Leprechaun Salon Software: Leprechaun Salon Software - Beauty Spa and Salon S...

Leprechaun Salon Software: Leprechaun Salon Software - Beauty Spa and Salon S...: Leprechaun salon software is a full-featured management software for salons and spas developed and tested by salon and spa owners. Software...

Credit Card Processing for your Salons...

Credit and Debit cards are very quickly replacing cash and checks as the preferred method of payment in all types of businesses including hair salons and spas. Their convenience for business owner and consumer alike result in many benefits including more efficiency, greater customer satisfaction and increased sales.

But how can you know whether or not you are getting the best value from your credit card processing agent or how to compare one agent to another to make the best choice?

• Total Cost: The Only Thing That Counts
• You Are Buying a Service
• Interchange Rates = Wholesale
• Sample Interchange Rates and Assessment Fees
• Controlling Transaction Costs
• Guidelines for Choosing an Agent

Total Cost: The Only Thing That Counts

If you currently take credit and debit cards, you can quickly determine whether or not your costs are reasonable by calculating your hair salon's Total Cost Percentage for processing services. Take your total monthly Visa and Mastercard credit card processing fees, divide by your total sales, then multiply by 100.

(Total monthly bill / Total sales for the month) x 100 = Total Cost Percentage

This gives you the percentage of sales that is going to credit card processing costs. This formula is very important because it encompasses ALL of your fees collectively. If this amount is more than two percent, you should consider shopping for a better deal.

In the tradition of "trust but verify," this article provides some essential background information about the credit card processing industry as well as some advice on how to compare agents before making your choice on who is best  for your hair salon.

You Are Buying a Service

Choosing a credit card processing agent is a lot like choosing an auto mechanic. You are buying a service from the mechanic, but remember that he also has business expenses. He has to pay rent for his shop, buy his tools and supplies and pay other bills. When you find a good, honest mechanic, it becomes a partnership that benefits both parties: He recommends the right services and options and keeps your car running smoothly. You, in turn, pay for those values, enjoy a safe and reliable car and lower costs in the long run.

In credit card processing, expansive technical resources and networks must work harmoniously to handle transactions and ultimately put money into your checking account. These are some of the costs your agent will be paying in order to handle your account.

Your choice of an agent has a great deal to do with Total Cost, but you are also shopping for reliability, integrity, access to solid information and advice, and someone who will work with you as your business grows and changes to make sure you have the tools you need.

All agents start with the same rates and fees from Visa and Mastercard. These are called "Interchange Rates and Assessment Fees" (see Chart). The difference in transaction costs between one agent and the next is the difference between the agents' rate structures. As long as your Total Cost is within an acceptable range, you may choose to pay slightly more for better advice and services such as faster deposits, better equipment, better support, etc., but you should do so consciously.

Interchange Rates = Wholesale

Visa and Mastercard are associations of banks that lend money to consumers. They base their rates on risk and to pay for the perks they offer. Rates are set each April and change by plus or minus .02% per year on average. Rates differ by the type of card to which they are applied ("standard no perks," "rewards," corporate, etc.). Rates also are set by type of transaction (e.g., riskier "key entered" transactions garner higher costs). You cannot choose which types of cards to accept, but you can control things such as swiping versus manual key entry of card numbers, which can help you manage costs.

The rates structures used by Visa and Mastercard -- Interchange Rates and Assessment Fees -- are publicly available information. The following is a sample of Interchange Rates and how they break down.

Sample Interchange Rates and Assessment Fees 

Card Type	Interchange	Settlement Fee	Assessment Fee
Visa DEBIT Card	1.03%	$0.15	0.09%
MC DEBIT Card	1.05%	$0.15	0.10%
Visa Credit Card	1.54%	$0.10	0.09%
MC Credit Card	1.64%	$0.10	0.10%
Visa Rewards Card	1.65%	$0.10	0.09%
MC Rewards Card	1.74%	$0.10	0.10%
Visa Key Entered	1.85%	$0.10	0.09%
MC Key Entered	1.95%	$0.10	0.10%

  "Downgrade," "partially qualifying" and "non-qualifying" are designations Visa and Mastercard use to indicate riskier transactions for which they charge higher rates, and are terms you may see on your statements.

The rates you are ultimately charged break down as follows:

• Authorization fee: You will not see this fee on the Interchange chart. This is a rate charged by your processor at the point of the transaction. Authorization fees (usually about 15 cents) are important when your average charge is small (say, under $10). Otherwise, always go for the lowest transaction rate you can get and don't worry too much about Authorization fees since 15 cents on a $100 charge is nominal.
• Interchange Rate: This is the rate Visa and Mastercard charge all agents equally to process the transaction and includes a percentage plus a Settlement Fee (usually around 10 cents per transaction).
• Assessment Fee: This is an additional fraction of a percent that Visa and Mastercard charge for every transaction. Currently these are at 0.0925% (0.000925) for Visa, and 0.095% for Mastercard. They typically do not change.
• Agent's Rate: Also referred to as a markup for the purposes of this article, this is the percentage of each transaction amount the agent adds to cover his services.
  In addition, there may be a monthly fee from the processor of about $10, and you will need to purchase equipment (card reader, pinpads or terminals) as well.

Controlling Transaction Costs

Today's trend is toward more and more "rewards" cards which have higher rates than standard "no perks" cards however, approximately 65% (versus 50% just two years ago) of all credit transactions are now debit cards, which can prove to be a real cost savings for your hair salon since debit cards have the lowest risk and, in turn, the lowest rates compared to all other credit cards.

• Accepting PIN-based debit cards (having customers enter their PIN number) can realize substantial savings because they are charged a flat fee with NO percentage-based rate. This becomes advantageous on transactions above $50, where the authorization and settlement fees are offset by the transaction rate savings.
• To get the best qualifying rates, you must settle your transactions within 24 hours. Late settlements will incur higher rates.
• Train your staff well to guard against higher transaction rates and surcharges that result from human error. Avoid key-entered transactions: If the card swipe doesn't work the first time, try again, don't immediately enter the information by hand. Also, make sure your staff answers all inquiries the terminal makes during a transaction rather than pushing the Enter key to bypass them. Prompts can include employee numbers to corporate tax amounts which help your patients better manage their credit card purchases.
• Automatically collecting money (recurring billing) is always a good thing. Memberships or loyalty programs with recurring billing can provide a steady, predictable influx of cash. You can offer this option to your hair salon guests on high-cost services or treatment series to help "close the deal" while allowing them to absorb costs incrementally. Just note that after the first swiped transaction, subsequent billings are considered key-entered transactions and are charged at a slightly higher rate. This additional cost is normally well justified by the income generated.
• Use an "integrated" credit card processing solution if at all possible. Many salon software for hair salons and spas now incorporate this service into their systems, offering greater accuracy and efficiency. Not only are there fewer steps involved in processing a transaction, but there is less chance for human error, records are kept automatically, and all transactions -- cash and credit -- are available on your reports and receipts.

Guidelines for Choosing an Agent

There are a number of quantifiable points of comparison which you can use to help you choose an agent that's right for your hair salon. The credit card processing industry has exploded in recent years, opening up both your choices for getting a good deal and the chance that you could be taken by a clever, but deceptive pricing structure.

These guidelines will help you determine the truth about what a prospective agent is offering.

• Trust your gut and choose someone you feel comfortable with, whether they're someone you've worked with for years, such as your bank or CSM software company, or someone new who demonstrates integrity in their approach. It's easy just to go to your bank, but banks don't always offer the best deals on credit card processing, and since any agent can deposit funds into any bank account, access is not the issue. Still, check with your bank; it will serve as a good basis for comparison as you shop for an agent.
• For hair salons and spas whose smallest charges are likely to be co-pays, but whose transactions can run hundreds or even thousands of dollars, authorization rates are really not an issue. Your main concern should be the transaction rate and, more specifically, your prospective agent's markup of Interchange.
• Look for "Interchange Plus" where the "Plus" is a SET percentage rate for ALL transactions and card types. A "tiered" system, where the agent's markup percentage varies depending upon the transaction (qualifying, partially qualifying, non-qualifying) or card type (standard, rewards, corporate, etc.) is inherently unfair to you. For one thing, in order to come up with a tiered charge structure for your business, the agent has to attempt to forecast your sales volumes, transaction amounts and likely card type usage. This usually results in a system of inflated rates and surcharges. Tiered systems are smoke and mirrors. Skip the magic and look for an agent who charges a flat percentage over Interchange, regardless of the transaction or card type, and you'll be getting the better deal.
• Debit cards are charged at the lowest Interchange Rates, but again, make sure you are on an Interchange Plus rate structure. A tiered system will likely set a higher transaction rate across the board that will apply to debit cards as well, resulting in your paying too much for debit transactions.
• Look for clear, concise reporting on your monthly statement. Ask to see a sample statement from any prospective agent. The statement should clearly show each type of transaction and card taken, the rate charged for each, and any additional itemized charges (such as monthly service fees or transfer fees for American Express transactions).
• Be wary of agents who offer "custom" deals, who refuse to show you Interchange rates (should you ask for them) or who won't show you their statements and other paperwork.
• Be suspicious if a prospective agent wants to see your previous statement(s), and don't provide them. With Interchange Plus, they don't need to know anything about your customers' purchasing habits or card types; the markup is the same regardless. If you do a high volume of sales with large tickets, telling them the average ticket amount might allow you to negotiate for a better rate or lower authorization fee. Again, the lower transaction rate is always going to be the better deal on larger charges.

Buy your own terminals and other hardware from the agent. Don't lease equipment and don't accept "free" equipment for signing up. In this business, there is no "free"; you will end up paying for it somewhere in your fee structure. You should not have to pay "set up" fees or annual fees for card processing, although some specialized equipment, such as wireless terminals, often require a setup fee for their network. Most agents charge a monthly fee (usually around $10). Expect to pay $350 and up for your terminal.

• Look for a processor who gets the money from your charges into your account within 24 to 48 hours and make sure it says that in your contract. Note that the clock starts when you settle your transactions, not when you swipe the card. For example, if you settle the batch on Friday night at six o'clock, some banks won't begin the process until Monday morning during normal business hours.
• Choose an agent with a flat cancellation fee and be sure the fee is written into your contract. Believe it or not, there are companies who will charge a percentage of past transactions upon cancellation. A standard fee should be no more than $300 for cancellation within three years.
• Don't be afraid of the cancellation fee. If you find that you are paying more than you expected in higher transaction rates or surcharges and decide to find another agent, the cancellation fee likely will be offset by the lower rates and fees you get from your new agent.

To get started, ask around. Talk to someone you know and trust -- business colleagues, associations of business owners, your accountant, others with whom you have had a business relationship in the past. Find out who they use and what kind of experiences they’ve had. Then you can begin to talk directly with the agents themselves.

Credit and debit cards have been proven to increase average sales by significant margins and are an excellent customer service as well as an easier way for you to keep track of sales and payments. The right processing agent can be a tremendous asset, contributing to the growth and future success of your hair salon or practice.

5 Ways Software Helps You Enjoy Your Business While You Grow

There is hardly a day spa or salon/spa business today that doesn't offer dozens of services, service packages and hundreds of products for retail. On top of that, most businesses have several staff charged at various rates for a range of services. In addition, a client coming in for a service package may see several different staff and require the use of more than one service location within your facility.

Just keeping track of all of this activity has become a full-time job for spa owners and managers. Even a small mistake in managing a client's time can result in less revenue, frustrated clients and staff, and even in lost business.

Now add human resources, inventory, marketing and planning and you begin to believe that, if only there were six of you, you could manage.

Or, you could let a computer do it.

Leprechaun SalonSoftware is a specially designed software for the spa and salon business. You can do everything from adding one computer to your reception area for appointment scheduling and check out, to putting in a network that allows your staff to quickly input information and check clients in and out of each service as they go.

Leprechaun Salon Software’s  features can be adjusted to suit your needs and your readiness to take advantage of technology. Whichever version you choose, SalonSoftware can streamline your salon or spa and help your business grow.

There are five primary benefits to letting computers help you run your spa.

• More free time for you.
• Do the impossible.
• Impress your customers and give them better service.
• Lose less money.
• There's no better time to do it.

More free time for you

Spend weekends with your family for a change, have a personal life, or work on other aspects of your business.

Managing information is the most time consuming task spa owners do. With a computer, information is easy to record and, once entered, is always there to access. Spa management software automatically puts data in a variety of places, creating multiple records that you can use for a many purposes -- but you only have to enter the information once.

Computers let you gather your information almost instantly rather than having to sort through piles of individual client index cards or months of appointment book pages. Computers keep your records current, organized and accessible, and can arrange, present and even analyze information for you whenever you desire.

Perhaps most importantly, computers and software are designed to handle a wide range of tasks including sophisticated scheduling, sales, purchases, inventory, personnel management, client information and nearly unlimited options for marketing to your clients to increases revenues, improve customer retention and improve profit margins.

Even if you have a software for keeping your books, you and your staff may still be doing the majority of these other tasks by hand, and it's costing you a lot in both money and time.

Do the impossible.

What if you wanted to track client visits and determine which clients are coming in less frequently, discontinuing services they used to do regularly or have disappeared altogether? What if you wanted to send out birthday cards to clients who have birthdays next week?

Great spa and salon owners have always created systems for keeping track of their clients' services, preferences and even personal data. They have found ways to market to their clients even if they had to spend every weekend flipping through index cards and appointment books to find the information they needed to do it.

Software, like Leprechaun SalonSoftware , can automate all of this, cutting the required time to almost nothing. Imagine if you could generate labels for birthday cards, postcard offers or newsletter mailings for exactly the clients you want -- with just one mouse click? Because all client information is kept up to date all the time, and because software can have the ability to gather this information, determine which clients should be included in your mailing and then format and print address labels, you can eliminate hours of work every single week on just this one task. Even better, no one gets missed and you can afford to do even more direct marketing than ever before.

Computer software let you tailor your marketing to each customer individually. Say you want to increase sales of a new oil-less moisturizer. Now imagine if you could instantly pull a list of customers who received services for oily- or acne-prone skin -- a group of clients who would be most likely to buy such a product -- and send a special promotion just to them! You don't waste a dime on unlikely buyers, and you give your customers a wonderful impression of your care and attention to their personal needs.

With computers, handwritten appointment books are a thing of the past. Today's on-screen appointment schedules are more flexible and easier to use, and they do much more than the old paper books.

Impress your customers and give them better service

Customers expect to see computers in today's businesses.

People equate computers with efficiency, with better organization and with success. Just having a computer front and center elevates the status of your business, but the fact is: people are right -- computers create efficiency, better organization and success. Computers can also help you provide the kind of customer service you have only dreamed of in the past.

For instance, today's scheduling software can keep track of details as specific as the amount of time required for services, rooms or resources required and gaps in activity for staff during a service. This means that when a service or service package is scheduled, the computer can look at the available resources and determine when is the best time to schedule the appointment. The computer can then block out not just the appointment time itself, but the time necessary for each room and each service provider.

Computer software such Leprechaun SalonSoftware can look for places to overlap services by scheduling activity into the "gap" between steps in a service protocol -- making more efficient use of both resources and personnel.

This kind of streamlining and efficient client movement through your facility was next to impossible to do by hand even with tremendous amounts of time and effort. With computer software doing the scheduling, you have time to concentrate on tending to and caring for your client rather than on figuring out where to put them.

There are many, many other obvious advantages as well that clients appreciate such as speedier check in and check out and the ability to use a variety of payment methods including gift cards, credit cards and debit cards. These options can sometimes be the difference between getting or not getting a new client; today's young professionals rarely carry checks or cash -- they charge everything. In addition, computers make it easy to institute and manage loyalty programs, offering special promotions for return visits or multiple retail purchases.

Maybe most important of all is the way the computer can instantly provide you and your service staff with detailed information about your client -- their service history, their preferences, special needs and expectations. The fact that you and your staff seem to know and remember necessary details will give your client the wonderful feeling that you care enough about her well-being to understand her and her needs. The fact that you can do this even with a large facility and hundreds or thousands of clients will give you a wonderful feeling, too.

Lose less money

All of the benefits mentioned in this article will help you make more money; but equally important is avoiding losses. If there is any part of your business that you believe you don't pay close enough attention to, you can bet that's where the leaks are.

Losses can come from several areas: less than efficient scheduling, poor inventory management, shrinkage (shoplifting and employee theft), as well as unprofitable products, service methods and facility management. To avoid reduced profit margins and get the most from every client, service and staff hour, you need to keep track of all of these areas and make corrections on a regular basis. This requires accurate recordkeeping and reports that give you the data you need in a form you can use.

Today's software programs such as Leprechaun Salon Software  are robust, offering detailed reporting on virtually every aspect of your business. You can choose to review your actual margins on every product and service you sell to see why margins go up or down.

You can look at each employee's production, each service and its profitability, each product you carry and its popularity. You can consider each client's activity, break down sales by sex, age or any criteria you choose to include. Imagine trying to do that by hand!

Because you can track retail sales, service volume and purchasing as frequently as you choose -- and because your employees know this -- you'll see less waste and can be less concerned about casual use of your precious resources and inventory.

When it comes to planning, a reporting system that provides analysis as well as data can be a godsend. Current information that allows you to make changes to inventory composition, service options, resource allocation and staff assignments -- practically on a daily basis -- will improve your margins and help you reduce profit-killing factors. A report that shows you where the strengths and weaknesses are or projects the effects of specific changes to your operations can minimize the risk of taking the steps necessary to grow.

There's no better time to do it

Prices of computers and software are at their lowest point ever and probably can't go much lower. You can buy the latest equipment for just hundreds of dollars, rather than thousands, and a few thousand can get you a system that will do everything you can imagine. Specially designed spa and salon software has also become more affordable with some companies even offering packages by subscription: Pay a low monthly fee and get everything included -- just like your phone or cable bill. Most also offer comprehensive training and technical support, so if any problems do arise, they will be solved quickly.

The rise of the internet means you can take advantage of both the information available on line and use the internet to market your business. Marketing through email is probably the easiest and least expensive way to keep in touch and promote your business to existing clients, and a well-designed web site describing your services and retail products is a great way to reach customers you might never find by other methods -- and give them a wonderful first impression.

Today's technology is so fast-changing that you may not even know all the possibilities there are until you talk to your computer or software salesperson. For instance, did you know you can back up all your daily sales data from Leprechaun Salon Software on a "hard drive" so small that you can attach it to your key chain? Bar code and credit card scanners can virtually eliminate manual entry at the point of sale and make both service and retail sales faster and more accurate.

Systems with caller I.D. can allow your computer to show you who is calling before you answer the phone. Imagine the level of customer service you can provide when you answer the phone with your client's information at your fingertips and can schedule even complicated service appointments with a single mouse click.

You already know how reminders work to get clients to show up for their services; automated appointment reminders eliminate the time it used to take to attempt to call each and every client by requiring no staff involvement.

Maybe even more importantly, young people coming into the business today have grown up with computers and electronics. The old line about your two year old knowing how to make the VCR stop flashing twelve o'clock is truer than ever today. Your new employees will need much less training and be more inclined toward computers, which means you will get the most out of both your staff and your system.

This article has only scratched the surface of the benefits of computerizing your day spa or salon/spa business. Computers can literally handle every management and marketing task that doesn't require your personal touch. Computers will save you thousands of staff hours and resources while providing better, more current, more accurate information so you can spend your time making good decisions for the future of your company.

The right system and Leprechaun Salon Software can literally change your whole attitude -- giving you the freedom to worry less and enjoy more -- your clients, your team and your personal life -- while you watch your business grow and succeed.

Leprechaun Salon Software - Beauty Spa and Salon Software

Leprechaun salon software is a full-featured management software for salons and spas developed and tested by salon and spa owners. Software features include appointment scheduling, inventory management, point of sale register, payroll, caller ID, reports, client database and many more..


Leprechaun Software Live Phone Support: The Next Best Thing to Being There One of the unique features of Leprechaun Spa and Salon Software is our always live, phone-based technical support. Our team of trained and educated professionals work one on one with each customer to set up their system, learn how to use important features, solve problems as they occur and just answer questions whether about the software, their computer or their network. For clients with internet access, the Leprechaun Salon Management Software tech team is able to take training and support to a whole new level. Using a single-access, web-based program, our techs can access and control a client’s PC remotely, with their permission. We are able to not just talk our clients through the solution, but demonstrate it right on their own computer screen. We can even fix settings and add information for you. It’s as if your support tech were right there with you. Currently, nine out of ten Internet- connected Leprechaun Spa and Salon Software customers take advantage of this support option when they need help, training or just a short reminder on how to accomplish a necessary task. We use chose this particular program because it is secure, one-time access which is immediately disconnected when the client chooses. The connection is secure and encrypted and the access code our tech uses is provided by our customer and works only once. Leprechaun clients like it because it is safe, secure, and can save hundreds of hours over the course of a year. Our spa and salon software experts can quickly check settings, adjust preferences and show clients how to perform a needed task in just minutes. There is even a simulated laser pointer which our tech can control and which makes this support option perfect for training. Leprechaun Spa & Salon Software continually pursues greater efficiency, innovation and simplicity of use as we develop upgrades to not only our software, but our services as well. For more information on Leprechaun Spa and Salon Software and how it can save you money, time and enhance your growth and success, please call us at 800-397-4582 or visit www.leprechaun-software.com to request a FREE demo CD. Leprechaun Software was founded in the late 1980s, the first company to produce customer management and point of sale software exclusively for salons and spas.

http://www.leprechaun-software.com