If you’ve just opened your beauty store, or if you want to start accepting credit cards, payment processing can look like a challenge. And finding the right processor for your beauty store can take time. With that in mind, we’ve come up with a list of everything you need – and what you don’t – for payment processing.

What You Need

Business Intelligence Tools

Business intelligence platforms are on the rise, especially with small businesses. These cloud-based platforms organize all your store’s sales and customer data for you in a simple dashboard to give you a crystal-clear look at your yearly sales, top customers, and even what your customers are buying the most.

Since most business intelligence platforms are cloud-based, you can access them from your phone, tablet, or laptop. This is especially great if you’re on the go and use mobile swipers to check customers out. You can even track sales if you have more than one store location, so you’re always in the know.

Automated Inventory Tracking

Tracking your available inventory on pen and paper is a hassle and takes time out of your day. But automated inventory tracking on a point of sale system can do the work for you, alerting you when you’re low on a certain item.

Some systems will also automatically reorder inventory only when you need it, saving you money on supply chain costs. By automating this manual task, you’ll be able to see which of your products are popular, and which you should offer special deals on.

Sales Heatmap

A daily sales heatmap will show you exactly when your store is busiest. This map displays hourly sales volume every day for a week. So if you notice your store is busiest on Thursday mornings, especially in the summer, you know you’ll need to hire extra help for the season. Or, if you see that you aren’t busy in the afternoons on weekends, you can offer special promotions to entice customers to stop by.

What You Don’tNeed

Outdated Equipment

Old legacy systems and equipment can’t integrate with other software. And since they’re outdated, it’s also very likely they’re vulnerable to security threats. You’ll have to use a different product or platform for accounting, payments, your POS, and your countertop terminal. And on top of that, you could be at risk for losing your customers’ cardholder data to data breaches. Make sure your equipment is updated and integrated with your existing systems, especially to cut down on reconciliation. Newer terminals can integrate into a virtual terminal so you can securely manage payments without needing to spend hours reconciling.

Hidden Fees

Beware of hidden fees! Traditional payment processors will tack on these “extras” to your merchant statement. Some are recurring fees, while others are one-off. These fees can be for anything from PCI compliance to batch fees. And they add up, eating into your bottom line month over month. And depending on which company you work with, you could also be stuck with a contract and have to pay a fee if you find a better processor. You could be overpaying for processing by thousands.

When you’re looking for a payment processor, the right fit will come down to getting the features you need without overpaying. With the right platform, you can manage your store from a tablet, laptop, or mobile device with ease. Fattmerchant offers Omni, a truly integrated payment platform that connects you to all the data you need, whenever you need it. And with our transparent pricing structure, there are never any surprises in your merchant statement. You pay a flat monthly subscription for unlimited processing and industry-first technology.

Talk to one of Fattmerchant’s payment consultantsto get a custom payment processing package for your beauty store!