Sage 100 Credit Card Processing Providers: Nearly Identical Except for One Thing
By Shannon Stanley, Sage 100 Consultant — Ardent Consulting
The best Sage 100 credit card processing providers are similar in cost and features. The real differentiator is service quality. Here’s how to tell if you’ll get good service before you sign up.
Key Takeaways
Why it matters: One customer's ACH payments started double-posting with no clear cause. Their processor’s support was unresponsive for over a month, forcing them to drop ACH and pay higher credit card fees.
How to check: See whether a processor CCs your Sage partner on setup emails. It's a quick signal for how much legwork you'll be left doing yourself for implementation and beyond.
Do you need it? Sage 100 can already process ACH payments without a paid add-on; it just requires manual filing instead of automation.
At a certain point, investing in a credit card processing solution becomes the obvious choice. Usually, it’s because you’re overwhelmed with check processing and desperately need more time.
But not all credit card processors give you back your time. And if you’re already drowning in check processing, you don’t have the leisure to do extremely careful research.
This quick guide helps you understand how to choose a credit card payment processor and provides a list of the red flags that indicate your experience may be less time-saving or satisfying than you deserve.
What to Look for in Credit Card Processors
The first thing to look for is whether a service integrates with your Sage 100 system. The top ones that do are EBizCharge, Fortis, and Nuvei.
Features
They all offer:
Easy credit card, debit, and ACH payments with no manual entry
Automated reconciliation into your General Ledger
Invoice payment links and a self-service portal, so customers can handle payments themselves
The ability to let your customers pay multiple invoices at once
Native add-on that works seamlessly with your Sage 100 system
PCI compliance, encryption and tokenization, and Level 2 / Level 3 processing
Terminals that tell you instantly if a check was declined or a credit card has insufficient funds
Auto-pay, recurring invoices, automated payment reminders, and more AR time-savers
Tip: If you’re looking for a very specific capability, don’t bother with their website’s marketing materials. Save time and directly ask each of the processors how they’d handle your needs. Ask follow-up questions and make sure you get detailed answers.
Pricing
Pricing is pretty neck and neck between all the processors. You won’t pay implementation fees or monthly licensing fees, so the cost depends on how many credit card transactions you run each month and how many point-of-sale terminals you need.
What to Actually Compare
Since costs and features are the same across Sage 100 credit card processing providers, what should you look for? In a word: service.
Your credit card processor should have proven high levels of service, reliability, responsiveness, Sage 100 expertise, and Sage 100 partner support.
When it comes to accepting payments for your business, all those factors are especially important. To understand why, imagine this scenario:
This afternoon, your ACH payments suddenly start double-posting for no good reason. The payments weren't made twice. In fact, they aren't even showing up on the customer’s end, so when the customer looks at their invoice, they still see the unpaid balance. You don't know which are the correct payments, and since your customers can’t confirm successful payments, they all call you up to ask why they're still receiving bills for something they already paid.
You need to close the books, return seventeen customer calls, and create a report – but you can’t do any of that until you figure out why your ACH is double-posting.
This really happened to one of my customers. The processor they chose had unresponsive and slow support, which didn't much want to work with me, their Sage partner. Over a month later, the ticket was still open, I was sending multiple emails a day to try to get a resolution, and my customer couldn’t close their books.
And, to add insult to injury, the only option my customer had was to turn off their ACH processing entirely and rely only on credit cards, which racked up a lot more in fees.
Long story short: service really matters.
3 Ways to Evaluate Service
Here are three ways you can determine (before you sign) whether the credit card processor you’re planning to work with will be responsive and supportive when you need them to be.
1. Ask your Sage partner about them
Your first line of defense is always your Sage 100 partner. We’ve worked with all the credit card processors, and we know which ones are a better fit for various business types. We also know which ones our customers rave about, and which ones they aren’t happy with.
2. Assess their email habits
Do they CC your Sage partner in their emails to you? It takes them only a couple of seconds, but it keeps your Sage partner in the loop about any updates or upgrades you’re planning, as well as your implementation timeline.
The implementation part is important because some processors reach out directly to you, expecting you to know your server access details and Sage version numbers. Those processors could have saved you a lot of legwork by CC’ing your partner on their emails.
3. Gut-check how you feel after the demo
Sage 100 is a popular ERP, but the Sage 100 ecosystem is very, very small. When companies are committed to our ecosystem, their employees have usually held jobs at a number of different add-ons or resellers, and sometimes they’ve even worked at Sage. These people understand that whether or not you invest in their add-on now, the odds are high that they’ll run into you again down the road.
This implicit understanding shows up in the demo. The salesperson presents their information in a way that makes sense for your specific needs, encourages and addresses your questions, and follows up in a timely manner. They don’t pressure you. After the demo, you’ll feel like you spoke with someone who is building a long-term relationship with you – because they are.
What Happens After the Sale
Once you’ve figured out the best customer service experience and chosen your processor, you still have one more hurdle: setup.
All Sage 100 credit card processing providers are a bit different on this, so I’m going to use EBizCharge as an example of a good process (it’s one of my favorites).
The short version is that your Sage partner and EBizCharge work together to take care of setup for you, and 2 hours later, you can run credit card, debit, and ACH transactions. The detailed version is that:
Implementation is free
They work with your Sage 100 partner to coordinate all access and information they need to ensure a stress-free implementation for you
The setup process usually takes less than 2 hours
You can choose to purchase new point-of-sale terminals, sync your existing terminals, buy a simple card swipe-reader that you stick to the side of your computer screen, or skip paying for terminals and just manually type credit card numbers into your system
Bonus Advice
Your Sage 100 system can handle ACH payments already. It takes manual filing on your part, so it isn’t an automated process, but if you’re primarily interested in using ACH, you already can.
You only need to invest in a credit card processing solution if you want to take credit cards or debit cards, or if you want an automated ACH process.
Do You Need Sage 100 Credit Card Processing?
Here at Ardent Consulting, we aren’t just trying to sell you more solutions. Of course, if using an add-on is the perfect choice for your needs, we’ll help you explore your options, set it up, and support you on it.
But here’s the secret: your Sage 100 system does a lot out of the box, which means you may have the capabilities you need built in.
To find out if your Sage system offers what you want built in, you’ll need:
Someone who will listen carefully to what’s going on
Insight into whether your needs can be met with existing tools
Suggestions for new purchases only if there truly is no other option
With Sage 100, you already have one of the most flexible, fully featured ERPs available. Often, all you need to do is turn on specific capabilities or script something small in order to get precisely tailored functionality out of it.
Not sure what your needs are? We can help.
Frequently Asked Questions
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EBizCharge, Fortis, and Nuvei are the top options that integrate with Sage 100.
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Pricing across the top providers is similar, usually with no implementation fees or monthly licensing fees. Cost is based on your monthly transaction volume and how many point-of-sale terminals you need.
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Their features and pricing are nearly identical. The real difference is in service: responsiveness, reliability, and how well they support you and your Sage 100 partner.
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Ask your Sage 100 partner directly, check whether the processor CCs your partner on setup/implementation emails, and pay attention to how the sales demo is handled.
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Yes, Sage 100 can handle ACH payments natively, though it requires manual filing rather than automation.
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Typically, you can expect setup to take less than two hours.
Shannon Stanley has nearly 20 years of experience as a Sage 100 Consultant with a background in business process, software implementation, and enterprise ERP. Her credentials include certification as a Sage 100 Technical Consultant, Sage 100 Application Consultant, and Sage CRM Implementation Consultant. She holds a BS in Management Information Systems and Business Administration from Pfeiffer University.
