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How an EFTPOS “tune up” saved one Ultra Tune franchise over $10K

Servicing your car can save you hundreds in fuel costs. And finetuning your EFTPOS solution can save your business thousands in bank fees.

That’s what the team at one Ultra Tune car service franchise discovered when they made the switch to Zero Cost EFTPOS. Financial Controller Kendall says she expects it will save the business $10-$20K every year.

Cars at mechanic shop

Tell us about your Ultra Tune franchise?

We are a mechanics service centre. Our director owns four workshops in different suburbs.

What were the challenges with your old EFTPOS solution?

High merchant fees – just the standard bank fees, but it all adds up when you have four stores making a lot of sales over a year. And our director thought you needed an extra degree just to read the bank statement. We were being charged variable fees – different amounts for EFTPOS and various cards. It was quite complicated.

Why did you switch to Zero Cost EFTPOS?

I looked at a number of options, but decided Smartpay was the best fit for us as a small business, and that they could really help us save money on those fees with their Zero Cost EFTPOS plan.

Basically, the big push was the money we could save and how easy Smartpay made things – the surcharge is calculated for us. It’s really clear to see what money was coming out of our business after using EFTPOS for a long time. We can also still offer EFTPOS, or cash if customers want to save paying a surcharge fee.

“The big push was the money we could save and how easy Smartpay made things – the surcharge is calculated for us.”

– Kendall, Financial Controller

How easy was it to integrate Zero Cost EFTPOS into your business?

Very easy. It was all delivered in the box ready to go. It was a simple system to switch over to. We played around with the machine a lot before we gave it to the stores. It helped that it includes the Amex fee as well. Now we get money back from Zero Cost EFTPOS and we use that to pay off the Amex bill. And it’s consistent – I know the exact time funds hit the bank.

How did your customers react to Zero Cost EFTPOS?

We explain it upfront so it hasn’t been that bad – it went over quite well. I think we’ve had one or two very minor complaints – just one of our bigger customers who has multiple cars. They said “we’re a good customer, why are you surcharging” so we just suggested they could do an electronic funds transfer instead. He just wanted the reward points but now they do a transfer. We still have the option to decide whether to add a surcharge or pay it ourselves so that’s good.

How much are you saving with Zero Cost EFTPOS?

When we do an invoice we add labour, parts, and so on, so we can see what we’re making on a job. We no longer have to take the cost of accepting payment off the profit. This saves us about $10-$20K a year.

Would you recommend Zero Cost EFTPOS to other small businesses?

Zero Cost EFTPOS is working well for us and our director has recommended it to his friends with small businesses. We’d definitely recommend others have a closer look at it.

Want to know more about surcharging?

If you’re keen to learn more about how surcharging on EFTPOS works, or what you could save, find out more about Zero Cost EFTPOS. To talk about how surcharging could work for your business, get in touch with the team at Smartpay.