Just curious what everyone's preference is for payment processing - there are more and more options it seems, which is a good thing. If your payment method isn't listed in the poll please take a moment to post a link to or comment about whatever it is you use.

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My payments come from PayPal and business checks, split about equally. I like PayPal due to the fact that there is no additional banking involved but I hate the fees!

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Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

Really like PayPal but agree with Lee, hate the fees!

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Jo Harrison | Virtual Assistant
Writer's Block Admin Services

I'm another pea to add to the pod regarding PayPal. Love it but hate the fees! While we're on the subject, aren't the fees tax deductible? I need to find out how much I paid Paypal in fees last year. hmmmmmm....

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L. Caroline Mills of LC Mills, Inc.
www.lcmillsinc.com

Caroline,
The Pay Pal fees are a business expense. At the end of the year you can pull a report that lists all of your fees.

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Helping business owners have a BLAST!

I also use the credit card payment option through Square (although my clients seem to prefer paypal themselves). Since I can write off the fees for both PP and Square it doesn't matter to me. I have a 'NSF check fee' policy written into my contracts just in case, too.

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

I only take PayPal as I have never had a request for any other form of payment.

I do dislike the fees. I had a $500 payment last month and PP charged $15.00. While that doesn't seem like much at first, over time those fees really add up.

I have tried other ways to receive payment. People didn't like Google checkout because they had to pay the fees. I tried direct deposit into my business account but people didn't want to give out their account info. I tried using ING Direct which offers a transfer of funds from one checking account to another but the other party has to have an ING Direct account.

I am still looking for a reasonable solution.

But for now, PP is the way to get funds easy and fast with little effort. And that is why the fees must be tolerated by me.

Janine

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I agree with everyone else I love Paypal but hate the fees but right now that seems to be the best alternative for me.

Yes, the PayPal fees DO add up but what is the alternative really? There's nothing quite as fast, trusted/accepted, and easy to use...

Those fees are tax deductible though as a banking expense (I think that's what it's classified under) - and you can download comprehensive monthly, yearly, and tax reports from your account to help make bookkeeping easier (under the HISTORY tab when you're logged in).

AND, if you're taking in more than $3k each month you can actually LOWER the percentage that you pay on each transaction. Here's how.

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I'm trying to get everyone on to interac e-transfer Many financial institutions provide this option with online banking.

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Elise Tailleur
www.alamodeoffice.ca