Pampered Chef Credit Card Is Going Away...

[jbondr]

Is this strange? I got a new PC credit card in the mail today since mine expires in September. Why?? I thought it was going away for good in September. Did this happen to anyone else?

 

[Becca_in_MD]

I imagine you can still use the card as a regular Visa card. It's just that PC is no longer accepting the card for payment. I plan on cancelling my card after I pay next month's bill.

 

[jbondr]

I guess I never thought about that. Hmmm...I really don't want a credit card so think I will also be canceling it after next months bill.

 

[flemings99]

If the account isn't being closed then why all the hype about using any card we want and no longer being required. Why not just take the perks away. Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Christ Follower]

I am NOT happy about this. IF they are going to make debit the ONLY option then they need to give us back the 3 day "Grace Period" to submit shows after the moonth is over to ensure checks clear. Remember that? We used to have till September 3rd to submit August shows? If I have a host give me checks August 31st and submit her show, it's a gamble for me now. I vote for the grace period OR another PC Credit Card.

 

[Becca_in_MD]

How are previous PC cc holders doing with the transition? Did everyone get the written notice from the cc company that the account was being closed?

Per PC's instructions, I used a personal cc for all of my shows in Sept. There's some nice cash back earned with that. Now that I've started using the debit card for my shows, I'm missing that cash back. Plus, I've operated for 7 years with submitting shows without having all payments in hand (I am NOT trying to start a debate about individual biz practices. I know some people absolutely don't submit until they have received all payments, which for me would mean submitting some shows 4 weeks later.) I have successfully gotten more customers to use a cc so the # of checks has decreased a lot.

Earlier posts in this thread mention using a personal cc as a guest with no order but payment for all the cash and checks. Anyone who hadn't been doing that doing that now? How's it working for you? I am just not a debit card person.

 

[tiggerhale]

I have been using my person cc as a guest and it works well. Started doing that in Sept. It's a bit more tricky keeping up with the shows on my cc statement but it's not bad. I was only using the pc one for shows so that's why. I am not a debit card person either. Plus, we're getting cash back on all purchases so that's nice too.

 

[wadesgirl]

I have the host pay me for all orders that are without payment. Never had a problem with that!

 

[Ginger428]

How are previous PC cc holders doing with the transition? Did everyone get the written notice from the cc company that the account was being closed?

Per PC's instructions, I used a personal cc for all of my shows in Sept. There's some nice cash back earned with that. Now that I've started using the debit card for my shows, I'm missing that cash back. Plus, I've operated for 7 years with submitting shows without having all payments in hand (I am NOT trying to start a debate about individual biz practices. I know some people absolutely don't submit until they have received all payments, which for me would mean submitting some shows 4 weeks later.) I have successfully gotten more customers to use a cc so the # of checks has decreased a lot.

Earlier posts in this thread mention using a personal cc as a guest with no order but payment for all the cash and checks. Anyone who hadn't been doing that doing that now? How's it working for you? I am just not a debit card person.

I'm not a debit card person either. Since this has started all I want to do is go to the bank to make sure I have enough in it. UGH!!!

 

[esavvymom]

I've always done the debit card. You just make sure you have all of the payments from everyone before you submit. I deposit checks/cash right away. I do try to keep at least $50-100 "buffer" in the account at all times, should a check take longer to come back as bounced. For those rare instances where I haven't received a payment yet, I would only submit if I was having the show shipped to me, or if the host paid. I don't pay for them myself. The only time I'd have "non-payment" would be for outside orders or catalog shows and then I just tell the host to collect the payments made out to HER, and the host then pays with her own credit/debit card.It's a different routine, but not too hard. With online banking these days, it's alot easier to keep an eye on things too.

 

[Ginger428]

I've always done the debit card. You just make sure you have all of the payments from everyone before you submit. I deposit checks/cash right away. I do try to keep at least $50-100 "buffer" in the account at all times, should a check take longer to come back as bounced.

For those rare instances where I haven't received a payment yet, I would only submit if I was having the show shipped to me, or if the host paid. I don't pay for them myself. The only time I'd have "non-payment" would be for outside orders or catalog shows and then I just tell the host to collect the payments made out to HER, and the host then pays with her own credit/debit card.

It's a different routine, but not too hard. With online banking these days, it's alot easier to keep an eye on things too.

not when you're doing 8-10 shows a month & also ordering more supplies! Also ALL of my problems with guests have been Debit Cards!! I HATE them, these women walk around thinking they have 1000s in their acct & when you try to track them down, they never respond!! just my experience. In 6 years with PC I have had 1 bad check!

 

[esavvymom]

not when you're doing 8-10 shows a month & also ordering more supplies! Also ALL of my problems with guests have been Debit Cards!! I HATE them, these women walk around thinking they have 1000s in their acct & when you try to track them down, they never respond!! just my experience. In 6 years with PC I have had 1 bad check!

True...I don't have that problem (yet).

Just curious- those who have been left high and dry without the CC option now...have you guys been emailing HO? There is no reason they can't either let folks use personal CCs or get another CC for themselves. ridiculous really.

 

[ShellBeach]

I'm the one who posted that I used my non-PC personal CC for submitting shows.
I am closing another one this weekend, so I will tell you how it goes. I haven't had to do it in a while because everyone used CC & cash at my last few shows.

To review, how I did it before was I put myself down as a show guest with zero product ordered, and put in my CC details as a payment. I got a yellow warning that totals didn't match or something, but the show went through and all was fine.
( I will note the exact message next time)
AFAIK this isn't against PC rules. What do they care if it's my CC or a guest CC? They are getting paid either way.

Ginger, I agree, debit cards are electronic checks and they might not go through. BUT. At least there is not bounced check charges with them.
I sympathize, doing 8-10 shows a month & also ordering more supplies with just the PC debit card means you're missing out on a lot of CC reward points!

 

[babywings76]

I'm the one who posted that I used my non-PC personal CC for submitting shows.
I am closing another one this weekend, so I will tell you how it goes. I haven't had to do it in a while because everyone used CC & cash at my last few shows.

To review, how I did it before was I put myself down as a show guest with zero product ordered, and put in my CC details as a payment. I got a yellow warning that totals didn't match or something, but the show went through and all was fine.
( I will note the exact message next time)
AFAIK this isn't against PC rules. What do they care if it's my CC or a guest CC? They are getting paid either way.

Ginger, I agree, debit cards are electronic checks and they might not go through. BUT. At least there is not bounced check charges with them.
I sympathize, doing 8-10 shows a month & also ordering more supplies with just the PC debit card means you're missing out on a lot of CC reward points!

I'm submitting a show today and just wanted to be sure I'm doing it right. The guests who paid me by check, I had entered in their payment and put down their check # and such. Is it still fine to have those entered in? Or do they need to be zero'd out and have my cc info in there to cover those amounts?

 

[PamperedK]

I'm another person who thinks of the PC "debit card" as an electronic check. I use this when I get a bunch of checks at the party, and they have time to clear before the host closes.

But lately I've been using a different credit card that has rewards tied to it. I just put my own name down as a guest, with zero product ordered, and charge my credit card for the amount of cash and checks received.

Not sure what blanking out guest payments & adding my card to a guest order would get me, except confusion later?


edited to add: When you finalize using a CC card under your own name, P3 gives a yellow caution about payments not matching. I can't remember the exact wording. Since it isn't a red warning, you can still submit and finalize the show.

PamperedK, I can't remember how things worked in the old PPlus software. I would not want to go through the hassle of deleting all the customer payments! I had no idea Canada didn't have P3 available!

Sorry I totally missed this....but I always made an assumption that it would mess up when you go to balance but it totally doesn't! I never tried it before without deleting the cheque payments because I assumed it wouldn't balance properly.

Thanks!

 

[BethCooks4U]

You would not need to go through and delete the guest check payments. The cc would cover the amount paid in checks and cash to satisfy what PC needs to be paid. It would show an overcharge by guests but it would zero out for the balance due.

 

[Becca_in_MD]

You can use a credit card for supply orders, etc., just not shows.

I think I'm going to go half-way and use my cc for orders that I haven't received payment for and the debit for the ones I have til I get brave enough to use my cc for all checks and cash.

Thanks for the tips, folks!

 

[PamperedK]

You can use a credit card for supply orders, etc., just not shows.

I think I'm going to go half-way and use my cc for orders that I haven't received payment for and the debit for the ones I have til I get brave enough to use my cc for all checks and cash.

Thanks for the tips, folks!

Are you nervous about bouncing cheques?

I created a spreadsheet where I keep track of all cheques / cash received and all credit card payments. I use a different program to track it now but it was helpful just to write everything down so I knew that everything was covered.

I'd highly recommend getting a separate c/c just for business use that's paid off every month. That way you know you're not paying interest on show payments. I've earned over 500 airmiles in the past 2 months.

 

[ShellBeach]

I'm submitting a show today and just wanted to be sure I'm doing it right. The guests who paid me by check, I had entered in their payment and put down their check # and such. Is it still fine to have those entered in? Or do they need to be zero'd out and have my cc info in there to cover those amounts?

Yes, enter the payments from guests like normal. Whether cash, or check and check #. Don't zero anything out - because there's no need to.
You want everything in there the way it really was paid, not all muddled up, right?

When you go the show total payments page, those checks & cash will be showing as "Consultant Amount Due".

The Payments tab in P3 where it shows
Payment Summary:
Show Total: $2000.00 (hahaha)
- Customer Charges: $1000.00
Consultant Amount Due: $1000.00 ( you have entered $1000 cash & checks as usual)
Consultant Payment Entered: $0.00

OK, before the credit card went away, you could choose either the PC debit or the PC credit to enter the $1000 consultant payment.
Now, credit isn't an option so you go put yourself in as a guest with zero orders and a $1000 payment.

That P3 screen changes to this
Payment Summary:
Show Total: $2000.00
- Customer Charges: $2000.00
Consultant Amount Due: $0.00
Consultant Payment Entered: $0.00

Hit finalize and go from there.

 

[ShellBeach]

....I created a spreadsheet where I keep track of all cheques / cash received and all credit card payments.....

I wondered how you were keeping everything straight, deleting the acutal guest payment methods. Well, my way does not require any separate program. It is all there in P3: exactly how the customer paid, and what you put on your credit card.

 

[PamperedK]

I wondered how you were keeping everything straight, deleting the acutal guest payment methods. Well, my way does not require any separate program. It is all there: exactly how the customer paid, and what you put on your credit card.

I don't really care if X customer paid by cheque....I just care that if I put $1000 on my credit card, I have $1000 in cheques to cover it. Pampered Partner won't allow me to add a payment with no order, so I can't do it the way you indicated....so I'm going to have to still do it on a customer's order.eta: how do you all keep track when a host pays for a customer on their order? Do you just do an overage on her card and show no payment for that customer?

 

[ShellBeach]

...
Pampered Partner won't allow me to add a payment with no order, so I can't do it the way you indicated....so I'm going to have to still do it on a customer's order.

eta: how do you all keep track when a host pays for a customer on their order? Do you just do an overage on her card and show no payment for that customer?

That is totally a bummer that you are still stuck with the old software.

edit - the new PC software has a column that shows guest payments all on one page, so you can tell who has or has not paid. One column for "total order" and right next to it, "total paid" so it's easy to see who you need to collect money from.

Exactly, an overage on the host's credit card. For situations where they are going to collect the money from their friend.

 

[babywings76]

I don't really care if X customer paid by cheque....I just care that if I put $1000 on my credit card, I have $1000 in cheques to cover it.

Pampered Partner won't allow me to add a payment with no order, so I can't do it the way you indicated....so I'm going to have to still do it on a customer's order.

eta: how do you all keep track when a host pays for a customer on their order? Do you just do an overage on her card and show no payment for that customer?

Yes, add the amount to the host. I let the host know what the guest's total was, what her total is, and then what the total amount is then that is going on the card. I give the host receipts of the outside orders and her order, so she'll see the amount as being $0 paid on the guest's and will confirm to their friend that that is what's owed.

 

[babywings76]

Yes, enter the payments from guests like normal. Whether cash, or check and check #. Don't zero anything out - because there's no need to.
You want everything in there the way it really was paid, not all muddled up, right?

When you go the show total payments page, those checks & cash will be showing as "Consultant Amount Due".

The Payments tab in P3 where it shows
Payment Summary:
Show Total: $2000.00 (hahaha)
- Customer Charges: $1000.00
Consultant Amount Due: $1000.00 ( you have entered $1000 cash & checks as usual)
Consultant Payment Entered: $0.00

OK, before the credit card went away, you could choose either the PC debit or the PC credit to enter the $1000 consultant payment.
Now, credit isn't an option so you go put yourself in as a guest with zero orders and a $1000 payment.

That P3 screen changes to this
Payment Summary:
Show Total: $2000.00
- Customer Charges: $2000.00
Consultant Amount Due: $0.00
Consultant Payment Entered: $0.00

Hit finalize and go from there.

Okay, great! That's what I was thinking. Just wanted to be sure. Thanks for mentioning doing it this way. I just deposited the checks today, so I'm just nervous to submit a show and risk PC taking out the money and it not all being fully cleared and ready for withdrawal. This covers my butt a little.

 

[PamperedK]

Yes, add the amount to the host. I let the host know what the guest's total was, what her total is, and then what the total amount is then that is going on the card. I give the host receipts of the outside orders and her order, so she'll see the amount as being $0 paid on the guest's and will confirm to their friend that that is what's owed.

Ok that's what I do too. I was just wondering if there was something I was missing in how to keep track.

I honestly am not too concerned about tracking cheque numbers and such - as long as my totals match.

Is there a reason we would need to track cheque numbers?

 

[ShellBeach]

Is there a reason we would need to track cheque numbers?

Only if they bounce

 

[PamperedK]

Only if they bounce

Ok *knock on wood* I've never had that happen in 5 years. I should probably keep better records just in case.

 

[ShellBeach]

The exact warning message that shows up when you go to the Finish tab is this:

There are one or more orders with missing payments or payments that do not equal the total order amount.

It has the yellow triangle with the exclamation point in it.
Severity = Warning; May require attention; Does not prevent finalizing or submitting

Did yours go through OK, Amanda? Mine did. Although this time I was consultant acting as host - I did this in the past when I was NOT the host, but as a guest payment.

 

[babywings76]

Yep, it worked for me. I had a moment of panic at first because I got a weird error that I've never had before and I can't remember it's wording. But it let me try it again and it went through just fine. It didn't go on hold and it's showing as "picking" right now on CC. So I think it's okay. So grateful for your help!

 

[BethCooks4U]

I was concerned about not having the PC credit card but so far I have just been using the debit card for shows. I do have a balance in there right now. If I am short in the account ever I will just enter an additional payment on the host order covering checks and cash payments using my cc. You can have multiple payments on the same order and I think it just makes sense to use the host's screen vs a customer's.

 

[raebates]

I really appreciate your suggestion to put myself in as a guest with no order but a CC payment. I had a few people (people I know well) who ordered things that I'll collect payment for when I deliver them. I added the orders to a recent show and used this method to cover payment for the additional orders. Worked like a charm.