How to take payments at a market

You guys, markets can be a massively-daunting adventure. I know because I’ve been there. But trust me; it’s worth it. So you’ve decided that you have an amazing product to sell and you’re ready to show it off. CONGRATS! That’s super exciting! But… now what? That’s how I felt a few years back when I started running a booth at local markets. I have now grown my brand and attend 5+ markets weekly and have been in the Calgary Stampede, BC Home and Garden Show, Calgary Women’s Show, Market Collective, Little Modern Market, etc. I have seen (and been through) it all. I started this blog to offer some guidance because I know the struggle. I hope that these articles will answer some of your questions so you can get past the boring behind-the-scenes and get out there and sell your beautiful pieces! This article is focused on taking payments at markets. If you have any other questions please leave a comment below because I’d love to share my knowledge with you!

Buy a cash box.

No one wants to wait for you to rummage through your coin purse, pulling out handfuls of change in hopes of finding that last loonie.

Not even you.

Bring a float.

I recommend a bare minimum of $100 for small markets.

Your denominations will depend on what kind of pricing you have. I include tax and keep all of my prices as whole numbers _{^{(ex. $5 stickers, $6 cards, $20 prints, $60 posters)}}.

Coins are annoying.

For everyone.

My float usually looks something like this:

• $1 x 10 = $10.00
• $2 x 10 = $20.00
• $5 x 10 = $50.00
• $20 x 1 = $20.00

Most people will pay with twenty dollar bills so you’ll end up with a lot of these, however, it’s nice to have one to begin with in case someone only has a $50 bill and you need to break it. 

If I am attending a larger market I will increase my float to about $300, mostly in the form of extra $5’s, loonies, and toonies.

Set up a POS system

I use Square.

There are no monthly fees and your account is free.

They charge 2.65% for credit and $0.10 per debit transaction. From my research this seems to be a very competitive rate. 

According to my bank they have a great fee structure until you hit $40,000 in yearly income. At that point you might want to consider switching to a different payment system. Some banks offer their own, so always inquire.

I find Square to be the most user-friendly and reliable payment method. They accept all major Credit Cards (including Amex), debit, and can even record your cash payments.

You just download an app on your phone/Ipad and that becomes your POS system. 

The app is very user-friendly. It’s easy to set up all of your products and you get options like tipping, charging taxes, and branding your receipts.

Okay. I have a Square account, now what?

When you sign up for a Square account they will send you a little credit card swiping tool that you insert into your phone or Ipad.

You can also purchase a contactless card reader, for an extra $59, that allows you to accept debit and credit by a single tap of your customer’s card. You can also insert their card into this device for purchases over $100 or for cards that don’t have tap (yes, these still exist). 

It also accepts Apple Pay and other mobile payment methods so you never have to turn down a customer.

I also recommend buying the Ipad terminal stand, not because it’s necessary, but because it makes your business look more professional.

It has a swivel feature so you can flip it around to let your customers enter their info in when they want an emailed/text receipt. This keeps your Ipad out of their hands, eliminating the risk of it getting dropped.

The stand bundle includes a contactless card reader and weighted charging station. The credit card swipe feature is conveniently built into the stand base.

You can buy the bundle for $169, which may be too much for you, so you may want start without it and save up/determine if it’s right for you.

They only fit one size of Ipad, so make sure you have one that fits or it will end up costing you a hell of a lot more.

Square also offers many other products that I suggest checking out, however they’re not necessary when just starting out. 

Do I need wifi to process payments?

The Square app runs off of wifi or data, as it needs to connect to the server to process payments.

Luckily they know that you won’t always be set up in a space that offers wifi, so they have added an offline-transactions feature you can enable that will process your sales when you enter service again. More info on that here.

If you’re using an Ipad you can link to an available wifi, hotspot your phone and use your cellular data to process payments, or add data to it through your mobile provider.

I’ve had my square app and products glitch a few times (as with any electronics) but it’s always been fixed via a quick restart. They don’t happen very often (a handful of times during the hundreds of markets I’ve attended) but it’s better to be prepared. so you’re not panicking on the spot.

Or worse.

Losing money.

Here are a few issues I’ve run into and how I fixed them:

Troubleshooting

• App
  • Stuck on the loading screen
    • Restart your app by fully closing it and opening it again.
    • If it still doesn’t work then try restarting your phone/Ipad.
    • Still nothing? Try deleting the app and redownloading it again.
  • Not connecting to the internet
    • Double-check that your device is connected properly. Sometimes the wifi icon will show on your device but you won’t actually be connected until you enter a password/login.
    • Restart your app by fully closing it and opening it again.
    • If it still doesn’t work then try restarting your phone/Ipad.
    • Still nothing? Try deleting the app and redownloading it again.
• Contactless card reader
  • Not turning on
    • Check that it hasn’t gone to sleep by pressing the power button once. If it has then you’ll see the green lights come on (1-4 lights depending on how charged it is)
    • Check that it’s fully charged
    • Check that it’s not too cold or too hot. (I’ve done markets in -10 degree weather and had some issues that went away when I warmed it up in my pockets.)
    • Restart the reader by pressing the power button for 20 seconds. It’s off when the 4 red lights stop blinking. Wait 10 seconds then press the power button to turn it on.
  • Not charging
    • Check that your charging cable is working by using it to charge something else
    • Check that your charging station (wall outlet, external battery, etc) has power by attempting to charge something else with it.
    • Restart the reader by pressing the power button for 20 seconds. It’s off when the 4 red lights stop blinking. Wait 10 seconds then press the power button to turn it on.
  • Not connecting to my phone/Ipad
    • Disconnect and reconnect your reader
      • Go into your phone/Ipad settings>bluetooth and find your Square Reader in the list of devices. Click on the more info icon and press “Forget This Device”
      • Hold down the power button on your reader until the lights flash orange (meaning it’s pairing)
      • Find the device on your list of devices and click it to pair.
    • Nothing yet? Restart the reader by pressing the power button for 20 seconds. It’s off when the 4 red lights stop blinking. Wait 10 seconds then press the power button to turn it on.
  • Not connecting to phone/Ipad
    • Go into your Square app>settings>card readers and find your paired reader under “My Readers”. Click on it and then press “Forget This Reader”.
    • Hold down the power button on your reader until the lights flash orange _{^{(meaning it’s pairing)}}
    • Go into your phone/Ipad settings>bluetooth and find your Square Reader in the list of devices. Click to pair.

Don’t forget to smile! And most importantly, have fun!