To help small businesses process credit cards outside the office as soon as the job is done, Intuit (Nasdaq:INTU), the maker of QuickBooks, offers Intuit GoPayment, an innovative way to process credit cards on the go. GoPayment helps small businesses improve sales and cash flow by using their mobile phones to accept credit card payments.

GoPayment is affordable and hassle-free. All that's needed is a mobile phone with access to the mobile Web, or the easy-to-download GoPayment application, and an Intuit GoPayment merchant account.

GoPayment is part of Intuit's small business growth strategy to deliver innovative mobile offerings that help entrepreneurs manage their business on the go. As one of its first partners, Intuit is working with Sprint to help small businesses get paid easily and quickly using the GoPayment application on select Sprint phones. Intuit is also working with beeweeb and VeriSign's Messaging and Mobile Media Division, along with others, to deliver innovative mobile offerings.

"With GoPayment, businesses that do work out of the office no longer need to waste time sending and chasing invoices after the job is done," said Chuck Harris, general manager of Intuit's Payment Solutions Division. "And by partnering with Sprint, we're providing those small businesses that rely the most on their mobile devices a much-needed tool, especially now, to increase sales and speed up their cash flow."

Sprint confirms.

"There's no better time for a mobile offering like GoPayment," said Tim Donahue, vice president-business marketing, Sprint. "Partnering with Intuit, we're offering business customers a unique mobile payment solution that is affordable, simple to use and enables them to receive immediate payment for services via our dependable Now Network, which will be critical to helping them survive and thrive in these tough economic times."

Slow Cash Flow - A $33 Billion Bottleneck

Intuit's "Getting Paid" survey* found that the nation's 22 million smallest businesses are waiting for approximately $1,500 in overdue payments each month, creating a collective $33 billion strain on their cash flow.

In this survey, 42 percent of business owners said that they stay up at night worrying about how quickly they'll get paid. At the same time, nearly 40 percent saw an increase in sales after giving customers the option to pay by credit card.

How GoPayment Works

Intuit GoPayment is for business owners who need a hassle-free and affordable way to get paid on the spot. It's ideal for anyone who sells products or services out of the office such as carpet cleaners, plumbers, electricians, photographers and wedding planners.

With GoPayment, there's no need to carry special hardware, such as a wireless terminal, saving thousands of dollars. Business owners can also add multiple employees to a single merchant account at no additional cost. Along with accessing GoPayment via the mobile Web, business owners can also download the GoPayment mobile application to a wide-range of supported handsets.

"We used to write down a customer's credit card number or carry an imprint machine and then process the payment back at the office," said Annette Swerkes, co-owner with husband Vince Swerkes of Paradise Carpet Cleaning in Sunnyvale, Calif. "Now with GoPayment we don't have to wait - it lets us process a payment immediately once we've completed a job. It's also more affordable - with our old system, we used to pay almost 50 percent more each month."

Works With or Without QuickBooks

To monitor transactions, GoPayment users can easily access Intuit's online Merchant Service Center to search, view and create reports. Business owners who use QuickBooks can save time by downloading their transactions from the Merchant Service Center directly into QuickBooks Pro or Premier 2009.

Optional Hardware

Optional Bluetooth hardware makes GoPayment even easier to use. These small and lightweight mobile accessories include a card swipe that automatically reads credit card data, reducing manual entry. In addition, a combination card swipe and printer automatically populates card data and lets business owners give customers a printed receipt on the spot.

Security

Intuit GoPayment uses the same technology (128-bit SSL encryption) as the financial services industry standard to protect information during transmission. Sensitive credit card information is never stored on the handset and each user has a unique login and password to access GoPayment data.

Pricing and Availability

Intuit GoPayment is available for all mobile phones with access to the mobile Web. It's also available as a downloadable native application on a wide-range of popular handsets. For a list of supported handsets and information on optional hardware go to: mobilepayment.intuit.com/supported-phone.php.

GoPayment costs $19.95 a month and requires a one-time merchant account setup fee of $59.95. Transaction pricing is competitive, ranging from 1.64 to 3.54 percent, with no additional fees or long-term contracts. Business owners may cancel at any time. More information is available at: mobilepayment.intuit.com/.