What does that $19 per month include?


Why not Square? I'm on the 2.9% + $.30, but I think there is a flat $200 per month with no other fees option.

I use Square also but we only have 10-15 credit card charges a year as we usually receive payment by check or ACH.

Intuit was nice enough to let someone set up a merchant account in my name (wasn't me), let them charge somebody's card $6900, and then go after me in collections. To further the fun, our local police department sent me a kind letter indicating they were too busy to deal with this. It took me 30 minutes to find out what card and which bank the deposit went to. I guess Intuit had to solve the problem after I filed the police report.

Square seems like more of a mobile solution and for less volume. We do not charge a ton, but probably enough to make it more seamless.

$19 a month is basically just having the account and getting the statement. Fees with most merchants range from 1.69% - 3% depending on the card the customer uses.

I'm just trying to find the best option and hoping someone out there can chime in.

I charge maybe $60,000 - $75,000 a year.

If a chargeback gets filed, the merchant provider needs someone to go after. If someone reverses a charge and the CC provider agrees, then they typically take the funds from the bank account tied to the merchant account. If they can't get the funds from the bank, they go after you. That's why they want your SSN, personal guaranty, etc. It's not for the $19 per month or the fees.

I don't know if there is a way around the requirements, I haven't had a merchant account in about 10 years but it was a requirement for us as well even though we were an LLC. We sold the business and a few months later, my wife tried to use her Discover CC and it was declined. We called Discover and they said they had cancelled the card and we'd get a letter in the mail explaining why. Got the letter and they had cancelled it due to "fraudulent activity" tied to the account. Had no idea what it meant and upon further investigation, it was due to the merchant account. After we sold the business, we closed the merchant account and bank accounts tied to it as the new owner had their own setup. Someone filed a chargeback 4 months after we sold the business and we missed the window to respond as the business was moved out of state and the letter was sent to the old address. So they tried to take the money from a bank account that was closed and when they couldn't get the money back, they shut down my wife's Discover Card because her SSN was tied to the merchant account and the customer who filed the chargeback used his Discover as well.

Very convoluted, but if possible, I would try to avoid having your personal information tied to a business merchant account.

My consulting company specializes in this. Pm me. Based on being in a similar situation as a controller with multiple locations using different merchant service companies, Cost and administratively, I like heartland. They are a little cheaper, they answer the phone and their docs are easy to reconcile.

We used heartland for our venues if legacy issues didn't prevent it, they can bridge most pos systems. They also do payroll and I use them for my personal company.

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