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3 Steps to Sales: How to Get Started With E-Commerce
Want to sell products and accept credit cards online but don't know where to begin? Here are the basics.
 | Figure 1: With some assistance, you'll soon be accepting credit and debit cards on your website.
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As you get ready to move into a new year, you're probably doing some professional soul-searching, looking at your business and trying to find ways to make it flourish in 2013.
One of the areas we think you might find promising is online sales. Whether you already have a retail operation or you're considering opening a small web-based storefront for your handmade creations, we can help steer you in the right direction and minimize startup issues.
Ready-Made Tools
Using QuickBooks as your home base, you can assemble the tools and services you'll need. If you've already taken pictures and written product descriptions for your offerings, you can probably be up and running by next week. Here's what you'll need to get started: 1. Intuit Merchant Service for Webstores. You'll have to sign up for an Intuit merchant account if you want to accept credit and debit cards. This is simply a mechanism that connects your customers' financial institutions to your own. So when someone buys an item on your website with a bank card, the funds get transferred to an account of your choosing, usually within 1-3 days.  | Figure 2: This menu from the Intuit Merchant Service Center provides access to payment tools.
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You'll always know what's happening with your online transactions through the Intuit Merchant Service Center. This is where you'll manage your online account and access activity reports.
Once you have a merchant account, you'll be able to conduct mobile sales using Intuit GoPayment.
2. An ecommerce store. Intuit works with several, including Homestead, Go Daddy and Web.com. The vendor that you choose will help you design your website and move it onto the web. You don't have to be a graphics expert to build a store using these services; they're meant to be used by inexperienced newcomers, and vendors provide the help you'll need.
 Figure 3: You don't have to be a graphics designer to build an online storefront.
3. QuickBooks Integration. Your web host will also provide the tools needed to integrate your new storefront with QuickBooks so that your online sales information can become a part of your company file. The implementation of this process, though, can be challenging. We can work with you as you get started to ensure that nothing gets lost in the shuffle.
That's it. You're ready to make your first web-based sale. It may take some time to thoroughly understand the flow of funds if you've never worked with a merchant account, and situations will occur where you'll need to call on us, but you're well on your way to becoming an online merchant. | 
