What do you do when, as COVID rates rise, authorities impose new restrictions on your business? What should your business strategy be as restrictions are lifted when COVID rates improve and imposed again when rates get worse?
Maintaining business continuity is difficult when you’re not sure how you’re permitted to operate from one week to another. You have to decide whether it’s worth it to keep your doors open through all the ups and downs or whether you should shut down either temporarily or permanently.
Many businesses are trying to maintain some sort of continuing presence throughout the varying conditions of this crisis, often by shifting to online, delivery, or carryout models. Staying open isn’t always a viable option, however, and some businesses are being forced to pause their operations for weeks or months at a time until conditions improve and restrictions are lifted.
If you must pause your business operations, what should you do with your payment processing services during this period? Should you maintain your current processing services throughout the interruption or should you cancel those services and then start anew when your business reopens?
Unfortunately, you don’t have the option of pausing your payment processing services. Your account is either active or it’s closed. If you continue with your current services during a business cessation you still have to pay monthly fees to the payment processor, just as you still have to pay for utilities if you temporarily shut your doors. If you want to eliminate these monthly service fees you have to close your processing account — and then reopen a new account when you reopen your business.
How you proceed depends on some degree on how long you anticipate that your business will be paused. If you’re only closing your doors for a few weeks, it makes no sense to close your payment processing account; any cost savings you might achieve will be minimal. However, if you anticipate that your business will be closed for several months, you have to weigh the cost of ongoing service fees with the hassle of reopening a new account (complete with filling out new applications and getting bank approvals) when you reopen your doors. If your monthly fees are substantial, you may want to shut down your service and reopen a new account when you’re back in business. Or you may want to absorb the fees for a few months so that you can get back into business without undo paperwork and hassle.
When you’re considering how best to handle a COVID-related pause in your business, it makes sense to consult with your Higher Standards advisor. Our team can walk you through your options and help you make the best decision for your business.