It is not uncommon for restaurant owners to frequently mistake POS systems for simply cash registers or a tool that only allows you to accept payments. Unfortunately, not understanding the capabilities of a POS system can limit how operationally efficient a restaurant can become. When a POS is functioning at its full potential, a top-tier system can transform a food service business drastically. There are certain key actions all restaurant owners should take when utilizing a POS system, so let’s take a look at four ways to optimize restaurant POS system.

A dependable POS system makes everything easier, from handling finances and data to selling services, managing employees, keeping track of inventory, and running marketing campaigns. The true capacity of a POS system can only be realized when restaurateurs fully get their hands dirty.

Food, beverage, and labor costs account for 5 to 75% of a restaurant’s total expenses and restaurant owners are constantly devising strategies to reduce food waste, overstaffing, and unnecessary spending. This is where a POS system can come into play and help automate some of these things.

Many POS systems give multiple and variable options to enter recipe details, various quantities of ingredients to make a particular recipe, and various other parameters. Many restaurant systems also keep a track of wastage.

POS might seem to only capture the billing but in reality, it gives you the real data of how things are moving from buying items to selling recipes or products. With a proper analysis of the data thus collected, you can save on purchasing costs, stop wastage, and improve your profit margins. At the same time a good restaurant POS will help your customer to get a great experience at the counter but faster billing and quick payments.

What is a Point of Sale System?

A POS is hardware combined with software combination to facilitate or complete transactions and track sales It also stores customer data. You must train your front-of-house employees for order entries, generate bills, and process transactions for customers to properly utilize a POS system. Different POS systems have different learning curves and implementation phases. Make sure to choose a POS for your restaurant in which you can train your staff quickly and that also has excellent customer support.

With a connected cash register and credit card processing terminal, your POS easily calculates taxes. It also calculates simple things like how much change you owe to the customer, It also, most of the time, allows the customer to pay with any of the options like cash, debit card, or credit card. Be it a retail shop or a restaurant, a POS that is connected to a high speed internet and up-to-date hardware is always good.

Due to the fact that many systems can now efficiently take care of the inventory, or schedule things for the staff, and at the same time streamline the communication with your internal/kitchen staff, your POS can be considered the “operating system” for your restaurant.

By integrating other software or ready-to-use hardware with your payment terminals, with your POS system you can also enable the following

• Mobile devices can be used to process payments. These devices are handheld and thus gives you a flexible option
• Sales figures report system, along with cost calculation for various factors like labor, raw materials, etc
• Making your team’s schedule management
• Reservations management
• Loyalty programs for your customers

POS System – How Do They Work?

The operation of POS systems can be different depending on the provider.  There will be several components to your POS, however, the following pieces of hardware are required for a proper function of the POS:

• Primary server
• POS terminal or more
• Credit card reader or machine
• Cash drawer for cash management
• Printer for receipts

The hardware-based configuration defines how your POS system will be linked to a central server that stores all the data of your restaurant’s sales. Peripheral machines like terminals for CC, cash registers, or USB-based receipt printers can also be linked.

Hardware from the POS terminal can be easily controlled with the connections. Bluetooth is used by a few systems for connection.

Top Ways to Optimize Restaurant POS System

Optimize menu options

Menu items and prices can make or break a restaurant. To retain customers successfully, you must ensure that the items on your menu suit their tastes and are priced fairly.

A point-of-sale system will assist you in optimizing your menu by providing insights into your customers’ daily behaviors and preferences. It will tell you which items on your menu are most popular with your customers and which ones are not typically ordered.

A good POS system will also break down food cost percentages and contribution margins, allowing you to identify opportunities to optimize your menu prices. When you implement a cloud-based POS system, you can instantly update your menu from anywhere at any time.

Promote customer loyalty

Loyalty programs and rewards are excellent methods for increasing customer retention. Even better, it encourages your customers to invite their friends to your establishment. It is extremely common for top of the line restaurant POS systems to incorporate a loyalty program and built in customer database that tracks customer interactions.

For example, your loyalty program may allow customers to save their points in exchange for a free brunch. This can help create an ideal customer environment to return to you for repeat business.

Employee communication

Restaurant management relies heavily on communication. Miscommunication can result in order discrepancies, customer complaints, employee dissatisfaction, or other problems that reduce staff morale and customer satisfaction.

Several features are built into restaurant POS systems to help eliminate human error and improve employee communication. Employees can use this technology to accurately take orders and relay relevant order information to other staff members rather than relying on word-of-mouth communication.

Inventory Oversight

One of the most important advantages of a POS system is its ability to track inventory and reduce shrinkage in the restaurant. Shrinkage is the amount of inventory that disappears from your restaurant due to various factors, such as misuse, theft, or waste.

A point-of-sale system can automate the entire process, accounting for every item used in the kitchen, is something that will save you time and money. You can keep an eye on your inventory and schedule new orders accordingly if your system is keeping track of all of your inventory. The primary goal of inventory oversigt is to reduce waste and avoid unnecessary overspending.

Conclusion

Choosing a top-of-the-line restaurant management system is critical to remaining relevant in today’s restaurant landscape. Many restaurant innovations will revolve around implementing a POS system, which will serve as the central hub for all other software and hardware integrations for your company. But, with all good things, it is also important to optimize your restaurant POS system for higher profitability and a better customer experience.

Restaurant technologies, such as POS systems, significantly improve your restaurant’s everyday operations and, as a result, can impact your bottom line. Your responsibility is to understand every function of your POS system and put it to use once you have finalized the system you would like to implement. If you notice your restaurant struggling in any area, you should first review the data collected by your POS and use the findings to implement change into your business.

We keep our restaurant payment articles together in Restaurant Payment Resources; see it for more on optimizing a restaurant POS.

With new competitors appearing almost daily, only those E-commerce store owners who go above and beyond for their customers have the ability to stand out in the crowd. Unsurprisingly, the same brands who succeed in converting first time visitors into first-time buyers and current customers into brand advocates, regardless of competition.

When learning how to grow an online business, numerous E-Commerce marketing tricks and strategies can help with brand awareness, increased website traffic, and higher conversions. We have compiled a list of awesome digital marketing tactics and a variety of top marketing tips from eCommerce experts ready to boost your business growth in 2022 and 2023.

What is E-Commerce Marketing?

Simply put, E-commerce marketing is the process of increasing awareness of your company and, as a result, increasing the overall conversion rate on your website. Marketing online also works to retain customers after their initial purchase, encouraging them to make additional purchases in the future based on retargeting advertising. Due to the fact that so much modern business is done online, the “e” in e-commerce refers to the electronic component.

As a small business owner, it is becoming increasingly important that you know the best e-commerce marketing tricks and tips to promote your product or brand to stay ahead in the competition with major players in the online commerce space.

How Does E-Commerce Work?

Online retailers can take various actions to increase awareness and encourage sales. Some E-Commerce marketing tricks, such as content marketing and consistent posting to social media accounts, are well-known and widely used. Others, such as A/B split testing and utilizing SEO plugins to rank higher are less popular.

To maximize their chances of success, anyone running an online retail store should consider several different tactics simultaneously. Keeping up with the latest and developing technologies is a great way to do this, and using an advertising platform can help you track the outcomes of your efforts to do so.

Ecommerce retailers should also consider marketing initiatives that extend beyond a company’s website. While most of these focus on the functionality of a website and its online presence, some take place in the physical world – but are no less useful.

Amazing E-commerce Marketing Tricks to Boost Sales

Accept digital currency

One of the best e-commerce marketing tricks or tips we can suggest to you is to start accepting digital currency. In recent years, there has been a lot of buzz about cryptocurrencies and blockchains because of the developments of the metaverse. NFTs and play-to-earn platforms have grown as a result of pandemic-induced lockdowns. In 2021, the crypto market’s value reached $2 trillion, with digital currency increasing by 70%. In 2022, blockchain innovations that provide transparency, security, and financial flexibility will be even more valuable.

For starters, PayPal and Visa customers can buy, sell, and keep digital currency in their accounts. Additionally, In Meta has released its cryptocurrency. Accepting digital currency on your website can help to speed up transactions and provide more accurate consumer data. Payments can be accepted using a personal wallet or a third-party service.

Use discount sales

There are several methods for implementing discounts and discount pricing in your e-commerce store. Many brands use seasonal sales, but there is also plenty of room for volume discounts, buy-one-get-one-free deals, and plain old promotional discounts such as 60% off everything.

Whatever E-Commerce marketing tricks you use, it is essential to try to create a sense of urgency. It’s all about exploiting scarcity psychology and getting in the mind of your consumer. Countdown clocks that show how much time is left in a sale are an excellent way to accomplish this. Also, make sure to prominently display the discounts you’re offering so customers know exactly what they have the ability to receive.

Update your website

The initial landing page and storefront of your E-commerce store speak volumes about your company. As a result, your website must be visually appealing and have an easy-to-navigate user interface. Research current design trends and how top brands are presenting themselves. If necessary, give your website a facelift.

This is especially critical if you haven’t updated the look of your website in a few years. Regardless of your security practices, an outdated website can raise concerns about website security or make you appear as fraudulent.

Even the most competitive prices on products and the highest levels of site security are pointless if the surrounding site appears sketchy to customers. That is why you must make a good first impression when first-time visitors are coming to your site. Out of all the E-Commerce marketing tricks to have a strong online presence, this is the the most important trick.

Upcycle your products

With the emphasis on sustainability in retail over the past few years, selling upcycled, used, or vintage items will be a very profitable e-commerce trend. Clothing resales will be one of the fastest-growing sectors over the next eight years, according to ThredUp’s 2020 Resale Report.

Zalando, an online fashion platform, sells secondhand items, and Poshmark, a secondhand clothing platform, has seen consistent engagement growth. Bestbuy, on the other hand, offers refurbished electronics along with their new products. This trend benefits from collaborating with suppliers of upcycled products or offering comparable refurbished options similar to the new products they are selling.

Conclusion

A comprehensive e-commerce marketing strategy is essential for any e-commerce business. To succeed in the marketing industry, you must investigate your actions, and digital trends and advancements, and always pay attention to how customers are reacting to decisions being made. Another important factor that comes into play is that you should be aware of the e-commerce marketing trends that come and go and are rapidly changing.

Keeping up with your strategy and constantly updating and tweaking your strategy is extremely important. Keeping an eye on other competitors to see what is working for them at what isn’t is crucial as it will allow you to learn what is working well and what is not.

Running an online store is never easy, however, by following these E-commerce marketing tips and arming yourself with the necessary resources, you can significantly increase your chance of growing your E-commerce on brand awareness and revenue aspects. Additionally, you can enhance your advertising efforts for each phase of your sales funnel by making some relatively minor adjustments. If you’re looking for new ideas to succeed in e-commerce marketing, try these few lesser-known strategies and see what works best for you.

Whether you already have an eCommerce store or plan to open one in the coming months, giving your customers the best possible experience is critical. This is especially true given the extraordinary growth in global eCommerce sales over the last few years. The future is looking very bright for e-commerce and it’s associated markets, especially digital payment processing.

Over this past year we have seen drastic growth in the e-commerce industry. More than ever, business owners are creating and improving their online stores to better serve their customers. Due to the pandemic, multiple changes have occurred as a result of increased global purchasing from home. Here is a complete review of e-commerce payment trends for 2023 that you should keep an eye on.

E-Commerce Payment Trends for 2023

QR codes

QR codes appeared to fade away years before the pandemic, only to re-emerge prominently when brands and establishments tried and failed to limit person to person interaction through cash, tickets, and receipts.

QR codes are now widely used in a variety of setups, including restaurants, where customers can scan a code to see the menu, place their order, and pay for their food without waiting for a server. As well at in retail stores, where buyers can unlock discounted rates and additional product offerings by simply scanning QR codes placed around the store.

Tokenization

Tokenizing bills or credit cards is a method that allows sensitive information on a bank card (PAN) to be replaced by a unique encrypted code known as a token. It is used during virtual transactions to the decrease the visibility of real statistics and encrypt customer information when making purchases online. Tokenization is synonymous with simplicity, security, and transparency, as it is relatively simple-to-implement into a virtual billing system.

3D secure

Additionally, 3D Secure is a fee fraud reduction strategy that allows online customers authentication due to the fact that you can verify the card holder’s validity by sending the owner’s a dual-authentication to their smartphone to authorize a purchase. Furthermore, it is one of the primary requirements outlined by the European Union’s Strong Customer Authentication Regulation (PSD2).

Payment applications

Nothing will impact the e-commerce payment trends for 2023 more than payment apps. Customers now rely on their phones for almost everything, from hailing an Uber to making dinner reservations to tracking their blood glucose levels. As a result, expect a flood of “super apps” to appear. These apps will serve as a gateway to various virtual products and services.

BlackBerry founder Mike Lazaridis coined the phrase “a closed system of many applications that people will use every day because they offer such a smooth, incorporated, context-dependent, and efficient experience.”

With the rise of mobile shopping, digital card readers are now standard in most retail locations, from department stores to grocery chains and more. In addition to making it easier for customers to pay in-store, card readers also make it possible for shoppers to pay from their phones without ever having to leave the store to obtain a physical credit card. The top mobile payment applications that will continue to grow in 2023 are:

1. PayPal
2. Square
3. Apple Pay
4. Samsung Pay
5. Stripe
6. Google Pay
7. BitPay
8. Venmo
9. CashApp

Buy now, pay later

Buy Now, Pay Later services are becoming extremely popular for a very good reason. Shoppers use BNPL to bring large-ticket items home without jeopardizing monthly budgets or increasing credit card debt. When a company or retailer offers financing at the time of purchase, customers have realistic purchase options that help merchants gain a competitive advantage in their markets.

Installment loans enable shoppers to bring the items they want to home on the same day, rather than saving up for the entire purchase and coming back to the store when they have all of the required funds. These BNPL loans give customers much more purchasing power. BNPL services enable customers to increase the value of their cart by adding or upgrading items for a few dollars more per month.

New Changes in the Payment Technology

Even before the pandemic, 2020 was one of the most important financial years in recent history. There have already been changes made, with financial structures adopting new systems in several countries. One of the major changes that was is continuing to be implemented is the migration from the SWIFT system to ISO20022 payment systems.

Banks were already struggling to meet the deadlines for those international adjustments.  Due to market uncertainties, customers placed spending on hold, and priorities for IT budgets began to shift in an unexpected direction. Customer forced banks to accept that they were no longer digitally superior.

Customers are more concerned with their needs more than ever and are requiring new payment methods, omnichannel options, and more seamless experiences. These demands are driving changes in how business allocate their budgets and invest into technology.

Why Does it Matter to Stay on Top of E-Commerce Payment Trends?

Staying up to date on eCommerce trends is critical for several reasons. For starters, keeping your eCommerce store up to date with the latest trends keeps your brand relevant; it shows your customers that you care enough about their experience and satisfaction to improve your online store constantly. This, in turn, has a positive impact on your brand.

Following major eCommerce trends also increases your chances of long-term success by making it easier for customers to find, purchase, and receive items from your store.

Conclusion

Electronic payment methods have quickly gained popularity across most global industries. Understanding electronic payment trends enable businesses to position themselves to in a way to satisfy customer demands and capitalize on these new payment opportunities.

The eCommerce industry is massive, with many players and innovative products and plugins that are being developed almost monthly. Preparing your company for the future to stay ahead of the competition can help you increase your revenue and stay competitive by aligning your strategy with consumer demands.

As more and more eCommerce functionality presents itself in the market, it is becoming easier for brands to improve the customer experience at every level and remain relevant over the long haul.

Although customers are returning to in-person shopping, because of the new technologies they have had access to, most people are unwilling to give up the convenience of digital payments. Instead of returning to previous payment methods, customers are finding themselves wanting to stick with habits acquired during the pandemic. In addition to this, mobile payments are drastically on the rise. As the trend of digital payments continues, what does this mean for businesses? What developments are organizations likely to adopt in the coming year? The following will review the top mobile payment trends for 2023.

Top Mobile Payment Trends In 2023 With Predictions

According to a new Juniper Research report, mobile payment transaction volumes will increase 92% to 49 billion in 2023 from 26 billion in 2021. They have reported that the volume of contactless mobile transactions will outpace volumes of contactless card transactions in 2023, with contactless transactions by mobile devices, growing at twice the rate of contactless card transactions. The report shows improved security and expanding capabilities of payments through cross-channels of contactless payments via mobile as the prime factor of growth.

According to the new report, contactless mobile wallets should fully capitalize on opportunities to include services that have value, such as loyalty programs and financial management of personal levels. These types of additions are the ones that can make a difference in their digital wallet services in such a competitive market.

Blending online and offline payments

Online payment is evolving rapidly and new trends are emerging every year. In 2023, we expect to see even more innovation in the space, with new payment apps continuing to be released and new platforms becoming increasingly popular.

Customers’ return to physical stores has altered how they pay for goods and services. Rather than returning to physical credit cards that require paper receipts, customers are electing to utilize frictionless payment methods as their payment method of choice.

Digital and mobile wallets, one-click payouts, auto-renewing memberships, and in-app payments are examples of these methods, reducing the number of purchasing steps.

Payment applications

Customers now rely on their phones for almost everything, from hailing an Uber to making dinner reservations, to tracking their blood glucose levels. As a result, we can expect a flood of “super apps” to appear. These apps will serve as a gateway to various virtual products and services.

More and more people are using their smartphones to make payments, and this trend is only going to continue in 2023. Mobile payment apps like Venmo, Square, and Apple Pay are convenient, easy to use, and are being accepted by more and more businesses. We expect to see even more customers using these apps to pay for goods and services from businesses in 2023.

In-app tips

Because of the increase in digital payments, it is now much easier for founders to receive funds online. Social media content creators can get direct payment from their supporters via their preferred app rather than relying on sales revenue, affiliate marketing, and product sponsorships to supplement their income. For example, on TikTok, for accounts with more than 100,000 followers, they offer a tipping feature.

Other platforms are developing these types of currency exchange as well. As a Twitch affiliate, you can accept donations on your streams through Twitch Bits, a virtual currency. These features allow consumers to continue their in-feed experience while generating revenue for creators, influencers, and small businesses. These types of creators scan accept tips without paying a fee to a third party on Twitch.

Digital wallets

Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Store Pay, and other mobile wallet services are commonplace at checkout counters now alongside traditional payment methods. In todays day in age, limited a customers’ payment options by not having the ability for them to pay with a digital wallet can drastically impact your ability to make sales. Customers’ payment options are limited if you do not allow them to use a digital wallet.

Additionally, smartphone payments have become a convenient way for customers to make in-store or online purchases. By 2023, it is estimated that more than four billion customers will be using digital wallets to shop.

Buy now, pay later

BNPL (buy now, pay later) has recently exploded in popularity. During the pandemic, financial uncertainty led to an influx of apps that allowed customers to spread payments out over monthly installments, a win for both businesses and shoppers. Brands can convert customers by promising lower starting payments, and purchasers can invest in more expensive products without breaking the bank.

Payment Keys for More Growth

According to the aforementioned research, one of digital wallets’ most significant challenges is a lack of customer trust. As a result, it is encouraged that wallet vendors increase support for authentication via biometrics in their service offers to alleviate the fears. Especially for those who are hesitant to adopt the technology.

As tokenization became more popular, the abilities that are provided allowed for the reduction of the entire scope of requirements for payment security. Due to this, it is highly likely that tokenization will become more widespread. According to Juniper Research, 99% of all payment transactions via contactless by volume will be easily tokenized by 2023.

Use of Biometrics

Biometric authentication, which uses fingerprints, iris scanning, or facial recognition to verify a user’s identity, is becoming increasingly common among smartphone users. We expect this trend to continue in 2023, as more businesses adopt biometric authentication to protect their customers’ data. FinTech companies can use biometrics to ensure their apps and transactions safe and secure for users.

The Future of the Wallet

The customer to business experience is increasingly blending with the business-to-business (B2B) experience. What we experience in our personal lives is now an expectation how we expect to interact with companies. Recent technological advancements ranging from Venmo to digital IDs, to Netflix and Amazon, wearables, and mobile applications have altered our expectations of transaction speed.

Customers, clients, and business partners are trying to speed up the process and eliminate unnecessary delays, whether your product is consumer-facing or B2B. As a result, businesses are looking for ways to make payments more convenient, one example of this being the now-common tap-and-go (NFC) technology for plastic cards.

Taking a card out of your wallet and tapping it is not significantly easier than taking a card out of your wallet and swiping or dipping it. So, while tapping the card was fun, it doesn’t fully remove the friction.

Conclusion

People are continuing to increase their trust digital payments and see them as a convenient way to make purchases. Buyers who would never have considered using a digital app to pay for their lunch now pay with their smartphones without hesitation.

In 2023, customers will expect businesses to provide them with a multitude of payment options. Additionally, as customer needs change and businesses adapt, they will continue to expect to see more payment methods being added to their options.

To sum up, for 2023 trends in mobile payments are expected to be as follows:

• 1. More people will use their smartphones to make payments.
• 2. More businesses will accept mobile payments.
• 3. New payment apps will continue to enter the market.
• 4. Blockchain technology will start to play a role in payments.
• 5. Contactless payments will continue to become more common.
• 6. Payment security will continue to be a top concern.
• 7. Biometric authentication will become more common.
• 8. In-app payments will become more popular.
• 9. Mobile wallets will continue to grow in popularity.
• 10. Augmented reality will start to be used for payments.

So there you have it, 10 trends that we can expect to see in the world of online payments in 2023. It’s certainly an exciting time to be involved in the payments industry, and we can’t wait to see what the next five years bring.

The hiring process can be extremely time-consuming and requires significant resources as well as an ongoing effort from your human resources department. For example, in order to hire for a position you are looking to fill, you must first write an accurate job description, publish it on relevant job sites, screen candidates, interview potential staff, and finally choose the best candidate or candidates. But, while hiring attitude beats aptitude always.

But how do you choose the best candidate for the position? While many businesses value an employee’s hard skill set and experience, experts believe focusing on this isn’t necessarily the greatest approach to evaluating and comparing job candidates.

Instead, businesses generally have more success hiring when they are focused on attitude rather than aptitude. That is, looking for a candidate that embodies your ideal employee and fits in well with your current staff members and corporate culture. If you’re searching for a long-term employee, looking for someone with a positive attitude and a drive to learn and grow will render better results for you and your business.

Attitude vs. Aptitude

Why Attitude Beats Aptitude

Attitude

According to last year’s statistics, 46% of all new hires fail within 18 months of starting their employment, and 89% of the time, the cause for an employee failing is due to attitude. The most common reasons are lack of drive, inadequate emotional intelligence, temperament behavior, and other personality traits not conducive to working in a hierarchy.

Attitude is commonly a predictor of a new employee’s long-term performance. This is due to the fact that while innate talent can and does change and improve over time, an individual’s personality typically remains constant. Typically an employee’s behavior in their present stage is likely to stay consistent over time and they will continue to behave that way in the future. This is such a crucial factor in the hiring process and can change your company’s culture.

The required flexibility a role requires, an individual’s passion, and leadership qualities are what can make or break a candidate’s ability to perform and live up to the responsibilities of the role you’re hiring for. On the contrary, the ability to fit in with the company’s culture and hold similar values is also critical.

Aptitude

Although attitude is crucial, the relevance of aptitude among job candidates should not be overlooked. 57% of organizations globally are experiencing a shortage of sufficiently skilled entry-level personnel, and are continuing to emphasize the importance of education and industry experience.

Before making a hiring decision based solely on attitude, companies ensure that the candidate has the cognitive ability to learn the necessary skills to accomplish the job. This confirmation can potentially come in the form of a relevant degree or certificate or prior employment in the industry.

Employers must also ensure that new hires are eager to learn the skills necessary to progress in their professional careers; if they lack qualifications in these areas, they may be unwilling to complete the rigorous training that the role may require. Training is costly and time-consuming, which businesses must consider during their recruiting process.

How Attitude Beats Aptitude

The benefit of prioritizing attitude above aptitude when recruiting is that individuals who exert positive attitudes are likely to be very agreeable and eager to learn additional skills. Attitude mirrors personality, which is far more difficult to modify than a personals technical ability. In this day and age, personality attributes such as adaptability, passion, the ability to accept and embrace feedback, as well as accountability are necessary in nearly all work environments. Recruiting is expensive, and the associated costs of a new hire can be as high as 150% of the individual’s yearly compensation for applicants who have experience.

In order to recruit successfully, companies should be focused on the attitudes and personality features of their current employees, particularly top-performing employees. Recruiting managers and human resource departments should be looking for candidates who exhibit similar traits.

The Importance of Hiring For Attitude

Although some professions may require a highly precise set of abilities or expertise, it is equally crucial to prioritize job candidates’ attitudes and personalities for a handful of reasons. It is important to note that attitude beats aptitude when it comes to leadership and decision-making skills. So just aptitude alone is not enough.

Employees’ attitudes affect your company’s culture

Since many job searchers prioritize business culture in today’s job market, employers must prioritize hiring individuals who fit well with the company culture. Employers can accomplish this by carefully assessing employee attitudes during the hiring process and finding the underlying similarities and values that individuals at your company possess. Hiring like-minded individuals will help boost job satisfaction and improve your overall working environment.

Long term success

It is significantly more frequent for a talented and experienced individual to underperform due to a negative attitude. However, individuals who have a positive attitude and are team-oriented approved typically perform and out-last their experienced peers, regardless of experience. This is constant and is demonstrated in various industries, with different occupations and multiple income levels.

Your employees represent your company

When recruiting someone who will have front-facing contact with customers or clients, it is critical to hire with an attitude in mind for these positions. Customer-facing employees are the first impression of your organization, representing you when they speak with consumers or clients. An employee with a terrible attitude can quickly damage your company’s brand reputation and result in negative reviews online which can be detrimental to customer trust and can be difficult to reverse.

Is Attitude Alone Good Enough

The first and most obvious issue with recruiting simply based on attitude is that, while technical abilities may be taught, not everyone has the ability or willingness to learn certain hard skills, particularly at a high level.

Another specific talent that many big and small businesses and recruiters think recent college graduates lack is business acumen. On the surface, this appears to be a highly teachable skill set that seems to be better suited to be developed when an individual reaches the “professional world” rather than during their time at school.

But what if an entry-level candidate lacks business acumen due to a lack of genuine interest in your company or industry? Perhaps they are applying for a job due to family pressure, because their friends are doing so, or out of desperation.

No matter how adaptive or coachable these individuals seem to be, they are unlikely to be good long-term prospects for organizations wanting to develop their talent from within. This scenario of a candidate with hard knowledge but a negative attitude demonstrates the fine line that exists between attitude and aptitude when hiring. This fine is the precise place that a recruiter needs to handle while hiring because attitude beats aptitude and they cannot take any change in hiring the wrong candidate.

Conclusion

While it seems obvious that focusing on a candidate’s attitude should play a significant part in your hiring process, there may be specific circumstances in which abilities and experience should be given the ultimate priority. In a few special cases, you cannot follow the golden line that attitude beats aptitude. You need to weigh this decision on what the role is and how that individual will function within your company.

You also need to be aware of the mentality that dominates your company and seek to fill open positions with individuals who are a good cultural match. It is highly suggested to build an Ideal Employee Profile in order to have on hand a list of qualities and character traits that you want in your ideal candidate in addition to the hard skills that you’re hiring for. To accomplish this, you need to examine your best performers to see what kind of attitudes they have, how they interact with staff on a day to day, and who they are outside of the office. What are the non-technical talents that contribute to their success?

Making hiring decisions strictly based on aptitude can have a detrimental impact on your company. Keep in mind the impact that hiring an employee with the right attitude and the ability to learn can do on your organization. But, we can comfortably conclude that always attitude beats aptitude.

It is general knowledge, particularly among those working in financial services, that the COVID-19 pandemic drastically enhanced the demand for digital products and digital banking globally. A swarm of fintech startups developed in the hopes of satisfying those needs while established banks scrambled to improve their digital offerings.

Additionally, there were the businesses looking to break into the space that existed before the pandemic. NorthOne, a New York-based challenger bank, is one example of a startup that was founded in 2016 by Eytan Bensoussan and Justin Adler. Their goal is to help small business owners such as barbers, mechanics, and local restaurant proprietors implement digital finance.

NorthOne is a smartphone app and web banking service that provides powerfully easy financial solutions to over 320,000 small companies in the United States. The corporation’s headquarters are in New York City, with satellite offices in San Francisco, Portland, and Toronto.

When the pandemic struck, small businesses we’re affected like no other. Some did not survive, but many did so by pivoting or surviving the early days of the crisis by altering their business models.

Digital Finance Department for Small Businesses

NorthOne’s spokesman stated that the Canadian startup relocated its headquarters to New York since it primarily services American small businesses. The company, however, continues to operate in Toronto and maintains a presence there.

NorthOne was initial launched as Ferst Digital, and was founded by returning investor Ferst Capital. Bensoussan also is listed as the CEO of Ferst Capital. In the fall of 2017, Ferst Digital was relaunched as NorthOne. NorthOne, a provider of small business banking products, raised $67 million in a Series B fundraising round last week. The investment brings the company’s total funding to more than $90 million.

“We’ve been able to dependably design a business banking experience that unlocks an extraordinarily high product-market fit by obsessively focusing on our customers’ demands,” stated NorthOne CoFounder and CEO Eytan Bensoussan. “As our customers increase in size, their challenges expand beyond their bank accounts.”

“We can give a transformative product that has previously felt out of reach for our customers: a world-class finance department designed for their business by linking the data layer between accounting, receivables, payables, lending, payroll, and the bank account ledger.”

NorthOne, whose services are supported by The Bancorp Bank, has lofty goals. The fintech company aspires to be “America’s digital finance for small businesses, powering every small business.” The company is currently developing new capital funding and credit products, speedier payment methods, and additional integrations to achieve this goal of being America’s digital finance for small businesses.

The Rise of NorthOne

Despite being in one of the worst fundraising situations since 2008, this $67 million round demonstrates that there is still a strong belief in the future of small businesses in America, with NorthOne leading the effort to help them along the way.

NorthOne Fundraiser

Top investors from around the world, including Battery Ventures, Don Griffith, Drew Brees, Tom Williams, Tencent, Redpoint Ventures, Operator Stack, and Next Play Capital, rallied around the New York-based startup’s mission and product, bringing NorthOne’s fundraising total to $90.3 million since they launched.

Justin Alder, one of the founders stated that “NorthOne was founded to solve large difficulties for small enterprises. He stated that, “Over a 5-year time horizon, 50% of small businesses in America fail, and the majority of the failures are the result of poor financial management and a lack of financial systems and controls.”

Series B Investment

NorthOne has expanded rapidly in recent years and they have reported to have hired more than 70 new staff last year, a 230 % increase over the same period the prior year. In addition, they have also expanded and launched a new office in Oregon in 2021, and six months after than they opened their San Francisco branch.

This new round of investment, according to NorthOne, will help the company establish and build new working capital and credit products, as well as increasing their ability to offer timely and simple payment solutions. According to TechCrunch, NorthOne does not intend to go on another recruiting spree with this new round of funding.

NorthOne stated that the Series B investment had taken the company’s total funding to $90.3 million since 2016. Their previous rounds of funding included a seed round in 2018 where they raised $2 million and a Series A round in 2020 where they raised $29.3 million.

NorthOne Strategy

Even though the business does not currently have a sales team, and uses the internet to generate their leads, they also run an in-person event series in several cities around the country to provide educational information to small business owners. NorthOne also collaborates with organizations like Profit First, which provides financial management guidance to small business owners and mid-size companies.

According to the founders, NorthOne strives to provide its consumers with access to its services in as many convenient ways as possible. due to their efforts, although they are a digital finance solutions firm, they also enable their customer to accepts cash deposits, for example, through a network of agreements with corporations such as Walmart, 7-11, and OfficeMax.

Alder states that “it’s crucial because small businesses do deal with cash, as much as we’d like to think it’s all done online.” He noted that “the vast majority of American businesses continue to use these types of money transfers, and we must go to them.” The series A round that NorthOne raised was by Battery Ventures mainly, and they are increasing their stake with this latest round.

The company is focused on dialing in on working with the Small Business Sector, and ensuring that these merchants are set up and prepared for operating in digital future. It seems that NorthOne is will continue to raise capital, and since they are focused on providing their customers with the education they need to learn and grow within the digital space, it seems like they will continue to grow in on a national scale and strengthen their reputation with businesses across North America.

In our daily lives, we sign a variety of paperwork. We do this in person, for example with receipts at restaurants, and digitally, by signing something like an online banking form. Many of the products and services we use every day require our signatures. But, should small businesses require receipt signatures? Let us discuss it in this article.

Some consider this an outmoded formality, particularly in low-stakes contexts such as a restaurant or retail store, however, legally binding signatures are required for contracts and professional agreements. Each person or business that signs these documents agrees to the terms and accepts responsibility if something goes wrong.

Whether you sign documents in person or electronically, it’s critical to understand the many types of agreements that require a legal signature and what makes a signature legally enforceable. As businesses continue to become more modern and offer digital solutions, they rely more heavily on electronic documentation. The following explains the reasoning behind why many small businesses no longer are required to collect signatures, and what they are using as another layer of security.

Should my Customer Sign Receipts

Do Small Businesses Require Receipt Signatures?

If you have an EMV-compliant card reader, collecting receipt signatures is optional. EMV cards are chip cards, and since the card’s information is kept on a chip rather than a magnetic stripe, the information has different encryption and is more secure.

When it comes to preventing credit card theft, EMV outperforms receipt signatures. According to Visa, counterfeit fraud has decreased by 76% for EMV-compliant merchants since 2015.

Some small businesses, like diners, use receipts to collect tips or as evidence of permission for work orders or recognition of work that has been done, and may still find receipt signatures valuable. Businesses no longer need to get signatures for chip cards and contactless transactions, putting an end to a practice that had become a mundane task for both customers and businesses.

Signature Requirements For Receipts

The receipt signature requirements don’t really do anything to reduce fraud, as evidenced by users drawing smiley faces or nonsensical gibberish on signature lines for years. Many retailers have long stopped checking receipt signatures against cards, preferring to speed up checkout lines rather than add an extra layer of chargeback protection. So it is not mandatory that small businesses require receipt signatures under some laws or for some additional advantage.

Signature requirement

Of course, merchants of all sizes can still request identification from customers before consenting to conduct a transaction, so the signature is substantially less important in this situation. Due to the technological developments of contactless payments and EMV terminals, merchants are likely extremely relieved that they can remove the signature requirement as a part of their transaction process.

Signatures, especially with chip cards, add a little bit of added security to EMV transactions and will only slow down the checkout process. Swiped cards are a different story; their signature requirement still applies. A signed credit card receipt isn’t a huge deterrent against fraud, but it’s better than nothing and should still be applied when customers are swiping cards.

Why Were Customer Signatures Required

Credit card businesses have relied on receipt signatures to avoid fraud for decades. They required merchants to collect and record customer signatures so that if a transaction was challenged, the shopkeeper could produce a signed receipt demonstrating that the buyer was physically present in the store and accepted the purchase.

Without this proof, retailers were liable for chargeback losses. They were also held accountable if the signature on the receipt did not correspond to the signature on file or the card. Chip readers have supplanted customer signatures with the introduction of EMV-compliant card readers.

How Does No-Signature Transaction Work

Before EMV technology, the typical method of validating a credit card purchase was to sign a receipt. Signature restrictions did not keep fraud away, and the procedure was less secure. Credit card firms discovered a more secure approach to safeguard cardholders from fraudulent or unauthorized transactions while expediting the in-store checkout process. Here are three things you should know about the non-signature transaction process:

Card duplication

Due to the fact that EMV readers and NFC terminals are being used more frequently, card duplication fraud is significantly decreasing. This is the process where after a customer makes a card transaction, the merchants’ credit card terminals capture the customer’s card information illegally. This is called credit card skimming – or card duplication – and this has significantly decreased since the implementation of EMV chip cards and contactless payments.

Authentication

When you place your chip card into a top-of-the-line POS system, you will see an alert like “do not remove your card.” During this time, the chip, the small microprocessor on the credit card, sends a unique code to the issuing bank and back to the terminal in order to verify the card. Only when the card has been verified will the customer be told to “remove card.”

Unique code

EMV cards generate a unique code for each transaction that your bank validates each time, and the code cannot be re-used. A scammer or person trying to impersonate you cannot replicate a transaction using a fake card with stolen data at an EMV terminal because it would not generate the proper code and end it to the bank. This is why it is courageous for businesses to have EMV terminals in order to protect all customers from credit card fraud.

Conclusion

Many merchants believe it is “better to be safe than sorry” and continue to require signatures. Putting a signature on the receipt really won’t help much regarding chargebacks and fraud allegations. Payment technology has progressed much beyond that. It is entirely up to you whether you require signatures for credit card transactions, but remember that credit card brands do not require it from any merchant at any time for any transaction. Sometimes, merchants will require a signature for purchases over a certain dollar amount, typically over $1000.00.

There are certainly advantages and disadvantages to eliminating signatures. Even if you remove them from your EMV credit card receipts, you may find it useful to include a signature requirement in different types of contracts or work orders. Signatures are useful for more than just authorizing credit card transactions, and they can protect you as a merchant many ways depending on the type of business that you do.

At this point, you should be aware that the credit card processing industry is mostly made up of smoke and mirrors. There is minimal openness about how credit card processing fees work, what your organization will spend as an expense to process cards, and the specific terms around opening a merchant account with different merchant service providers. Therefore, it is important to understand the credit card processing service agreement that is the basis of any association with the provider company.

Just because a sales representative tells you something verbally does not mean that the same verbiage will be reflected or included in your agreement. Whether you own a bakery, restaurant, retail store, or professional services firm, your customers have high expectations, particularly regarding the forms of payments you accept and the simplicity of the transaction.

Offering your customers more payment alternatives can mean the difference between you making a sale and a customer turning elsewhere. This is why selecting a merchant services provider is so important. Choosing a provider who can assist you in meeting your customers expectations is critical to the success of your organization.

How Does a Merchant Service Agreement Work?

When signing up with a merchant services provider for a merchant account to process credit and debit cards, there is a process that they are responsible for when enabling your business to process payments. During a transaction, the acquiring bank performs the following processes to process and accepts electronic payments as part of the merchant processing agreement: These are important factors that are covered under the credit card processing service agreement.

• The credit card is swiped, chipped or tapped
• The acquirer obtains the card information from the payment terminal
• This acquirer, a financial institution, transmits the data to a payment processor
• The Card Association then communicates this information to the bank that issued the card
• The transaction is approved or denied by the issuing bank
• If the transaction is approved, the credit card association sends a code to the issuing bank
• The identical code is sent to the acquirer
• The code is subsequently transmitted to the merchant’s credit card machine
• This code authorizes the transaction, and the payment terminal can generate a receipt for the customer
• The merchant will have funds deposited into their account in the following 48 hours

What to Look For in Your Merchant Credit Card Processing Service Agreement

Termination fees

The first thing to look for in your credit card processing service agreement is the charge that you will have to pay when you terminate the agreement.

You can be charged an early termination fee if you cancel your merchant account before the agreed-upon date. Many merchant services agreements include a termination fee; however, in recent years, more businesses have shifted to a month-to-month deal with no cancellation penalty.

Early termination fees range from $295 and $750. Some companies demand this fee even if your company closes or is sold to a new owner. Keep in mind the amount of the termination cost, if any. Depending on the merchant services provider that you select, the early termination fee is only negotiable sometimes. Clarify with your merchant services provider whether or not they will charge you a fee if you decide to cancel early.

Liquidated damage clauses

A liquidated damage clause in the agreement might make switching processors nearly impossible. A liquidated damages clause states that if your company ceases to process, the merchant services provider will charge you for the amount of profit they estimate to receive during your contract term. Liquidated damage clauses are important and an integral part of a credit card processing service agreement.

Assume your merchant services provider earns $500.00 monthly from your company in credit card processing fees. For example, if you signed a three-year contract with a merchant services provider, but after 18 months you have to close your business, your merchant services provider will charge you for the difference, in this case, an additional 18 months, of their expected profit based on your contract. That would be about $9,000.00. Make sure that your merchant services agreements do not have liquidated damage clauses.

Contract length

Confirm the term length of the merchant agreement you are considering before moving forward with opening an account. If there is a term, it is typically three or five years. There should be a contract length specified in the merchant application. However, as long as an early termination fee of $0.00 is listed, opening an account with most merchant service providers should be considered a month-to-month agreement.

Red Flags in Merchant Service Agreements

Below are some examples of what red flags to look for in a merchant credit card processing service agreement.

High fees and extra charges

The majority of the complaints concern discriminatory charges. Some payment processors charge merchants for early termination or PCI compliance. For example, the usual charge for early termination is roughly $400. However, numerous merchants have complained online about paying much more in the name of early termination for merchant services providers across the industry.

Contract cancellation

Many processors levy an early contract termination cost. However, this also occurs when an annual fee is charged. Suppose the processor does not charge an early cancellation fee. In that case, they may charge on a month-to-month basis, which is considered preferable to annual contracts if you are just starting with their services.

Charging an early termination charge is an unjust business practice. Some merchant service providers make their cancellation process so difficult that if you wish to cancel, you will be bounced from department to department until you give up and continue to use their services.

Non-cancellable agreements

Leasing POS terminals or payment gateways might be significantly more expensive than purchasing them. Certain processors require you to pay for the entire lease term, rendering the contract non-cancellable. Ultimately, their true cost is many times greater than the cost of purchasing the gateway or processing equipment yourself.

Conclusion

If your company accepts credit and debit card payments, having a thorough understanding of your merchant agreement is critical to your success. As a business owner, you have the authority to select a partner that best meets your requirements and works with you in a transparent and honest way. Review your agreement or contact your merchant services provider to ensure you are making the best decision for your company. To make sure that you are getting the best terms and rates possible, make sure that when you are having these conversations to have read all of the fine print and to address all of your concerns when negotiating.