Ecommerce fees for newbie

[davidakerr]

originally posted by Retail-Therapist

How much does it cost to become a member of the FSB?

Depends on employee level, but it starts from £120 per annum

And do you have to have a proven turnover or would streamline waiver these costs for a start-up that's an FSB member?

There is no installation/arrangement fee to be paid to Streamline by FSB members, therefore a potential saving of £250. Terminal Rental fees are discounted from £19.95 to £14.95 and FSB members enjoy 3 months rent free in their 1st year of. In the 2nd year of membership you get a further 2 months rent free. CC handling charges are based on turnover (if new to cards acceptance 1st 6 months 1.9%).

movietub has stated they negotiated fees, but from a previous post the rates they are paying are still higher than FSB members pay at a comparable t/o figure.

The FSB is not just about obtaining cheaper streamline rates, there's a lot more to it than that. Check out www.fsb.org.uk and enquire about membership..................you will not regret it.

 

[movietub]

originally posted by Retail-Therapist

How much does it cost to become a member of the FSB?

Depends on employee level, but it starts from £120 per annum

And do you have to have a proven turnover or would streamline waiver these costs for a start-up that's an FSB member?

There is no installation/arrangement fee to be paid to Streamline by FSB members, therefore a potential saving of £250. Terminal Rental fees are discounted from £19.95 to £14.95 and FSB members enjoy 3 months rent free in their 1st year of. In the 2nd year of membership you get a further 2 months rent free. CC handling charges are based on turnover (if new to cards acceptance 1st 6 months 1.9%).

movietub has stated they negotiated fees, but from a previous post the rates they are paying are still higher than FSB members pay at a comparable t/o figure.

The FSB is not just about obtaining cheaper streamline rates, there's a lot more to it than that. Check out www.fsb.org.uk and enquire about membership..................you will not regret it.

Did I?

We pay about 1.4% on average I think. I said I negotiated no setup fees - despite not being an FSB member. Not that I have any reason to think being an FSB member is not worth it.

What % do FSB members pay typically?

 

[davidakerr]

movietub you said you were paying about 1.48% average you now say you pay about 1.4% on average I think, yet you claim to have negotiated a deal.If I was using streamline and had the t/o figure you claim, I would know exactly how much I was paying. You also stated you pay no monthly rental................mmm. Good luck to you if your negotiating skills have produced these figures, but as I stated in my post the FSB is not about cheaper streamline deals; its part of being a member, it's a bonus available to FSB members.

I have no idea what % FSB members typically pay; its down to t/o; the higher the t/o the cheaper the deal, although I know some members receive 1.17%.

 

[movietub]

movietub you said you were paying about 1.48% average you now say you pay about 1.4% on average I think, yet you claim to have negotiated a deal.If I was using streamline and had the t/o figure you claim, I would know exactly how much I was paying. You also stated you pay no monthly rental................mmm. Good luck to you if your negotiating skills have produced these figures, but as I stated in my post the FSB is not about cheaper streamline deals; its part of being a member, it's a bonus available to FSB members.

I have no idea what % FSB members typically pay; its down to t/o; the higher the t/o the cheaper the deal, although I know some members receive 1.17%.

Sorry I have been vague and inaccurate - several areas to our business and I don't do all the admin these days...

However as I don't wish to make a tit out myself I now have the most recent invoice in front of me!

We pay £14.95 terminal rental - what we negotiated were no up front fees to get setup in the first place (from memory).

We pay 1.95 % for credit cards and 0% for all debit cards including visa delta.

Our minimum charge supplement is £4.16 per month.

Based on last months total charges divided my the total sales we paid 1.39% average for ALL cards.

So some FSB memebers get down to 1.17%? Is that for credit cards? Or an average for all cards?

I am interested.

 

[davidakerr]

Hi movietub

What I was trying to convey in my post, and you have now confirmed it, was the majority of businesses using streamline seem to think they receive a lower rate than they actually do. Your 1.95% charge on CC is actually more than an FSB member, who has never used cards before, will receive as a new user. The 1.17% I refer to is the rate a member will receive dependant on t/o on CC handling charges. Once you add charges for DC and average out the total transactions you will probably discover the average % rate on all transactions is actually lower than 1.17%.

I was not, and hope I did not give the impression, I was trying to be a smart ass, but when you embrace this saving and all the other benefits provided by the FSB then I cannot for the life of me understand why so many small businesses seem to be anti- FSB. It's the best bit of business I did. There may be issues people don't agree upon and I also agree sometimes the FSB can be a bit pedantic, but that aside, I have no problems with some of the services they provide that can potentially save me thousands of pounds per annum. Look at it from an overall prospective, not just savings on streamline.

 

[movietub]

Its ok - I was never anti FSB! I was just pointing out that even non members can avoid paying setup costs for streamline.

But all useful information - and we should look into it. What else is in the FSB member package? Any legal insurance etc?

 

[davidakerr]

I wasn't suggesting you specifically was anti FSB, just a number of small businesses in general. I know from experience many small businesses are, for whatever reason, reluctant to try and negotiate deals with banks on bank services, they basically accept what the bank has to offer and they seem grateful the bank even considered them for the service in the first place.

Legal protection Insurance is at the forefront of the FSB 's benefit package. Legal protection for small businesses in employment issues; tax and VAT investigations; Health and Safety issues etc. Check the website www.fsb.org.uk this will give you some idea of what is included.

 

[movietub]

Thanks for the link - I'll have a look and discuss it with others at our next sit down. If we can arrange better rates it seems a no brainer.

Your point about small businesses not taking the initiative to seek lower costs was actually what prompted me to post in the first place - and I quite agree.

Anyone in business should treat any increase in t/o as an opportunity to review costs of all services. It's a vicious circle but one that works FOR you, not against!

higher turnover ='s lower costs ='s lower prices to the customer ='s even higher turnover ='s even lower costs = 's profit and so on...

A lot of businesses could do with looking at incoming costs to increase profit rather than outward sales price and volume.

 

[Retail-Therapist]

I think that their are anough benefits to justify the price of joining the FSB (but I wont be displaying the badge on my website)

Regarding Streamline...I thought the £250 was for setting up my merchant account not for connecting to worldpay

 

[davidakerr]

movietub your absolutely right. More small businesses should be looking at what they can save on services they already use. More savings = increase profits. Streamline is only one area. Liability Insurance is another, and so is Bank charges. When businesses start feeling the pinch the answer seems to be to reduce the work force; that can lead to redundancy. If small businesses are unaware of the procedures involved in this situation they can find themselves worse off financially if they dont follow the procedures as laid down under the Employments Rights Act 1996.This is where the FSB can be of enormous help. Advice is available 24/7 from the Legal Helpline by experienced qualified lawyers.

 

[davidakerr]

originally posted by Retail-Therapist

..........................(but I wont be displaying the badge on my website)

Any reason why not? Could work for you with other FSB members linking to your website through your FREE entry on the FSB Directory.

A lot depends on how you wish to use Merchant Services. There are various ways to accept payment via the internet. I am not sufficiently versed in all the different methods but you can contact Streamline direct and obtain information on the pros and cons and also determine what savings are available to FSB members using whatever method you choose.

Hope this info is of some help to you.

 

[Retail-Therapist]

High Dave,

I just don't like to see FSB badges on retail sites it makes them look amatureish IMHO. It looks OK on a tree surgeon or plasterers website as it shows them as trying to be progressive in there approach but in online retail I just think people need to look like they are well established and more corporate if they trade in a competitive market..