Having a ‘cashless’ business doesn’t mean that you have a business that is financially struggling. Unfortunately, the idea of having a business without using cash can bring up a lot of ideas and images around negativity and struggle.
But that isn’t what it is like at all. A cashless business doesn’t mean that you have a business without any money. It just means that you have a business that doesn’t accept coin or paper money for a transaction, and as a result, doesn’t have a conventional till.
The idea of having a cashless business is a relatively new way of doing things, and more and more businesses are doing it, choosing only online or card payments, using something like the mobile credit card reader available here.
There is definitely much more of a shift socially towards contactless payments, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. So can going cashless, or starting a new business that is cashless, be the right choice for you? Here are some of the things that can help you with your decision.
Think about your customers, location and takings
To decide if going cashless is going to work for you, you need to check that it will be a viable option for you. If it is, then it will be entirely dependent on the kind of business that you have, and who your customers are.
A local grocery store with some loyal customers who are all a little older are likely to find that cashless isn’t going to work. A pop-up boutique or coffee shop is likely to have a customer-base who would prefer a cashless and contactless way of doing things.
Your location plays a part too, as it will depend on the people that live near your business, and what their preferences are. If you have an existing business, then taking into consideration what you already take in cash will help. If it is very little, then it will make the decision to cashless very simple for you.
Choose the right system
If you make the choice to go cashless, then the card payments that you are able to accept needs to be one that is top-notch. If there are any issues with it, you won’t be able to revert to a cash-only option, even just temporarily.
So it is important to choose wisely, and make sure that you put in a lot of time and effort as you research card systems and providers. The aspects to look out for are the uptime ratings, online reviews, integration with other systems, and how their customer service is run.
Communication with staff and customers
If you have a new business, then staff training in this area will be what happens before the launch, and customers won’t know anything else. However, if you have already had the business running with cash, then training staff, as well as giving customers plenty of notice of the changes, is a must. This will help it to allrun much more smoothly, as the time goes on.
