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Accepting credit cards can be a very intimidating option to consider as a sole practitioner or small-firm attorney - if you deal with collecting retainers from your clients…

The word “merchant service” has developed an almost ominous connotation among solo professionals - and for good reason. Most people associate the phrase with ludicrous fees, minimum transaction volumes, equipment rentals and restrictive contracts. And all too often, that notion is entirely justified.

In fact, several professionals simply choose to forget about accepting credit cards altogether - because it’s just “one less hassle” to deal with. Unfortunately, this can actually cost them quite a bit of business, whether they realize it or not. It’s been continually proven that providing your customers the option of paying with credit will increase sales (in this case, client volume) in practically every industry.

Furthermore, the main advantage for an attorney to accept credit cards wouldn’t so much be an increase in client volume as it would eliminate waiting for checks in the mail - not to mention having someone make a bank run to get them deposited. And credit card payments don’t “bounce” either!

The truth is that while there actually are some very affordable (and flexible) services available to solo professionals, they’re also very few and far between. And in most cases, they’re not easy to recognize.

So let’s explore some of the terms and terminology of the merchant industry so as to “de-mystify” the process of choosing a merchant company that will effectively suit your practice…