Seagal Investigations

Starting a business or indeed running a business is in itself full of all kinds of issues, some good, some bad. SO what do you do when it comes to accepting payment from a client, especially private clients. As a Private Investigator or Detective, or even someone who just offers Process Serving or Surveillance (service based assignments) would seem that getting payment from clients can be fraught with its own issues.

As most of us know a lot of private investigator work is tracing work or desktop based, some covers surveillance assignments and so on. For some of us we rarely get to see the client for one reason or another (it's not possible due to distances or simply because there is no need) so how do you go about getting your money/fee.

Well it sounds simple for some but for others it can be a minefield.

PayPal...
...is one option and probably one of the most recognised brands when it comes to electronic payments. They offer a simple way for clients to pay, simply click a link from your website and you are taken to a checkout screen that enables you to enter the agreed price and any details the client so wishes. PayPal will take a proportion of the fee, this varies and changes but on average it is about 3 - 5%. The downside of using PayPal I have found with private investigation businesses and any other service driven business is that they don't understand our business, or rather, they prefer to see a transaction of goods in order to satisfy themselves that you are not a fraudulent user.

PayPal also have one rule for everyone, whether you are someone selling collectable matchbox cards or a fully fledged business, it appears that everyone endures the same terms and conditions, rules and regulations. The downside of this, as we discovered recently, is that when PayPal carry out their periodic auditing (which according to them is random!) and they don't like the feel of how your account is managed (i.e. you have no physical products to sell or see) they get very nervous and place your account on hold until they have verified your details and conducted security checks. The result however, isn't always a happy one, as we found out. Which, meant that PayPal are now holding on to our clients payments for 180 days.
The moral of the story here is DO read the terms and conditions, rules and regulations etc and have a back up!

Google Checkout
As we have only just joined Google Checkout we can't comment too much but can raise the awareness that there are other payment providers.
Google checkout appears a much better option, we can email clients an invoice in seconds and they can pay with credit card or debit card instantly without having to sign up for an account. Unlike PayPal, if you have for any reason been banned, restricted or otherwise you can no longer register for an account, as we found out some weeks ago from a client who wanted to pay by card and tried to do so through paypal but refused it as the card was registered on an old account they once had.
The downside with Google Checkout is that you have to wait 10 days initially for them to transfer the money into your account once it has been verified, though, after 60 days, they reduce this to 3 days. so not a bad option. As for the fees, these are competitive and in-line with other similar companies offering the same service.

Merchant Bank Account
Obtaining a merchant banking account is no easy task, firstly you have to have an excellent credit rating, secondly you need to ideally have a registered company, and also they prefer to deal with companies that sell products not services so private investigators and the like are classed as high risk. Apparently, Private Investigators are high risk as we tend to bill clients before the job rather than after it. There theory is that, if a client was unhappy they would receive a lot of charge backs (refunds)

The main banks that offer Merchant Accounts (similar to a credit facility) are RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) Barclays, Natwest - Streamline (effectively part of Natwest) and others. To apply you either register through your own bank or use many other available options such as companies who will do it all for you and set it up for a small fee. If you are lucky to get one you have the option of having a terminal (PDQ Machine) whereby you take payment over the phone or an e-terminal for using the facility online through your PC

Nochex
Nochex is different again, once you have set up your account and verified your bank details they can accept payment on your behalf, there are restrictions and fees on the amount you can accept and withdraw so it pays to read the small print.

BACS
Probably the most effective method of them all, simply provide your client with your bank details and more often than not the money is transferred within a couple of hours. There are no fees or charges either (unless it is a payment received from an international client)

There you have it, a taster of what is available for anyone who is stuck in a rut or can't think of a better way of receiving payments from private clients. Needless to say, we are steadily converting over to BACS payments for all our clients, private and business, where possible of course!