[08rookie]

would you rather be a business owner who gets paid entirely in cash or entirely in credit card/check/verifiable income?!

do the pros or cons outweigh one another in either situation?!

[OC Guy]

Cash is King. Hello income taxes.

[BTM]

Cash. I know of restaurants (not excessively shady or unestablished ones at that) that are converting to cash only.

[Freakazoid]

Cash is always better...*always* there's no instance where credit is better than cash if you're a business owner.

However, for most business you have to accept credit, as it's become the major form of currency.

As BTM mentioned above, lots of businesses are attempting to convert to cash only. the amount of overhead associated with credit is mind boggling.

[08rookie]

getting a mortgage is a little difficult though...for future purchasing power w2 need to be healthy....

[BTM]

Originally Posted by 08rookie

getting a mortgage is a little difficult though...for future purchasing power w2 need to be healthy....

Accepting cash doesn't necessarily mean you're fucking around with your reported income, while you can, there are other benefits as Freakazoid mentioned. I know, for the business I work for takes both cash and check. 99.9% of revenue is check, and most cash gets deposited unless it's for something weird like scrap metal for which the owners/partners just split. We don't accept CC because of the overhead necessary to do so and there isn't much demand for our customers to pay with credit.

Legally, you must report all income no matter what the form, so if you follow this to the letter your W2 will look the same no matter what forms of payment you accept.

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by BTM

Accepting cash doesn't necessarily mean you're fucking around with your reported income, while you can, there are other benefits as Freakazoid mentioned. I know, for the business I work for takes both cash and check. 99.9% of revenue is check, and most cash gets deposited unless it's for something weird like scrap metal for which the owners/partners just split. We don't accept CC because of the overhead necessary to do so and there isn't much demand for our customers to pay with credit.

Legally, you must report all income no matter what the form, so if you follow this to the letter your W2 will look the same no matter what forms of payment you accept.

exactly... I'm not even including 'fudging the numbers' as part of the benefit of cash.

Google the fees/costs associated with accepting American Express....and that's only one of several points.

[Kroy]

Originally Posted by Freakazoid

exactly... I'm not even including 'fudging the numbers' as part of the benefit of cash.

Google the fees/costs associated with accepting American Express....and that's only one of several points.

+1 merchant fees are a bitch.

[coh4777]

All else being equal cash is better. More "flexibility" in doing your IRS returns and credit card fees leak a lot of profitability out of a business. On the other hand, you could argue that accpeting other forms of payment could increase your transaction volume. The reality is that more and more people are using their credit cards for everyday purchases. I know I do because it is quicker to get through the register.

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by coh4777

All else being equal cash is better. More "flexibility" in doing your IRS returns and credit card fees leak a lot of profitability out of a business. On the other hand, you could argue that accpeting other forms of payment could increase your transaction volume. The reality is that more and more people are using their credit cards for everyday purchases. I know I do because it is quicker to get through the register.

other forms of payment drastically increases your transactions... unfortunately for business owners.

fortunately from a consumer point of view, it means a lot more protection, benefits etc.

[b0bab0i]

Originally Posted by Freakazoid

Cash is always better...*always* there's no instance where credit is better than cash if you're a business owner.

However, for most business you have to accept credit, as it's become the major form of currency.

As BTM mentioned above, lots of businesses are attempting to convert to cash only. the amount of overhead associated with credit is mind boggling.

What if you constantly get robbed at gunpoint?

[E92-Lighting]

cash is king, what a famous saying

[Kroy]

Originally Posted by benmoooon

What if you constantly get robbed at gunpoint?

If you're constantly being robbed, then you must be doing something wrong. Bump up security or carry a gun. Problem solved.

[dcgolfdr]

As a business owner you have to accept all forms of payment. No one carries cash, some people write checks but most use a credit or debit card. As other have mentioned merchant fees do cut into profits but it is a part of doing business. Also as a business owner there are many tax incentives in place from the govt. Work with a good accountant who understands the everchanging tax laws, take advantage of the laws in place and pay less tax the legal way. Didn't GE or a company similar not pay any tax this past year? It wasn't because they only took cash.

[Feyd]

+1 on finding a good acct. A good CPA with decent tax planning skills is worth their weight in gold (sometimes much more).

A wise man once told me: "It is't how much you make... it's how much you get to keep."

[wj4]

Originally Posted by dcgolfdr

As a business owner you have to accept all forms of payment. No one carries cash, some people write checks but most use a credit or debit card. As other have mentioned merchant fees do cut into profits but it is a part of doing business. Also as a business owner there are many tax incentives in place from the govt. Work with a good accountant who understands the everchanging tax laws, take advantage of the laws in place and pay less tax the legal way. Didn't GE or a company similar not pay any tax this past year? It wasn't because they only took cash.

There are a couple of restaurants I really like, but don't frequent as much because they only take cash. I rarely have any cash on me at all so when I'm hungry...I really don't want to stop by an ATM prior.

A con (albeit not a big one) of taking cash only is that it increases the possibility of getting fake bills. The places that only take cash mentioned earlier told me that they have been victims of such crime. Primary with fake $20 bills.