you may need.

Here are the most popular forms of mobile credit-card processing and some of the add-ons you may need.

work.com