6 Cost-Cutting Measures to Stretch Your Event Budget

Here's what you need to know about finding the right EFTPOS terminal. Searching for a next-gen EFTPOS machine that accepts modern payment methods, processes payments quickly, settle funds into your business account as fast as possible, and looks good on your countertop? Finding the right terminal for your business is important – you’ll rely on it for secure, fast cashless payments that keep your cash flow looking healthy. Some terminal providers will lock you into long contracts, with expensive termination fees, so knowing what to look out for is key. How much is it to have an EFTPOS machine? The EFTPOS machine you choose will depend on variables such as your budget, sales volumes, Point of Sale (POS) software, and fees associated with your merchant account. It costs $259 to own a Zeller Terminal outright. There are no hidden fees or charges, and no lock-in contracts. When you sign up for Zeller, you also receive a free Zeller Transaction Account (into which funds accepted via Zeller Terminal are settled nightly) and a free Zeller Debit Card — so you can pay suppliers and make business purchases with ease. Keep reading to discover the nine questions you should keep in mind when comparing EFTPOS terminals. 1. Do I understand the fees? Many business owners don’t realise they are agreeing to pay hidden fees, such as expensive terminal fees, until it’s too late. Sign the dotted line and you could be agreeing to pay a lot more than anticipated for your EFTPOS machine — and lock-in contracts usually come with hefty fees for early cancellation. Otherwise cautious business owners fall victim to hidden EFTPOS terminal fees time and time again. However, these fees are required by law to be disclosed somewhere – you just need to know where to look. Make sure to go through the terms and conditions with a fine-tooth comb; never solely rely on a verbal quote. If you’re already using an EFTPOS machine, check your merchant statement as this will tell you the processing fees and other fees you’re currently paying. It’s also important to remember that, in most cases, if you decide to rent your EFTPOS terminal you won’t own it at the end of the payment period. You’re simply paying for the privilege of using it, and will be left empty-handed when the contract ends. Although renting may look like an affordable option at first, it’s a tactic designed to get business owners to pay far more than what the terminal is actually worth. Zeller Terminal is yours to own for one low payment of $259. There’s no lock-in contract or hidden fees; we know you’ll keep using your Zeller Terminal because you love it, not because you have to. Learn more about Zeller Terminal and whether it’s the right solution for your business. 2. Will it be easy to use? Taking payment is usually the last interaction a member of your staff has with a customer. However, time wasted teaching staff the intricacies of a confusing system is time that could be better spent on other parts of the business. The ease with which staff process a payment affects the customer experience at every business. Your EFTPOS payments terminal needs to be easy for all staff to use, with minimal training. This is especially important if you run a retail store that hires casual staff during peak holiday and sales periods, or in another business that regularly hires new workers. When shopping for an EFTPOS terminal, consider whether it has been designed by a team that understands your business. Are the prompts straightforward? Is the user flow intuitive? Your terminal should feel natural and simple to use. If it is, your staff will save time with every transaction – and you’ll save time training them how to use it. 3. Can I customise it to suit my business? Some EFTPOS payment terminal providers will force your business to work their way. This is related to the point above: if you choose a provider who understands your business, you’ll likely find there’s no need to change your internal workflows. An EFTPOS terminal should fit the way you want your business to work. When selecting a terminal provider, consider how well it fits with your established processes. For example, you might want the ability to: restrict the ability to provide a customer with a refund to a small pool of staff, such as managers charge your customers a surcharge enable tipping customise your receipts Choose a provider that gives you the power to customise the way you accept and manage your payments and you’ll save yourself from needing to retrofit your processes to fit the tool. 4. What happens if my internet cuts out? Your business needs to be able to continue processing cashless payments even during periods of internet outage. You don’t want to have to send your customers to the closest ATM, or have them scrambling for cash. Occasionally, small periods of service downtime will be unavoidable. Your internet provider might be down for routine maintenance or there may be a power cut to your area, or another technological issue may impact how your EFTPOS terminal connects to the internet. However, any period of downtime has the potential to negatively affect your business — the impacted customer may never return. That’s why, when you choose Zeller Terminal, you have the option to switch to another network. If you’re experiencing issues with your Wi-Fi provider, it’s simple to connect via 3G to another network and continue processing payments using your SIM card. 5. How often will I need to charge it? These days, many businesses are run on the go — so a mobile EFTPOS terminal is a must. Cafes and restaurants that take payment from the table depend upon a long-lasting battery to get through the day. For a retail store, a long-lasting battery provides the flexibility to take payments from wherever is convenient for the customer. For mobile services such as trades and beauty technicians, having the ability to take payment on the go saves you the hassle of returning to your computer, sending an invoice, then following up until payment is finalised. It’s essential that the EFTPOS terminal you choose has enough battery life to give you peace of mind that you’ll never miss out on crucial transactions. 6. How fast can I put my funds to work? Depending on which payment services provider you choose to use, you could access your funds the same day you earn them – or you could be waiting upwards of three business days. The speed of settlement can have a big impact on your cash flow. Choose a provider that’s slow to settle, and you may find yourself in the frustrating situation of needing a business loan to tide you over until your funds are released. When you use your Zeller Terminal in combination with your free Zeller Transaction Account , you’ll get same-day settlement for your funds so you can spend using your Zeller Debit Card . Or, if you want to use your existing business bank account , your funds will settle the next business day. 7. Is there setup and ongoing support? Painful setup, hard-to-follow instructions, and uncontactable customer service representatives are headaches you simply don’t need. Some EFTPOS terminal providers are intuitive enough to use out of the box, whereas others come with a booklet of instructions you’ll need to follow. Or, you may be asked to book a technician to manage the setup on-site. Once you’re up and running, having multiple ways to ask for help – whenever you need it — is important. If your business operates in the evening and on weekends, look for a provider that offers extended support hours. If something goes wrong and you need answers fast, you need to feel confident that someone will pick up the phone on the other end. 8. Will it protect my business? Fraud is a risk for businesses of any size. Recurring chargeback fraud , in particular, can be costly for a business. When considering any financial services provider, it’s important to check whether it's backed by a team of security experts. You’re trusting this business to handle your money. Zeller’s Support team monitors transactions round the clock — 24 hours, 7 days a week — to prevent fraud before it happens. Backed up by intelligent machine monitoring, our team works to identify and respond to fraudulent attacks in real-time. 9. How soon can I get it? If you’re ready to start selling your products or services now, choosing an EFTPOS terminal that takes weeks to be delivered is an unnecessary setback. Why eat into valuable time you could be turning a profit? Ideally, your EFTPOS terminal will be available for delivery quickly. Even if you’re not ready to start accepting payments at your business, getting your EFTPOS payment terminal as soon as possible will give you extra time to get up to speed with its features and options for customisation. We offer fast, free shipping anywhere in Australia, for all Zeller purchases. Sign up for Zeller in minutes. Zeller Terminal and accessories can be purchased online from the Zeller Shop with free express shipping and same-day dispatch. Once you’ve considered these 9 questions, you should have a good idea of the non-negotiables you need from your EFTPOS terminal provider. Remember to always read the fine print and understand what you’re really paying for when you sign the dotted line.

No matter how soon, big, or complex your event is, Zeller takes the pain out of processing payments . Whether you're planning a music festival, farmers market, or charity event: the Zeller Event Rental Program provides event organisers with access to payments technology — without the lengthy paperwork. With no monthly rental fees, and no lock-in contracts, you won’t need to pay for a service you’re not using – Zeller will customise a quote for you and offer you local support for the duration of your event. Keep reading to discover why event payment processing  is easier with Zeller. Get set up fast. We understand that, often, with events, decisions need to be made fast – and sometimes at the last minute. How many EFTPOS machines you need might depend on how many attendees you are expecting, and it’s likely that you won’t know this until you’ve started selling tickets or receiving RSVPs. Having a merchant facility that can be flexible and agile is essential but increasingly difficult to find, with many banks and payment providers offering only 12-month rentals with lock-in contracts. Signing up with Zeller takes a matter of minutes, and a local team member will help you get set up with the EFTPOS terminal rental package you need. Reduce queues with faster payment acceptance. Whether you’re selling tickets at the door, running a merchandise stall, or operating a food and beverage site, customers expect to be able to pay for their purchase quickly. With Zeller, transactions are processed in seconds — meaning you can keep queues moving. After all, long lines can prevent customers from coming back for merchandise, or another drink (or even from joining the queue in the first place). Plus, with Zeller Terminal you can accept Visa, Mastercard, eftpos, American Express and JCB cards, as well as mobile wallets. Having the ability to accept every payment from every customer means no one needs to wait in line, only to be sent to the nearest ATM. Enjoy peace of mind with local support. When events are planned year-round, but their window for generating revenue is limited to the few days or weeks that the event runs, organisers simply cannot run the risk of losing sales to unexpected issues. When you sign up to Zeller’s Event Rental Program, you will be assigned a dedicated account manager who will assist you in setting up your account, and tailoring a payment solution to your event. Additionally, our support team is available from 9AM to 1AM, Australian Eastern Time, and you can find the answers to standard queries in the  Zeller Support Centre . Never lose a sale with WiFi, SIM, and Ethernet connectivity. Zeller offers a streamlined attendee experience with fast, secure, and reliable payment solutions integrated across your entire site. Zeller Terminal connects to the internet via Wi-Fi, mobile hotspot, SIM card, and Ethernet — safeguarding your business against unforeseeable service interruptions, or internet speed issues that often plague large-scale events. And, because it’s wireless, you can accept payment from wherever is convenient across your site. Keep costs down with low transaction fees and simple surcharging. Events are expensive, and increasingly so. It’s essential to find cost-saving solutions wherever possible. When you accept payments with Zeller, you will only ever pay one low 1.4% transaction fee – there are no minimum requirements or hidden charges. What’s more,  surcharging  is made simple: you can toggle the feature on or off, or you can choose only a partial amount to surcharge your customers. By passing on the transaction fee, the only cost you will pay is the price of renting the hardware. Get fast access to your takings. Unlike traditional businesses, events-based businesses experience significant fluctuations in revenue. Organising events typically requires substantial upfront investments in venues, equipment, marketing, and staffing, and these costs must be incurred well before any revenue from ticket sales or sponsorships is realised. This potential cash flow gap means it's especially important to be able to access your funds, as quickly as possible. Depending on which payment services provider you choose, you could access your takings the same day — or you could be waiting upwards of three business days. When payment is accepted via Zeller Terminal, funds are settled to your Zeller Transaction Account that same day. Or, funds can be swept to any other bank account and settled the next business day. Tap to Pay with Zeller App: a fast, scalable solution. If your event requires an even more flexible and mobile payment solution – perhaps you have a large group of volunteers needing to take donations, or maybe you need a card reader that you can slip in your back pocket –  Tap to Pay with Zeller App  is a great option. With nothing but a smartphone required, this payment solution can be set up in minutes. Simply create a Zeller Account, download the Zeller App onto an Android or iPhone mobile device, and start taking contactless card payments directly from your smartphone. If you are an exhibitor at a market or if you only need to take payments sporadically throughout the year, Tap to Pay is an excellent solution as it gives you flexibility without the added cost of renting hardware. What’s more, you will only pay one low transaction fee of 1.4%, or you can pass on the cost of acceptance by toggling the surcharging function on. Track what you’re selling and when and where you’re selling it. If you choose to rent Zeller Terminal 2, this model comes with a built-in point-of-sale system – Zeller POS Lite – enabling you to manage your inventory and track your sales at your event. With this POS, you can easily upload a library of items and deploy it to all your terminals at once. You can add item details and a photo to make products easier to identify and add variants such as size, colour, or style as well as modifiers like add-ons, toppings, or special requests. To help keep the queues moving fast, you can also design the terminal home screen to give you quick and easy access to the top-selling products. Detailed transaction reports will tell you what you're selling and when you're selling it, so you can make informed decisions about ordering more products or adding on more staff. Rent an EFTPOS machine with Zeller for your next event. Interested in renting a Zeller Terminal for your next event? Contact the Zeller Events team to discuss your rental requirements. No matter how big or small your event, we can find a solution that meets your needs and budget. Plus, it’s the perfect way to trial Zeller as your long-term solution. Every Zeller Terminal rental kit comes with your choice of Zeller Terminal 1 or Terminal 2,   Zeller SIM Card , a Zeller Charging Dock, and a roll of receipt paper — everything you need to accept payments at your event. The Zeller Event Rental Program supports: Farmers markets Community events Food and beverage tastings Cultural events Seasonal pop-ups Fundraisers and galas Sporting events Conventions and trade shows Music festivals Arena shows Event venues Sports stadiums And more!