Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Update to Harbortouch POS Terms Improves the Best Full POS Deal On the Market

The Harbortouch POS systems have always been a good economic choice for small or medium size businesses that want a fully-featured POS system without having to spend thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars out of pocket just to get set up. But many merchants have balked at the lengthy five-year agreement required to qualify for the "free" equipment placement. Even though the monthly fee was comparable to the requirements of other system providers who charged for their equipment, nobody likes being locked into a service for an extended period.

Good News for New Harbortouch Accounts


Harbortouch has now begun implementing two significant improvements in their agreements for new POS systems. First, on their lower-end POS, there is an automatic trial period of 30 days. While many companies offer 45 days, which is what you need to ensure that a full statement period is covered, this is still an important announcement from Harbortouch. This way, there is a chance to ensure that all the reports work properly and that all deposits happen as they are supposed to.

The really exciting part, however, is that their Elite II system now comes with only a three year commitment. And this is at the same monthly rate that they charged for the service before. This is a significant potential savings when the hard costs of ownership are considered. Of course, the reality is that most merchants will likely continue with the service and the payments well past the three years, but it is good to know that if cheaper and better technology is available, nothing will prevent a merchant from being able to adopt it.


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7 comments:

  1. UnknownOctober 29, 2014 at 3:42 AM

    Its really Good News for New Harbortouch costumers. And the announcement is really very good (what you need to ensure that a full statement period is covered). and i think this is still an important announcement from Harbortouch. and now my question is i am already using POS system from Alliance Bankcard Services, can i replace it to Harbortouch or buy a new ?

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  2. UnknownOctober 29, 2014 at 2:39 PM

    William, that will depend on your agreement with Alliance. I cannot tell much about that company from their website, which is not a super good sign. Your agreement would have cancelation terms, though if you purchased the POS hardware from them you might want to check also and see if it can be reprogrammed by another processor for better rates.

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  3. UnknownOctober 30, 2014 at 2:45 AM

    Thanks, Jeffrey . Thanks a lot for your suggestion. if its possible to reprogrammed by another processor, where can i do ? can i contact my merchant Alliance Bankcard Services ?

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    1. UnknownOctober 30, 2014 at 11:06 AM

      You will first need to check the terms of your agreement, both for credit card processing services and for the POS service -- usually those two are separate issues. The POS system may still require maintenance fees or some other fees if you use data backup in the cloud or have a cloud-connected back office feature. Most POS systems that are fully-featured will require monthly, quarterly and even annual fees for their use. Some, however, are simply unsupported software packages that can be bought outright and if that is what you have, then your only monthly service costs would be the processing costs.

      Once you know what you are paying for, the next two issues are:
      1: can your POS system be used by other processing companies (and, if so, how do they connect to it)?
      2: what is your current processing company term agreement (is it month-to-month as is more common these days or are you locked into a three-year term with an early termination fee of $250-$800 or more)?

      You should know all these details upfront before deciding on a processing service or a POS system, but many merchants are not aware that there are some companies with very different fees from other companies. There is also a difference between a company that only sells POS systems and a processing company which provides a POS system that only works with their service.

      Harbortouch is one of those processing companies that provides a POS system which cannot be programmed by other processors, which is why it is essential for potential Harbortouch customers to make sure they are getting the best rates and fees available before locking it in. It isn't hard to do, as Harbortouch is highly competitive to begin with, but changing POS systems is a challenge and I always recommend researching them carefully.

      My experience with stand-alone POS systems is that they generally are more expensive to own than those provided by a company like Harbortouch or North American Bancard, and I suggest that the required features of the POS system are made the top priority before looking at costs. Once the feature set is determined, then the narrowed options become a lot clearer.

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  4. kuvy kinSeptember 7, 2015 at 7:40 AM

    Thanks for sharing this valuable information about merchant service.
    Eric Kuvykin sales coach

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  5. NorthAmericanBancard.ProSeptember 26, 2015 at 11:44 AM

    You post on merchant services is very detailed and informative. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownMay 2, 2016 at 12:43 AM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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