Without a complete set of efficient and secure systems in place to support your gentleman’s club, you risk alienating employees and customers and losing profits. Whether you’re a veteran in the industry or just setting up your first establishment, one of your goals should be to find the payments and business management infrastructure that will optimize your operations. Keep your focus on finding the one with these vital features, and you will reap the rewards.
1. Start with the merchant account.
Choosing an adult industry merchant account is a crucial first step because this is the company that will assist you in processing customer purchases. You will need a vendor that specializes in the adult industry since you will be processing what the financial sector deems as high-risk payments.
Look for a company with specific experience in the gentlemen’s club sector. They should have relationships with several banking partners and have expertise in mitigating fraud and minimizing chargebacks. When your money is being processed by a high-caliber vendor, you can avoid many of the customer and security pitfalls that plague your competitors.
Additionally, keep in mind that your club’s status as a high-risk business means that you can expect to undergo a longer merchant account application process. Don’t be surprised if you are required to provide additional documentation, and assume that you will pay higher per-transaction and monthly fees. You may also be asked to open a rolling reserve account. Consider these requirements as nothing more or less than the cost of doing business in this industry.
2. Easy installation and integration.
Your gentleman’s club POS system should not be a nightmare to set up, and it should be easy for your staff to use. It should also seamlessly communicate with any other software that you already use such as accounting or customer relationships management programs.
3. Ongoing updates and customer service.
In today’s constantly evolving threat landscape, it is more important than ever that your POS software remain current and secure. To that end, look for a solution that features regular backups, encryption, and frequent updates. Before signing any agreements, do your research to ensure that the gentlemen’s club POS provider is in compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) as well as all other regulations governing the industry.
4. Monitoring systems.
While the above elements are helpful to any business, there are unique features that your gentlemen’s club POS should possess. These should include the following.
- Monitor displaying all of your dance booths. With a click, you can learn who is in the booth and what service they are receiving.
- Easy scheduling for dancers, including the cost breakdown for each employee.
- Inventory management allows you to update sales and special offers for your beverages and other products.
- Discreet billing that removes product names from your customers’ credit card statements.
The adult entertainment industry represents a potentially lucrative business opportunity. When you take the time to invest in customized merchant accounts and point of sale systems in line with your unique needs, you will be well-positioned to provide secure, discreet, and high-quality services to your customers while simultaneously making a handsome profit.