ConnectWise Payment Integration Fears
From time to time I run into a ConnectWise user that is looking at ConnectBooster for the first time and their biggest fear is that if they start offering their clients the option of paying by credit card that a very large amount of their customer base will change their preferred payment habits from check to credit card and cost them more money to take payment. The reality of it however is not the case. You have customers that will always pay via check or ACH, that is just what they are used to and that is what they prefer. ConnectBooster will just make it easier for them to pay you. You also have customers that prefer paying all their bills via credit card or debit card and in many cases you may be one of the few bills they pay by check. Since they do not pay many bills by check you probably don’t get paid as fast and by offering the option to pay by credit card you are taking away the obstacle effectively shrinking you’re A/R. Until now I had a tough time showing my point outside from having my prospective clients talk to our current clients that have a similar business model.
Over the weekend I came across a great article written by Michael Cohen, Stern School of Business and Marc Rysman, Boston University. Their white paper named ‘Payment Choice with Consumer Panel Data’ released in June of 2013 can be found in its entirety here (http://people.bu.edu/mrysman/research/grocerypayment.pdf).
This study’s primary focus is how people decide to pay while shopping for everyday items and not exactly the same type of transactions in the business to business world on higher priced items ($400-$4000), it does give us a glimpse into the buying habits of people. We may be able to extract habits that explain a few things about our client’s tendencies to choose one payment method over another. If you’ll allow me, please, sit back, relax, grab a double-shot latte & crank up The Who’s Quadrophenia while I take you down the rabbit hole…
There are 2 points that I’ll pass along to you today. They both deal with what you should expect from your ConnectWise ACH clients. The first topic is about how often people switch their chosen method of payment. The second is about what is a determining factor in using one payment form over another.
How often do people switch up their payment methods?
Mr. Cohen & Rysman have found is that most households use one or two payment methods and once those methods are chosen clients rarely switch. This may mean that if your clients are paying you with check today they may continue to do so in the future.
The graph below shows favorite payment methods (made up at least 80 percent of spending share) very seldom are changed.
As the Cohen/Rysman study shows an important issue may be state dependence, the notion that once a household makes a choice, it is likely to choose it again. That is, a household may not have a long-term persistent preference for cash, but having chosen cash, it is likely to do so again. This suggests that households make large changes in their payment instrument use only infrequently. If they switch again, it’s to the same instrument as before.
Determining how they will pay…
Cohen and Rysman found that transaction size governs payment choice not only across households, but also within households. Typically the larger the expenditure the greater possibility that a credit card was used. These increases were at the expense of cash payment methods as the usage of check remains relatively steady.
To sum it all up….
So, what does this mean to you? Simple. When you offer ConnectWise payments Integration choices of ACH or Credit Cards your clients will:
a.) Stay with their current chosen method of payment
b.) That chosen method may be based on transaction size as much as anything.
I encourage you to download and review the complete article as it is an interesting study into the payment choices of households & inside of households across America.
In the meantime, remember that I am here to help you reduce ‘Payment fatigue’ in business. Getting you paid on time, every time is our motto! Good things are about to happen if you let them. Trust me, good things are just a call away. Call me today.
877-733-6584 or email me at [email protected].
