By Jimmy Carter | Platinum Payment Processing
A processing quote can look attractive until you discover that your staff must enter every payment twice, refunds do not update the original invoice, or the terminal does not connect to the software you already use.
Before changing processors, find out what the proposed setup will actually do for your business. The right questions go beyond the rate: What connects? What remains manual? Who supports it? What will the complete setup cost?
Start with Platinum’s free merchant analysis. Tell us which software you use and which payment tasks you need to preserve, so those requirements can be part of the discussion from the beginning.
“We have an API” does not mean your software is connected
An API is a way for software systems to exchange requests and information. Access to one can help a developer build a connection, but it is not proof that a finished, supported integration exists for your business.
Ask which arrangement the proposal includes:
- An existing integration: A supported connection for the specific software and payment setup being proposed.
- A third-party connector: A separate service connecting the systems, with its own costs, limitations and support responsibilities.
- A custom integration: Development work that still needs to be scoped, priced, tested and maintained.
Different payment functions can also require different components. For example, Square documents separate interfaces for payments, refunds, invoices and payouts. That illustrates why a general claim of “API access” is not a complete feature list. It does not establish compatibility with a Platinum solution. Source: Square developer documentation.
You do not necessarily need custom development. First determine whether an existing supported option meets your needs.
Confirm your exact software and equipment
Give the proposed provider the software name, edition, version or subscription plan, along with the equipment you intend to keep. “Works with accounting software” is too vague to base a decision on.
Ask your software vendor and proposed payment provider to confirm the supported combination in writing. Identify the processor, gateway where applicable, connector and terminal models involved. Ask whether you need an additional software module or subscription upgrade.
If a salesperson says a connection is “coming soon,” treat it as a future possibility. Make today’s decision using features that are available and demonstrable for your proposed setup.
Ask for a demonstration of your actual workflow
A successful card payment is only the beginning. Ask to see the tasks your staff performs most often:
- Collecting a payment against the correct customer, invoice or work order.
- Taking a deposit or partial payment and showing the remaining balance, if needed.
- Recording a refund and updating the related records.
- Handling recurring payments, if applicable, with the required customer authorization.
- Checking a payment’s status after a timeout before deciding whether to retry it.
- Finding the transaction and deposit information needed for bookkeeping.
For a hypothetical repair shop, the useful demonstration is not simply a terminal approving a payment. It is the payment updating the correct repair order and the bookkeeper being able to match the resulting records. This is an example of a workflow to test, not a Platinum customer case study.
Ask the demonstrator to identify every step that remains manual. Use the provider’s designated test environment and test data where available.
Check what reaches your books
Do not assume that “syncs payments” means every fee, refund and bank deposit will appear in the right place automatically.
Ask which information transfers, how often it updates, and how staff will spot a failed sync or duplicate record. Have your bookkeeper review the proposed reports before you commit.
Use Platinum’s Guide to Matching Transfers and Sales to work through the separate task of reconciling sales and deposits. A connection should support that process; the word “integrated” is not a substitute for showing how it works.
Establish who fixes problems and protects access
If the software reports an error while the payment provider shows a completed transaction, who investigates? Get the support contact, available support hours and escalation process for each part of the setup. For custom work, identify who maintains it when either system changes.
Also ask what access each provider needs and how that access is granted securely. Do not send account passwords, secret API keys or customer card information through ordinary email or social messages to investigate compatibility.
Outsourcing payments does not eliminate a merchant’s PCI DSS responsibilities. PCI SSC says merchants must understand shared responsibilities and confirm their compliance obligations with the organization managing their compliance program, such as their acquirer. A claim of “secure integration” is not that confirmation. Source: PCI SSC.
Price the complete arrangement—and ask about saved payments
Request a written breakdown of processing charges, gateway or connector fees, required software upgrades, hardware, setup work and ongoing support. If custom development is involved, ask what the quoted work includes and who pays for later changes.
Compare proposals using the same transaction assumptions and required features. Include staff time spent on manual work when judging whether a change makes financial sense.
If you keep customer payment methods on file, establish whether and how they can move before relying on a switch. Stripe’s migration documentation, for example, describes coordination with the previous processor and a separate process for mapping payment and subscription records. API access alone does not guarantee portability. Source: Stripe migration documentation.
Start with Platinum before you sign
Your software requirements belong beside your processing costs in the decision—not as a problem to solve after you have committed.
Use Platinum’s free merchant analysis to start the conversation. Identify your current software, the equipment you want to keep and the three payment tasks that matter most to your team. Use the analysis process for any requested statements; do not include passwords or customer card data.
Before selecting a solution, get the specific compatibility, costs and support responsibilities confirmed. Start with Platinum so the discussion begins with how your business actually operates.
