Merchant Cash Advance Blog

In past years, the vast majority of businesses accepted credit cards through payment processing technology. However, the percentage of businesses who accept electronic payments has dropped significantly in recent years, suggesting that many retailers may be losing a percentage of their customer base. 

More than 30 percent of small business owners currently don't accept credit card or debit card payments, according to a recent report from the National Small Business Association. In 2010, less than 10 percent of small business owners didn't accept credit cards or debit cards, indicating that recent advances in technology have led many business owners to abandon a highly efficient mode of credit card processing. 

An updated tax rule is causing restaurants to rethink the practice of adding automatic tips to the tabs of large parties.

Starting in January, the Internal Revenue Service will begin classifying those automatic gratuities as service charges—which it treats as regular wages, subject to payroll tax withholding—instead of tips, which restaurants leave up to the employees to report as income.

For many retailers, the back-to-school season offers a rush of customers buying new products, services and wardrobes to help see them through the latest semester. However, customers are spending in smaller volumes this year, demonstrating that business owners need to devise new ways of attracting shoppers and driving their customers toward their checkout registers and credit card processing services. 

Families with school-age children will spend an average of $634.78 on apparel, shoes, supplies and electronics for school purposes this year, down from the $688.62 recorded in regards to the same statistic at this time last year, according to a report from the National Retail Federation compiled by Prosper Insights & Analytics. Total domestic back-to-school spending is expected to exceed $26 billion. When you include back-to-college spending, then the number increases to over $72 billion.