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The trouble with running a small business is that there are never enough hours in the day. It is important to keep a balance between home and work and, for some businesses, e-commerce allows you to keep the doors open for trading even though it is in the middle of the night.
Very few businesses jump feet first into e-commerce; not least of all because the literature makes it seem so confusing and expensive. And you know what? It is confusing and it is expensive; at least if you don't take it one step at a time.
At Scotz.Net, we can help:
- first time users to set up a low cost, simple to use e-commerce system with transaction charges broadly in line with most credit card charges.
- experienced users to benefit from flexible, fully featured software that will handle complex pricing, sizing, shipping and currency permutations.
Click on any Tex Spex heading to get more information.
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TEX SPEX
E-Commerce Systems.
IS IT DIFFICULT TO SET UP?
The simpler your business, the simpler it is to set up an e-commerce system. Things that complicate matters include:
- Age Confirmation.
e.g.Spray paint requires the consumer to be 16 years old or more whilst alcohol requires the consumer to be 18 years old or more.
- Permutations.
e.g. a tee shirt with multiple colours and multiple sizes.
- Price Lists.
e.g. wholesale and retail prices depending on the customer.
- Promotions.
e.g. enter a coupon code to gain an extra x% discount.
- Quantity Discounts.
e.g. one unit costs ?x, 10 units cost ?y.
But don't worry, our systems will handle all of these and more.
IS IT EXPENSIVE?
Well, it is a lot cheaper than employing additional staff (not forgetting additional lighting, heating and all the rest that goes with opening your doors.). The costs can be divided into:
- one time costs e.g. the web site and software,
- recurring costs e.g. the hosting fees and transaction charges.
The one off costs are:
- Design of the web site
This is necessary irrespective of the e-commerce software chosen. It is to determine:
- what the site should look like,
- how should visitors move around the site,
- what will they see on each page?
- Cost of the e-commerce software. There are a number of systems on the market that we know very well. They are robust, fully featured products that will meet a wide range of requirements. The actual system to be used will depend on your business, your products and your customers.
- Where there is a large number of items e.g. fast food takeaway, clothes etc, you may need help with the setting up of the initial structure and sample products.
- Almost certainly you will need some training in the set up and use of the system.
The minimum recurring costs are:
- Hosting charge (either monthly or annually). This is needed no matter what type of web site you have. It is where the web site does all its work.
- Transaction charges levied on each successful sale (payable to the electronic payment service provider at source).
Other recurring costs can include:
- Merchant services fees payable to some banks,
- Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate (golden padlock).
IS IT SECURE?
In short, YES. You will have to use a good quality Internet Security system though. We generally recommend Kaspersky Internet Security or Kaspersky Pure.
The customer is protected because the electronic payment system sits between their credit card details and you. You never get to see their credit card details, they are held by the payment service provider. All you get is the order and the money. There is no need to shoulder the responsibility of keeping your customers credit card details secure.
You are protected through the use of data encryption. This may be through the use of SSL certification or through the e-commerce software itself but either offers a further layer of protection. All banks use some form of user name, password, partial security phrase, auto generated access keys and many other features to protect your goods and money.
DO I NEED TO TELL MY BANK?
For most small businesses, in the early years of trading online, your bank doesn't get involved at all.
The payment service provider collects the money from the customer and deducts their charge. They then keep hold of the money until either it reaches a pre-agreed level or you issue an instruction to transfer the balance to your bank account.
From the banks point of view, all they see is a deposit coming into your account from time to time.
When you are more experienced and, more importantly, more confident then you may want to enter into a merchant services agreement with the bank. A more formal arrangement with regular monthly charges but lower transaction costs.
WHAT IS A PAYMENT SERVICE PROVIDER?
A Payment Service Provider (PSP) is an organisation that handles the movement of money paid for goods or services bought online.
The check out page of your web site will be linked to a PSP and the customer credit / debit card details validated to ensure that they have not been stolen and that the card has access to sufficient funds.
The PSP then deducts their charges, often around 3% and stores your funds ready for transferrence to your bank account and adds a note to your order stating that the order has been paid.
There are a number of PSPs on the market and, like everyone else, we have our favourites. Ones that we have worked with over time and are confident that their services work well.
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