When it comes to making profit, you are likely to have to exchange goods or services for money. That’s how the system works. But with so many forms of “money” nowadays, it can be difficult to keep on top of the various payment methods at play and errors are more likely to occur. When errors occur after you’ve already handed goods over and the customer has left your premises, it’s often too late to rectify the situation and you make a loss.

Fortunately, with a little vigilance, time, and effort, you can ensure that all payment methods are checked before completing any transaction. This means your customer gets what they want, while you get what you are owed for it and everyone leaves the sale contented and happy. What more could you possibly want? So, here are a few ways of checking your customer’s payment methods effectively.

Card

Debit and credit cards are perhaps the most simple way of accepting payment for goods that you’re selling. After all, all the customer has to do is insert their card into a reader and type in their PIN. Alternatively, and even more simply, they could flash their card over a contactless reader for smaller purchases. Every now and then, however, you may find a customer’s claim to a particular card to be dubious. Perhaps they’ve entered the wrong PIN multiple times. You can check if credit card is valid by using a credit card verification checker. You can also ask the cardholder to give an example of their signature and compare this to the signature strip on the back of the card that they have handed over to you. Remember that fraudulent purchases made on cards can come straight out of your profits, as the cardholder is likely to be refunded in full.

Cash

Cash is the oldest and most traditional way of exchanging goods that is still in use today. However, it’s not surprising that many transactions have a few slip ups every now and then when you’re dealing with notes and coins. Often, you may feel under pressure to complete a sale as quickly as possible. This means hurriedly counting what’s been handed over and you can often miss notes and mix up your numbers. Alternatively many business owners or employees feel rude double checking the money that a customer has handed over. Unfortunately, you can’t take it for granted that your customers will always be honest, or that they may not have made a mistake themselves. Always take your time when counting cash, keeping the total in mind and ensuring that what you’ve been handed matches this amount.

These are just two of the most popular methods of payment when it comes to purchasing and selling goods. There are other options out there, such as Swipe, Apple Pay, and Paypal. But let’s just get to grips with the basics of cash and card for the time being. Always be wary when completing a sale and ensure that you have the correct amount of money from a valid source before allowing anyone to leave your store with your goods in hand.

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