26. Should you shift credit card fees to your clients? Host Dan Lear makes the case for this controversial practice

Financially Legal

What if I told you there was a tool that could automatically increase your firm revenue by 1%? What about 2%? What about 3%? What about even half a percent? (if you’re not great at doing math on the fly, for a firm that grosses $1,000,000/year, one half a percent is $5000). Law firms that accept electronic payments and implement a cost-shifting technology have an opportunity to dramatically lower their costs and increase revenues. Shifting the costs of payment processing in a consumer-friendly, ethically compliant way or even, simply, strategically deploying lower-cost payment processing methods can result in significant savings for a law firm.

The story of shifting processing fees both in the legal sector and for small businesses, in general, is surprisingly long and tenuous. It wasn’t always the case that businesses could shift processing fees and some places in the country still force small businesses - like law firms - to pay the cost of customers’ airline miles, cashback rewards, and hotel points.

In this episode of Financially Legal host Dan Lear dives into the background on shifting processing fees, how it works and the different ways firms can implement it, and how you can decide whether or not it’s right for your firm. Gravity Legal state-by-state surcharging guide here: https://www.gravity-legal.com/financiallylegal/state-rules-on-charging-clients-a-fee-for-paying-with-credit-cards Surcharging Best Practices: https://www.gravity-legal.com/financiallylegal/feeshiftingbestpractices