What is an Integrated Solution?
QuipWare was launched in 2001 by Dealer Information Systems (DIS) to tie inventory and accounting together for companies in the mining, lift truck and construction equipment industry. As the use of electronic payments increased over the past several years, it became necessary to develop a functional, secure credit card interface inside QuipWare.
This integrated solution is now in place so that virtually everything you need for managing the financial aspects of your business are all together in one solution. QuipWare manages your inventory and accounting and the credit card processing is integrated in such a way that by opening one suite of software, you can effectively navigate and manage invoicing, accounting, inventory and credit card processing.
See a QuipWare integration demo here.
How Did the Integrated Solution Evolve?
In 2009, I was referred to Flagler Construction Equipment here in Orlando, Florida. They were experiencing a multitude of problems with their credit card processing and processor. Namely, the virtual terminal they were using was causing their systems to crash on a regular basis and the rates they were being charged were out of line. After meeting with their IT Director Fred Infurchia, I contacted Phil Conophy, VP of Development at DIS, and we began developing what is now the integrated solution we are discussing.
Over a period of about a year, FrontStream Payments (FSP), Volvo CE, DIS and Merchant Consulting Service all worked together to create a solution for Flagler. Since then, it has evolved through several revisions to a sophisticated, user friendly system which is now being used by a number of DIS clients. All of the clients report that they are happy with the solution and the service they receive from FrontStream and Merchant Consulting Service.
What Are Some of the Advantages?
There are many advantages to having an integrated solution. To begin with, since everything is in one place, there is a significant saving of time and effort in posting. Without this solution, many transactions require double posting. In the case of credit cards for example, the transactions are typically run on a separate terminal or PC, then must be re-posted to the General Ledger. This creates potential mistakes and obviously takes a lot of time. By having an integrated solution, this step is eliminated thereby saving time and reducing soft cost.
Another advantage involves the use of a tokenization process in conjunction with a secure merchant account gateway to transmit transactions. Instead of real information being passed over the gateway, a secure token is generated which can only be identified at the processor.
This random “token” is transmitted over the secure gateway to identify the client’s information stored in the server and then matched up with the transaction. All of the customer credit card information is stored in the processor’s secure server instead of at the merchant level. Consequently, PCI issues are virtually eliminated. Several clients have told me that these two items alone save enough time monthly to reallocate one entire employee to other priorities.
What Are Some Disadvantages?
It may seem a little unusual for disadvantages to be disclosed but I think it is important to note that there are a few. Perhaps the most significant disadvantage is that you are locked into one credit card processor. But, as long as you pay attention to your effective rate and have someone in your company that understands the basics of how credit card processing works, you should be fine.
This disadvantage brings up what is actually an advantage: Merchant Consulting Service. Since I work for you, the merchant, and not FrontStream Payments, through implementation of our Trademarked DACTA® Process, we will audit your account on a regular basis to ensure that “rate creep” does not occur. As always with one vendor providing the service, should you be unhappy to the point of wanting to change, you would lose the advantage of the integrated solution. But since FSP, Merchant Consulting Service and DIS are partners in this endeavor, they have a vested interest in keeping their clients happy. To this point, the relationship between the three organizations has been productive, positive and symbiotic. There are a couple of minor functions missing in the overall integration but in talking with the clients that are using it, the few missing items are far overshadowed by the benefits.
As each update is released, DIS is listening to their clients and making those improvements. One additional consideration is you need to be doing enough credit card business to make this worthwhile. We can help you determine this as we don’t what you to do this if it is not in your best interest.
Contact us today for more information about this integrated solution.