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Last bit on credit-cards for today, then I'll stop.
So if you are going to set up a credit-card processing account, what kind of information will you need, and how long will it take?
You will most likely need:
1) A copy of your PTO's state-registration paperwork; showing the PTO's address and tax ID#
2) The names, addresses and social-security numbers of your PTO President and Treasurer.
3) Copies of the PTO's Balance Sheets and P&L statements for the last two years.
4) A voided check for the account where you want the funds deposited
The form is usually one or two pages, with a few pages of terms to initial at the end. You fax it in, wait 7-10 days, then you're done. The total effort is usually less than 10 hours, and most of that is spent looking for paperwork.
Try to find a credit-card processor (aka "merchant-account provider") who will not make your officers sign a personal guarantee against any chargebacks; if you have two years worth of statements you should be able to do so. I can point you toward a few, including the one I went to for my kid's schools' auction this year.
Feel free to contact me directly if you want to talk directly.
We used PayPal the last two years at our auction; they have a special 2.2% fee for 501(c)(3) non-profits, which doesn't seem outrageous. However, they also want a $30/month fee for "Virtual Terminal" if you're entering the credit cards yourself (versus asking people to send the payment when they get home from the auction?).
This year, another school found InnerFence, which has an iPhone app and and a credit-card reader that connects to your iPhone. They had a promo (ended yesterday) where they would give you the reader free when you open the account. The account costs something like $25/month; I'm not sure how easy they make it to suspend the account for the 11 months you're not running an auction. With the reader (which reduces the chance of mistyping a CC number), they say they charge only 1.74%. I think this might work well even in places you don't have a phone line or wifi.
2) The names, addresses and social-security numbers of your PTO President and Treasurer.
Yikes! InnerFence didn't require any personal SSNs -- and I'd have been reluctant to provide it. It may depend on how much info the underwriter can find on your non-profit. We are 501(c)(3), and the state of MA posts all financial filings on the state web site where anyone can download them.
I typed in a bunch of info on the PTO (name, address, EIN, date of incorporation) and my name and title, and that was about it. I faxed them a letter from our bank verifying the account number.
There are a number of standard merchant-processing companies out there that are happy to work with schools and provide credit-card processing accounts without requiring a personal guarantee from the PTO officers - you usually have to be able to provide two years worth of the PTO's financial statements.
When people are using our software and want to integrate a merchant-account into it, I have a list of these "PTO-friendly" merchant-processors I refer them to. If anyone here is interested, I can send you that list - send me a message through my PTO Today Profile page.
Here are three merchant-account providers that concentrate heavily on the schools market, and that we send our customers to for merchant accounts. We recommend them solely on the basis of their ability to: understand the needs of schools and school groups; provide decent rates; and provide excellent customer service:
We also recommend Total Merchant Concepts (www.totalmerchantconcepts.com) - they are more of a generalist, but have been excellent partners and take great care of the PTOs and booster clubs we send their way. If you call them, ask for Eric Jenks.
Feel free to use my name and the name of my company (SchoolAuction.net) when speaking with them; it may or may not do you some good, but should help set the context for your discussion.
