How to Set up Automatic Payments for Your Business: Practical Advice, FAQs Answered & More

Automatic payments can be a win-win for your business and your customers.

For companies that provide products or services on a regular basis, automatic payments make a lot of sense. Invoicing and managing customer accounts become that much easier. 

Recurring billing can be very convenient for customers, too. With the right system in place, it’s easy for customers to set up automatic payments. That’s one less thing for them to worry about.

This guide will walk you through the basics of automatic payments as well as answer frequently asked questions about them. We’ll share useful, actionable info and advice throughout. 

Looking for help setting up automatic payments for your business? At Swipesum, we’re ready to help your business. We know how to find a secure recurring payments solution that keeps costs manageable and provides a great customer experience. 

As provider-agnostic consultants, our focus is on finding the very best solution for your business. Schedule your free consultation today!

How Do I Set Up Online Business Payments for Recurring Shipments or Services?

Creating a recurring payment option for your business starts with finding the right partner. Specifically, a dependable and secure provider that also fits into your budget. A wide range of payment solutions and credit card processing providers support automatic payments. That includes major industry players like Square and PayPal, as well as a variety of others.

You could choose to partner with a payment processor, eCommerce platform, or a recurring payment specialist. Learn more about the suitability of each type of partner for different businesses, as well as their positives and negatives.

Security and Automatic Payments

Security should be your top priority when it comes to an automatic payment system. Recurring payments mean storing sensitive customer payment information. Every part of that system should be as secure as possible. Reducing the possibility of a data breach or other adverse event is simply crucial.

Any platform you choose should be upfront about their security measures and compliance with all relevant regulations. And your business absolutely must be PCI compliant to ensure customer information is protected. 

Customer Experience and Automatic Payments

The customer experience also needs to be taken into consideration with automatic payment services. Recurring payments are convenient once they’re set up. However, difficulties in the initial set-up process can discourage your customers from doing so. 

Ideally, you’ll choose a provider that can be easily integrated into your current system. It should help to streamline the process for your customers as well. Ensure the provider you work with accepts payment methods that your customers commonly use, too.

Finally, make the cancellation process straightforward. The last thing your business needs is dissatisfied customers initiating chargebacks. That means additional costs and the potential for difficulty working with payment processors in the future.

Common Customer Service Complaints About Automatic Payments

Customers may be wary of committing to automatic payments if they don’t recognize the payment processor used by your business. Similarly, a lack of clear information about security and steps taken to protect their information can dissuade them. Long forms and unexpected questions can also cause customers to hesitate.

In general, you want to make everything as clear as possible. 

Spell out how sensitive data is secured. Explain why you request a specific piece of information. Limit forms to only the essentials. Taking these steps at the beginning of the customer relationship can make it easier to avoid disputes and chargebacks later on.

Is Pricing or Overall Recurring Payments Solution Quality More Important?

The truth is that businesses need to find an automated payment system that offers both quality and affordability. You shouldn’t sacrifice quality for lower processing fees or overall costs. However, you also can’t exceed your budget to implement what otherwise seems like a perfect solution.

How do Small Businesses Receive Payments on an Automatic Basis?

The workflow for recurring payments for small businesses is relatively simple. FitSmallBusiness shares an informative infographic that explains each major step in the process. In simple, terms, your business — or any business, large or small — receives payments on a regular schedule after:

• Customers elect to sign up for recurring payments
• Customers agree to share their payment information, and for that information to be stored and used for an automatic payment
• The recurring payment is successfully processed each month (or on whichever schedule is used)

Can a Business Require Automatic Payments?

If you decide you only want to accept automatic or recurring payments at your business, that’s your choice. 

Depending on the industry and goods or services you provide, it can make a lot of sense. If a subscription or membership is a foundational part of your business, offering or requiring recurring payments is a logical choice.

However, you may also run into issues with customers unwilling to commit to automatic payments. Having a straightforward process for canceling a recurring service or delivery can help bring your customers around to the idea. So can explaining the reasons why recurring payments make sense, both for your business and its customers.

Automatic Payments: Making the Right Choice for Your Business

Automatic payments have a lot to offer your business, at least when they’re secure and support a positive customer experience. Whether you’re an experienced business owner or new to payment processing in general, it can be difficult to know where to start.

At Swipesum, we help businesses find, implement, and manage the payment solution that best fits their unique set of needs. Because we don’t partner with specific providers, our focus is on advocating for our clients. For recurring billing, that means finding the right combination of low costs and fees, relevant services, high security, and more.

Ready to implement automatic payments at your company, or simply want to learn more about your options? Schedule your free consultation today!