These days, many businesses are taking payments online.  Retailers are selling online, using a shopping cart type application.  But other businesses, such as consultants, are also finding that having an online payment option is a bonus for their clients.  I do this, using a simple payment form.  I also created a simple form, you can see here.  This is a simple overview for getting started taking payments online:

Step 1: Get a payment provider – Your business can be set up to accept credit cards (known as a merchant account) and take payments over the internet (known as a gateway account).  This process takes a little time, because your business must be verified, and accounts set up.  But in the end you will be able to take credit cards over the phone, internet, or in person.  Two common providers are Authorize.net, and CDG Commerce.  I recommend CDG if you do not have an account yet, because of their low monthly fees.  In any case, you’ll find that both of these providers work with the most common shopping cart applications.  Since the application / approval process can take 1-2 weeks, this step should be started early on, so your account is ready when your web application is done.

Step 2: Choose a Shopping cart or ecommerce application – Depending on your business, you will need either a shopping cart program, or custom application to handle your sales.  There are scripts out there to handle all sorts of ecommerce transactions, from basic retail to membership sites with recurring payments.  I recommend buying a commercial program – for under $300, you can get a good script with technical support and free upgrades.  The “free” scripts usually are lacking in features or support – or both.  Make sure the script you are buying comes with all or most of the source code.  That way you or your programmer can modify the code if necessary.

Step 3: Find a Developer – This is what I do – handle ecommerce setup and installation.  I also do custom programming, and custom integrations to payment providers.  You might actually put this step first, since a good developer can walk you through the 2 prior decisions, if you need help.  This is something I do quite frequently as well.  Your developer can install and customize your payment application, and make sure everything is working for you.