March 27, 2006

Making Payment Processing Transactions Save Money

For those businesses that have many financial transactions to do, the fees associated with processing these transactions (credit card payments, payroll, check processing, etc) can be challenging for businesses with less than 250 employees.

Cougar Mountain continues to innovate and eliminate set up fees and minimum monthly charges so its customers can save money on transaction costs.

Jim Stone, chief operating officer, said, "Through establishing relationships with processing firms that have affordable transaction costs, we can help Cougar Mountain customers improve their cash flow and simplify their operations."

Small details matter for small businesses, and this is one "small detail" that makes a big difference.

The new services are available with Cougar Mountain¬?s accounting, fund accounting and point of sale software programs. The software publisher has developed relationships that provide options for point of sale check conversion, credit and debit card processing, automated electronic payment and collection services as well as gift cards. Each service works transparently with Cougar Mountain software.

Cougar Mountain Point of Sale now allows for check conversion for both consumer and business checks. Electronic conversion of consumer and business checks is completed in the same easy, affordable process, allowing merchants to have funds from checks quickly available in their bank account, often within one business day.

Many small businesses consider the high cost of processing credit and debit cards an unpleasant but necessary cost of doing business. Often they don¬?t realize these costs can be lowered by choosing the right payment processor. Cougar Mountain¬?s processing partner, Pivotal Payments, has highly competitive rates, 24/7 customer support and a rebate for new merchants.

Using Cougar Mountain¬?s processor for providing direct deposit of payroll can mean substantial savings to employers with fewer than 250 employees. ¬?By avoiding the monthly minimums and service charges imposed by large national banks, organizations can save over $1200 a year in many cases,¬? said Stone. ¬?That¬?s a big contribution to the bottom line for many of our customers.

Stone writes, in an email interview - In accounts receivalbe, for example, using Cougar Mountain software, you can allow a customer charge during the month and at an agreed date following the end of the month, charge the credit card.

With Cougar Mountain payments services, you, in AR, directly collect from a customers bank account on a one-time or recurring basis. From Payroll and AP, we can make direct deposits into employees and vendor accounts. Our Payroll, together with direct deposit has a significant ROI advantage over a bureau service.

With Point of Sale check conversion, we can scan a check at the point of sale (and return it to the customer) and it can be electronically deposited in the bank at the end of shift; and depending of the time of day the deposit is made, the funds will be available the next business day. If the check comes back because of insufficient funds, it will be automatically-deposited three times and the retailers service charge automatically attached.¬?

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