How often do your customers pay for services with cash? It probably doesn’t happen often. Cash is still prominent in some industries, but for automotive, it’s quickly becoming less so. Some industries are ‘going cashless,’ meaning businesses don’t take cash payments at all. Here are a few reasons why going cashless could be the way to go for your service department:

• Processing credit cards is faster than accepting cash. With credit, your customers get through the line quicker, so you can help more of them.
• Drawer over by $25.60? That’s no longer an issue.
• Drawer short by $25.60? Employees can’t pocket a credit card receipt like they can cash.
• The responsible cashier doesn’t have to spend time during her shift counting the drawer at the beginning and end to make sure it balances correctly. With no cash, your employee is ready for work as soon as she arrives.
• The less cash you accept, the less you have at the store. Less cash equals better security and can help reduce the likelihood your business could become a victim of theft.

So how? Offer customers the ability to pay in more efficient ways. Here are five ways you could give customers better payment options:

• When you email a customer their invoice, they have the power to review it and know exactly what they’re paying for. This works especially well for fleet customers. A business owner can receive an email with an invoice and pay the invoice before his employee even picks up the vehicle. This eliminates transposition errors from your cashier and long lines for your customers.
• Much like emailed invoices, text messages are a huge benefit. Your customers can check out their invoice before they arrive so there are no surprises. Customers can also securely store credit card information so they can use it for future payments.
• Near Field Communication (NFC). NFC payments allow two devices (a payment terminal and a phone) to talk to each other when they’re close together. NFC is the technology that enables the payment. While this means a customer is still paying at the point of sale, it’s much faster and more secure than a cash payment.
• Apple Pay/Google Pay. By 2021, mobile payments will hit $282 billion dollars and by the following year they’ll be one-third of electronic payments in the US. If you’re unfamiliar with this type of payment, learn more about it here.
• Credit/debit cards. The old standby has gotten some recent upgrades. New standards by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express mean that customers don’t have to sign for their payment at the terminal. This change will significantly decrease wait times for your customers.

A solution that’s a part of your Reynolds Retail Management System can give you the capability to offer all of these options to your customers, potentially eliminating the need for cash payments. Wouldn’t it be nice if you weren’t tied to cash?

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