Ecommerce merchants choose their industry sectors for many reasons. That’s half the fun of coming up with, and executing on, a business idea.

Sometimes your choice furthers a life-long passion, while other times it’s as simple as recognizing and filling a market need. Being first off-the-block is often a winning strategy for a sprint, but not so much in a marathon.

Of course, meeting market needs in the long-term isn’t really a simple affair. Long-term business viability falls more into the marathon category. What’s required are several layers of expertise — Some related to the chosen product or service, along with know-how in managing your business.

For example, a passion for healthy eating and good cooking may lead you to open a meal prep business. You’ll love the first stage, when serving delicious and nutritious food made with your own hands proves super-rewarding.

But for how long will that “hands-on” approach serve the business well, given your ambitions and the blossoming market in your chosen niche?

As your business grows, reaching out to others who possess the knowledge and skills — the expertise — you need isn’t always easy. But it might be the best option to support the growth ambitions you harbor.

Using the meal prep sector as a proxy for all ecommerce shops, let’s take a look at an example of tough decisions one merchant made while managing business growth. The business lessons demonstrated in the story remain universal, proving useful to all ambitious ecommerce merchants.

Another lesson to consider while in the growth phase of your business: Leveraging expert payment solutions helps online shops grow.

True Rapid Growth Story Shares Lessons for All

Business principles remain true for all merchants, regardless of the chosen sector. eCommerce may be relatively new, but the quest to launch and grow a business persists in all industries. Like the story of a couple whose meal prep business growth lessons will resonate with all small business owners.

Danielle Hrzic told the story to HuffPost. The Hrzics built a meal prep business to improve the quality of school lunches available in Chicago. Gourmet Gorilla began by producing meals and snacks for three area schools. Now they serve schools throughout Northern Illinois and Wisconsin.

As more schools and parents joined the service, the business outgrew their initial kitchen space, and also the ability for the Hrzics to remain “hands-on” with meal production. As Hrzic says, “Small business owners often feel the need to be a part of every aspect of the business.” Letting go can be hard.

But Danielle learned that she had to pull herself away from the business, “…to work on it instead of in it” — and the business expanded rapidly.

Merchants keen to launch their own payment prep businesses will find useful information on the sector here, including info on the types of expert payment solutions needed in the sector.

Become Expert on Business Growth

It’s one thing to work in a business, and quite another to own and manage one. Launching and running an ecommerce business, regardless of sector, takes a lot of energy and passion for what you do.

Some online merchants open up shop following business careers, but many don’t have the first clue about doing the books, ordering and managing inventory, or supervising employees. And without stellar funding and steady cash flow, hiring the expertise just isn’t possible.

Do you know about the standard business growth curve? From start-up to survival to success at various levels, and all the way up to mega-successful large corporations — five growth stages get you there.

Start-ups challenge even the best and brightest new merchants. Passion for your business only takes you so far, when cash flow makes or breaks the business. It’s financial survival that moves the company up the curve. And expert payment solutions help ensure financial success.

Reaching out to experts to help your company grow — and letting go when necessary — reflect mature resolve as an owner. Our featured story didn’t highlight payments, but it’s clear that selling to schools requires B2B payments expertise, and directly to parents means B2C payments.

Do other eCommerce merchants know enough about payments, to get past start-up and survival, then on to success? Like why a landing a merchant account reflects your best interests, and how to protect your payments from fraud? If not, payments may be an area in need of expert assistance.

Expert Payment Solutions Help eCommerce Shops Grow

No matter where your business falls on the growth curve, you need expert payment solutions to help you grow. To find payment solutions that will both save your money and give you peace of mind, look no further than PayArc.

Our mission is to bridge the gap between online merchants and payment solutions — for all types and sizes of merchants.

PayArc’s industry leading payment processing solution gives you all the tools you need to start accepting payments online, while lowering your risk to fraud and giving you some of the lowest rates in the industry.

We leverage strong industry relationships — developed over decades in the payments industry — to help you land an individual merchant account so you can start processing payments quickly and securely.

Take the headache out of credit card processing, so you can process with confidence. PayArc wants to act as your payments advisor and consultant, not only your processor.

You have a business to run. Our business is to help you run it better.

Give us a shout today.

The payments industry has dramatically shifted over the past few years, and many people now choose to pay with a credit card, or an electronic wallet like Apple Pay or Google Pay. Digital solutions like credit card processing for dental practices eliminates the overhead associated with paper invoices, and provides many benefits to dental practices and their patients.

The nuances of credit card processing for dental practices can be tough. Use this guide to get the basics on terminology, adherence to HIPAA, and reducing credit card fraud.

What Matters Most About Credit Card Processing for Dental Practices?

Choosing the right payment processor is an important step towards making sure your credit card processing is seamless and smooth. Some processors will offer lower fees, while others will tout the benefits their technology, and seamlessly integrating into websites and mobile applications. Other companies will offer better tech support, customer service and compliance with the requirements of this industry. Start by making a prioritized list of what will benefit your practice most.

A Few Key Advantages for Dental Practices

Credit card processing for dental practices is cost-effective. Most dental facilities are considered low risk, which means fees and other costs are going to be lower than for other types of businesses.

Additionally, you may not need a robust and expensive solution that a more technology or inventory-driven company might want. Retail stores require a fully functioning POS, complete with barcode scanners and other hardware, and possible integration with an ERP. Restaurant management systems require a robust POS that includes kitchen display systems and table service software.

You can avoid costly hardware, and smaller practices may begin with a simple countertop credit card machine or a virtual terminal that uses your existing computer and internet connection. Plan ahead though, as credit card processing for dental practices works best when it’s integrated with practice management systems. Besides better tracking, integration may enable HSA and FSA card acceptance, providing a market advantage over practices that refuse them.

What About HIPAA?

Many dentists worry HIPAA regulations and the associated fines for noncompliance when it comes to setting up a credit card processing systems. While it’s a good idea to review the general rules, you can rest assured that most credit card processing functions rest safely outside the myriad of HIPAA compliance regulations.

The vast majority of credit card processing companies are exempt from the HIPAA “business associate” agreement (where third-parties have to agree to safeguard patient information). This is because credit card companies do not have any access to patient data and are just seen as entities who are carrying out normal banking functions.

Where it gets murky is when your credit card processing company does more than just transaction processing. If their software includes invoicing or patient management, then HIPAA compliance might be required, and you’ll want to work with a payment processing company with the proper expertise.

Patient Data, HIPAA, and Credit Card Processing For Dental Practices

Never include patent health information in any communications with your payment processor. A common mistake would be to include notes about treatment or visits in the “comments” section on your virtual credit card processing terminal, so keep that data in a separate system.

As a precaution, ask your processor how they handle receipts, and what measures they do take to remain compliant with HIPAA. Some will let you print out paper receipts, while others just automatically send digital ones. Processors that evade questions about HIPAA regulations will likely lack the expertise or systems required to remain compliant.

Avoiding Credit Card Fraud

A fact of life with accepting credit cards is the risk for fraud. Many cybercriminals are on the hunt to exploit credit card holders for their own gain, and do not need a physical card in order to use it nefariously.

Start with maintaining PCI compliance to protect your patients’ payment information. The latest PCI DSS standards are available online, and a good payment processor will be able to guide you on any necessary steps to take.

Although processing credit cards at a dental practice is relatively low risk, it’s always a good idea to follow best practices. ID validation is common practice, and may be done when a patient registers for the first time. Ask your payment processor for additional guidance on payment processing and educate your staff on credit card authorization procedures. Keep in mind that an arduous process may turn off some patients, so try to strike an even balance in fraud prevention and customer service to reduce friction. The right policy enforcement will minimize fraud, and patents will have peace of mind that their valuable information is safe and secure.

Keep all of the above in mind as your dental practice accepts credit cards for processing. Not only will you provide patients with a convenient way to pay for services, but you can enact a plan that will help your business grow.