What Is the Best Credit Card for Construction?

Learn about the advantages to accepting visa or mastercard payments.
Accepting credit cards allows for faster payment processing.
Your customers feel comfortable paying by best credit card for construction.
Credit card payments can cause issues if they’re not properly processed or if the card is declined.
Could accepting credit cards improve your money flow by making it easier for your clients to pay you?

According to the 2016 U.S. Consumer Payment Study conducted by TSYS, 40% of consumers choose to pay by credit card and another 35% prefer to pay by debit card. If your visitors follow the national trend and choose to pay by card, why does your construction business only accept cash and checks?

Perhaps it’s time to evaluate whether or not accepting charge cards would help your business receives a commission faster and earn more business. Here are three reasons why you should consider offering this payment option to your clients.

It’s convenient for your customers.
Accepting credit and debit card payments makes it easier for you to get paid because most consumers don’t carry enough cash to cover a large expense and seldom use checks but have at least one charge card in their wallet at any moment.

Plus, rather than dropping off an envelope of cash or mailing a check, they may easily pay you personally, over the phone or online, whether by clicking a link on your electronic invoice or through your website.

Paying with a credit card can also help customers short on funds afford to acquire work done now, rather than waiting until they have the funds in the bank.

It inspires customer confidence that your business is aboveboard.
Your customers feel comfortable paying by credit card. This form of payment is so common that it appears odd because a company doesn’t accept it and could cause your customers unease.

Further, consumers are often told that bank cards will be the safest way to pay contractors. For instance, Angie’s List founder Angie Hicks recommends paying by bank card because of the consumer protections it includes and the paper trail it offers or by check as an extra option.

The FTC also advises consumers never to pay contractors in cash but instead to pay by credit card or check.

You can accept deposits and other payments immediately and reliably.
When you process a credit card transaction, you understand immediately if it goes through or not. This makes it simple to begin new projects faster because you don’t have to wait a couple of days after depositing a check for a down payment to make certain it doesn’t bounce before you get started on a job.

Depending on the scope of the task and with your client’s permission, you could be in a position to schedule recurring payments or installments that are automatically charged to your customer’s card which means you can depend on regular cash flow as long as the work is on agenda.

Also, when working with clients who are behind on the payments or have been delinquent payers before, accepting credit cards may help you get paid faster, which can help you avoid waiting around to see if the check is absolutely in the mail.

Potential downsides
If you’re not yet accepting bank cards, you could have some concerns that are holding you back. There are a few drawrears for this payment method, though there are things you can do to alleviate potential issues.

Here are two common concerns and some ideas to help you deal with them if you opt to accept card payments.

It’s too expensive.
The average 2 to 4% fee the credit card processing company collects for each and every transaction starts to look expensive when the payment is ideal for hundreds or even thousands. However, you can build this expense into the margin, and, if you prefer cash or check payments, you may offer a cash discount. Some businesses choose to charge a convenience payment for accepting card payments, but this can be tricky to do, since it’s illegal in a number of states and the card networks need you to follow certain regulations.

Business credit cards for construction companies
There are tons of mastercard options out there, but there are some that are fitted to construction companies. American Express is a well-known and trusted company and its Blue Business Plus offers plenty of perks for cardholders. Capital One offers a Spark Classic for Business that has benefits built set for cardholders. Most companies are going to have some sort of business card that is aimed toward business owners to make the process of utilizing a credit card for business easier and more efficient.

Despite the drawbacks, there are several advantages to accepting credit cards, and the ease and immediacy of the payment method can be described as a win-win for both you as well as your customers.

Getting paid should be the easy part of the job, and accepting credit card payments can decrease the time spent chasing down cash or waiting for checks. If your construction company doesn’t yet accept credit cards, it’s worth your time and energy to consider whether offering this payment option to your customers would be beneficial to your business.