Why PaySimple Might Just Be Best Payment Service

PaySimple has affordable fees and provides all-inclusive services. But it's not right for all businesses. Read on to see if PaySimple is good for you.

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Merchants collecting payments online that also need an invoicing service enjoy the benefits of PaySimple.

PaySimple is a point of sale system that offers many services all in one cloud-based software program. It helps you market your business, manage your customer base, and accept payments, all in one program. Where it excels is registration and service fees, especially those that are recurring. However, they do offer a flexible program for merchants simply selling products online.

PaySimple's interface is user-friendly, allowing even the novice to set up a storefront in as little as 20 minutes. If you have photos and descriptions of your items, all that's left is to upload them to the system. If you have subscription billing, you can set it up as well as modify it for prorated billing.

Essentially, PaySimple aims to be a virtual terminal with the ability to provide customer management, payment acceptance, and analytics all in one.

Below we look at how PaySimple measures up to what they promise.

Who Is PaySimple Best For?

• Merchants with little technical ability: PaySimple's simple user interface walks you through the set-up process step-by-step. You don't have to worry about shopping cart integration; the web-based programs handle everything for you. In addition, they offer exceptional customer service, including hands-on training whenever necessary.

• On-the-go merchants with few in-person transactions: PaySimple excels at their online merchant services. Accepting credit cards and even ACH payments is simple and affordable. Merchants that need instant access to their POS anywhere will enjoy the flexibility of the app with full capabilities of the web-based software. They do offer a card reader for card present payments, but it's often more expensive to use an online merchant for card present payments.

• Subscription based services: PaySimple makes automated billing simple with their recurring payment option. As you set up your services, you choose between fixed pricing and recurring pricing. It eliminates the need to manually bill customers every month, and even helps you with sending reminders for past due bills.

Reasons Why We Like It

• No early termination fee: You can cancel PaySimple's service at any time with no early termination fee. While you won't receive a refund of any monthly service fees or transaction fees, you won't pay anything extra to cancel the service.

• Accept credit cards and e-check payments: Merchants can accept many of the major credit cards as well as e-checks. You can accept credit card or e-check payments online as well as over the phone. Processing e-checks costs $0.60 versus paper checks, which cost $1.22.

• Collect recurring payments: Recurring billing is really where PaySimple excels. It takes time and stress off you each month knowing that your regular customers are automatically billed. It also offers the ability to prorate subscriptions or modify schedules.

• Integrated customer management: PaySimple is a powerful CRM that captures the important information that helps you create a better business. In addition to the customer's order history, you can set up individual profiles, offer the option to register with your company, and even allow customer-created appointments.

• Follow up on orders automatically: The POS confirms orders automatically for you, eliminating the need to field inquiries via phone or email.

• Excellent customer service: PaySimple offers various methods of contact and willingly trains new clients to help them get the full benefit of the POS.

• Customized reporting: You can request the type of reports you need, including forecasting revenue, checking on hot items, and viewing customer order histories.

Reasons Why You Might Look Elsewhere

• Fees are not very transparent: PaySimple tells you flat out what the monthly fees are for each subscription service. We discuss this further below. Where things are a little strange is with the transaction fees. Their website states credit card processing starts at 2.49% plus $0.29. They don't explain when that pricing takes effect and what the pricing is if you don't qualify for that pricing. They also don't state the card present fees or transaction fees for the top tier subscription.
  Related: Credit Card Processing Fees
  

• Withheld funds are a problem: PaySimple does not process your payments - it goes through a third party. This gives PaySimple zero control over which funds are held or even canceled. PaySimple does help you if you dispute the issue, but the card processor has the final say.

• Frequent cancellation of account: Because PaySimple doesn't process the payments, there's another party involved in account approval. However, because PaySimple approves right away, many merchants found their account canceled only after having already accepted payments. Those funds are often then frozen, leaving the funds in lurking in limbo.

Pricing and Fees

PaySimple offers two subscription services:

• PaySimple Pro: This subscription costs merchants $49.95 per month. It includes all of the following:
  • Virtual terminal
    
  • Recurring billing
    
  • Automated invoicing
    
  • Accepts payments online
    
  • Sends receipts and invoices electronically
    
  • Stores credit card information
    
  • Offers customized checkout with mobile capabilities
    
  • Create a custom catalog
    
  • Gather reports of previous orders
    
  • Appointment scheduling with calendar integration
    
  • CRM
    
  • Customer insights
    
  • Customer support via phone, online chat, and email

• PaySimple Enterprise: This subscription service costs $99.95 per month. It includes everything in PaySimple Pro plus the following:
  • API customization
    
  • Manage multiple locations with one program
    
  • Have a dedicated account manager

Mobile

PaySimple does cater to merchants on-the-go. Their app is free and it's user-friendly. You log in with the same credentials as the web-based program and have access to many of the same features. You do have the option to add a mobile credit card reader as well. The data syncs with the web-based software. You don't have to worry about manual data entry for anything.

Customer Service

Perhaps one of PaySimple's greatest strengths is its customer service. They answer questions and concerns quickly and are quick on the draw to resolve complaints. They have been known to offer refunds for certain issues, but that is on a case-by-case basis.

PaySimple also offers training for those new to the system or merchants that want to enhance their customization. Overall, they tend to offer training as you need it, rather than providing a one-size-fits all solution.

How It Compares

• PayPal: Both PayPal and PaySimple have similar features; however, PayPal doesn't charge a monthly fee for basic services. You only pay per transaction. If you want features, such as recurring invoicing or a virtual terminal, though, you'll have monthly fees. PayPal, however, is the chosen service for "high risk" merchants that other card processors may deny.

• Square: Merchants that mainly accept payments in person often do better with Square. They don't offer recurring billing or e-checks, but they do process credit cards (swipe and chip) in person, depositing funds in 1 to 2 business days.

The Bottom Line

PaySimple could be a good choice for small businesses operating mostly online. If you want the flexibility of accepting e-checks and/or offering recurring payments, it's an easy solution to implement. If, however, you accept a large number of card present transactions, you may want to look elsewhere.