When the Internet first exploded on the scene with a graphical user interface (GUI) "front end" called the World Wide Web, it did not immediately render "offline" businesses obsolete. However, within a few short years it became abundantly clear that most companies could increase revenues with an online presence. Processing credit cards online went from being a nice option to an absolute requirement.
Business people who are comfortable with high technology, and are "early adopters" of leading edge hardware and software, immediately took to the online environment. For other firms that want to begin processing credit cards online, companies like acceptcardsfast.com and our payment processing provider, Signature Card Services have arisen to bridge the "technology gap" for the less tech-savvy business owners.
No matter what percentage of sales your company is making on the Internet, processing credit cards online is a must. If you grow to the point where you are making steady sales on the Internet, or find that a large proportion of your revenues come from the web, processing credit cards online will become ever more important. You need an account provider that can help you maximize your online presence.
Companies that want to accept payments in the US,  and do not have "card present" business and don't need to swipe cards can possibly eliminate the expense of a credit card terminal. For an Internet-only firm, processing credit cards online is a no-brainer. However, a firm that sells on the web, by postal mail and over the phone (called a MOTO account, for "mail order/telephone order") is also a strong candidate for a "virtual terminal."
Using a virtual terminal simply means processing credit cards online with a computer, rather than over the phone lines with a terminal. It is a great way of keeping all business data in the "digital domain" for management, billing, reporting and so forth. Processing credit cards online is an option for retail stores, too, and various systems can be customized to make it easy and straightforward.
When you are choosing a merchant account provider for your firm, and you do a regular and substantial amount of sales over the Internet, you should ask potential processors how much expertise they have in processing credit cards online. Some companies may offer you their own, proprietary software, but you are typically able to use any of the recognized leading software packages for processing credit cards online.
Every company is different, but even if you are not doing the majority of your business online the web still promises greater growth than the traditional sales channels. You will have to make the calculation yourself with your unique variables, but processing credit cards online should be a good move no matter what kind of business you have.