ProductPayPal Zettle
With the increasing importance of digital payments for consumers, small businesses are on the hunt for omnichannel tools that let them serve their customers wherever they want to shop – while also effectively managing sales, inventory and more.
Enter PayPal Zettle. After taking off among small businesses in Europe, the integrated commerce solution recently arrived in the United States – and businesses coast-to-coast, from brick-and-mortar storefronts to mobile retailers, are already reaping some of its benefits.
PayPal Zettle not only lets small businesses seamlessly accept payments in-person with the Zettle card reader, but also helps them manage sales, inventory, reporting and payments across all channels – in one place through its point-of-sale (POS) app.
The benefits vary based on the need, but here are some of the biggest that small businesses say PayPal Zettle has to offer.
More payment options give customers flexibility
Through PayPal Zettle, businesses can quickly accept a variety of payment options, including credit and debit cards, PayPal and Venmo QR Codes, and popular digital wallet options. They can also create, sell and redeem gift cards in the POS app, and send invoices and digital receipts.
Nathan Crooke of Windybush Hay Farms
“PayPal Zettle gives my customers the option to pay how they want, in the way that is the most easy and flexible for them,” said Nathan Crooke, co-owner and manager of Windybush Hay Farms in Perkasie, Pennsylvania. The family-owned farm sells hay, mulch and more, plus offers services like transportation, mowing and baling to customers throughout the region.
With PayPal Zettle, businesses will also typically have access to their funds through their PayPal business accounts within a day, so for a multifaceted business like Nathan’s, using the platform means more dependable cash flow.
Faster transactions create better customer experiences
Another plus of the PayPal Zettle reader: it’s intuitive, which allows consumers to finish transactions fast. “They're not waiting for something to happen – the signature is fast,” Nathan said, referring to the processing speed of credit card transactions through PayPal Zettle. “And that's what [customers] want to do – get in and out of there quickly.”
Hillery Sawyer of Speakcheesy.
For Speakcheesy, a Georgia-based gourmet grilled cheese food truck, that kind of speed and simplicity at the point of sale make all the difference, especially given their frequently long lines. “We want our customers to feel how efficient and smooth that transaction is when they get to the front of the line,” said Hillery Sawyer, Speakcheesy’s owner.
It’s also good for Speakcheesy’s sales and reputation. The business’s previous point-of-sale solutions weren’t as intuitive and were sometimes slow to start up or had glitches. That lengthened transactions and sometimes required Hillery to step in to answer questions to keep orders moving.
With PayPal Zettle, Hillery can now focus on what matters most – providing great food and connecting with her customers.
Transactions, inventory and accounting-- all in one place
PayPal Zettle stores all information, including offline and online sales and inventory, for easy tracking in one place: the owner’s PayPal Business Account. Businesses can also link their PayPal Zettle accounts with their preferred accounting and order-management platform providers. “If we have questions from customers about what they spent when, we can track that easier and find transactions faster,” said Windybush Hay Farms co-owner Nathan.
Tai Fauci of The Bullpen.
Likewise, the team at The Bullpen, a sports card and collectibles retailer based in Los Angeles, loves having the relevant information they need at their fingertips in one place. The business already uses PayPal for its online sales, so using PayPal Zettle in-store was a natural fit. “I like that everything just goes back through PayPal,” said co-owner Tai Fauci. “It's super easy to track everything. Having one major hub is just really helpful to us.”
For Hillery, who changes up Speakcheesy’s menu regularly, PayPal Zettle helps her know exactly what items she’s selling, and when, allowing for better inventory management. “We have really enjoyed being able to have actual, accurate itemized reports,” she said.
Such easy, real-time data is especially key for when Speakcheesy gets hired for private events. Using PayPal Zettle, Hillery can generate user-friendly, easy-to-read reports straight from the app, showing exactly how much inventory the truck sold that day and what their profits were from the event. This not only helps the business but also lets each client know whether they reached their agreed-upon targets for the event.
The flexibility to customize and track certain items for purchase has also been a benefit for Diana Lombardi, owner of Abington Art Studio, which offers art classes in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. She began using Zettle in her studio to give customers more payment options, including using QR codes to make transactions quick and touch free. Now, she’s looking forward to using Zettle to track which art class packages are taking off, so she can consider offering customer discounts and adjusting the curriculum. “We have a family discount for multiple siblings that come into the studio,” Diana said. “I liked the fact that I could potentially track that and see how many people are taking advantage” through Zettle, she added.
Building your business on the go is a breeze
Mobile businesses like Speakcheesy have also found that PayPal Zettle is a dependable choice. Speakcheesy moves its truck to different locations throughout the day, so having a reliable way to accept payments on the go is crucial.
“The Zettle reader connects almost instantaneously,” Hillery said. “There's literally no lag in connection for us. We've used it in locations where we don't have great service, and the system does really well.”
The PayPal Zettle card reader on the Speakcheesy food truck.
That alone makes using PayPal Zettle valuable, she said, especially for small businesses that want to take advantage of gaining new customers at festivals and events. “People are always asking us what system we're using,” Hillery said. “I could see PayPal Zettle being a great fit for a lot of the small businesses we encounter while out on the road.”
Training is easy for employees and employers
PayPal Zettle’s ease of use isn’t just important for customers – it helps employees, too. “It took me under five minutes to train my staff on what to do,” Tai, The Bullpen’s co-owner, said of the business’s adoption of PayPal Zettle.
Diana Lombardi of Abington Art Studio.
Abington Art Studio owner Diana likewise said that using PayPal Zettle means less hassle for its employees, as well as more payment security for its customers.
“What I had to do in the past was have my employees write down credit card information on a piece of paper, and then … I would run it through my phone separately, which was a real pain,” Diana said. “[Now] each of my employees can sign into it [and] I can see what payments have been made.”
For these varied business owners, using PayPal Zettle makes life a little easier for their teams and for themselves as they focus on what they do best: growing their businesses.