Merchant Services: Saving Time and $$ with Mobile Apps

Mobile is the way of the world in the 21^st century — and that includes the business world. More and more entrepreneurs are relying on mobile devices and apps to run their operations, and saving themselves time and money in the process. Merchant services providers like Merchant Express® have responded by developing mobile apps for credit card processing.

According to the 2011 “Mobile Apps Survey” conducted for the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council (SBEC), apps on mobile devices are benefiting small business owners in a number of ways, including saving time, reducing costs, working more effectively and increasing revenue and productivity. All of these factors allow them to better serve their customers.

Key findings of the study include:

• Small businesses are adopting mobile technologies at a more rapid pace than the general consumer market. Nearly half of the business owners surveyed use smartphones, and many are switching from desktop and laptop computers in favor of smartphones and tablets.
• Seventy-eight percent of the respondents said their use of mobile apps saves time for both them (an average of 5.6 hours/week) and their employees (11.3 hours/week).
• Nearly 50 percent of the respondents believed that their use of mobile apps has enabled them to spend more time growing business revenues, and an equal number said their firms are more competitive as a result.
• All — that’s 100 percent—of the one-person businesses using apps agreed that they’ve saved time.

The types of mobile apps used by the business owners included GPS navigation and mapping, contact management, remote access to software applications, banking and finance management, location-based services and credit card processing. Mobile apps and credit card processing systems like PayFox™ from Merchant Express make it easier for small business entrepreneurs to expand their customer base and take advantage of sales opportunities that arise outside traditional retail. For example, service providers can use the free, dowloadable PayFox app to collect from customers when services are rendered, rather than going through the billing and collection process or waiting for checks to clear. More time saved, more potential money made!

The SBEC “Mobile Apps” survey also found that 50 percent of the mobile app users plan to increase their app exposure within six months by either getting more apps, using their current apps more or both. “The integration of mobile technologies into business operations has caught fire, and will play an important role in helping business owners and their employees save time, trim costs, and increase sales,” the survey concludes.

The benefits of mobile apps for small businesses are clear, with saving time and money primary among them — time and money that can be reinvested in your business. Efficiencies like mobile credit card processing can really pay off for your business by building your brand and boosting your bottom line. Talk with a Merchant Express representative about our full menu of merchant services and how they can pay off for your business.