The BuckStops with the Business Owner.
Early January 2022 I updated my square system. What I didn’t realize is that there was a problem with the update. In February I was hearing this voice (you know the one that you should be listening too!)… but my personal life was so busy, and I didn’t stop to listen. (So many lessons learned with this experience - always stop to listen to the voice). Early March I sat down at my kitchen table and started looking through my sales/square deposits….and quickly realized a huge problem.
For some reason some CC sales were processed as cash, while some were processed as a CC. I have used square for the past 10 years and I have NEVER used it for cash sales. So I know if it ran as cash it was a CC that was processed incorrectly. It was a pretty brutal afternoon with totally the dollar amount that was processed incorrectly. After several conversations with square they told me it was user error and there was nothing they could do to help me. (Insert crying, naughty words, freak out)
Two options were available…lie on the floor and cry or try to gather those funds back. The next days were spent cross referencing every sale and tracking down the purchasers. As of today I am still out $1,500. (which is so much money but significantly better than the original dollar amount).
Also I posted on my social media accounts what had happened….and I ams BEYOND grateful for everyone who reached out to me and made their payment. Because it processed as cash customers did not show anything on their statements either. Many people I spoke with told me they don’t check their statements, so they never noticed that they were not charged.
Trust me….I spent the next 10 days beating myself up. How could I be so irresponsible, how could I not listen to that voice, how can I think I’m a good business owner….and the really tough questions you can be asking yourself. I’m trying to get to the point where I can embrace we all make mistakes, and a lot of funds have been recovered…but it’s a bitter pill to swallow.
The recovery of funds would never have happened if people hadn’t reached out to me, people were understanding and gracious, people paid, shared my stories and posts about this issue. I’ve only had one person be unkind and not make the payment, but there is always one right. And not going to lie that person/conversation lived in my head way too long (but when you are already beating yourself up…it’s like being kicked when you are down). I am embracing that is all on them, and embracing the good people in this situation.
Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen to you/your business:
Check every transaction to make sure if was a CC icon and not a cash icon
Set your email up to receive a message that you have a payment
Remove all the payment possibilities, on all devices, to receive CC or manual CC only
Cross check daily, or at the least weekly, sales to deposits
Store cameras - mine are motion detected, so I made some changes so store time will get more coverage (for that one person who says they paid cash)
Mark every slip as CC or Cash or PayPal
Override the system and require a signature on every CC transaction.
Put names/numbers/any information that will help you after the fact
Get to know your customers so if/when you have a problem they will help
LISTEN TO THE VOICE THAT SOMETHING IS WRONG
Following this I had an opportunity to apply for a small-business grant. Those funds allowed me to purchase an independent system for square. Even though it is a stand-alone machine I will still be double checking any updates for glitches. Certainly grateful for the timing of this gift.
I own this small business, therefore I own the mistakes. And I’m working on giving myself grace. And I hope my sharing of this helps you run your small business better.
Blessings, Joyce
