Count on your credit card imprinter

If you process ten or fewer credit card transactions a day, a manual credit card imprinter may be the only means of gathering credit card information you need. Even if you already process credit card transactions electronically, you should still have a manual credit card printer on hand for backup.

I recommend: Maintain a record of how many credit card transactions you process--or could have processed--each day for one month. Then sort through credit card imprinters for sale and eyeball prices on desktop or portable credit card imprinters at Atlantic Bankcard Center and Vantage Card Services, Inc.

Keep your credit card imprinters working for you

Most manual credit card imprinters will last for decades. If yours has been damaged or is no longer imprinting clearly, it should be replaced. If your merchant plate has been lost, damaged or stolen you can also purchase a new merchant plate on its own.

I recommend: Large suppliers of credit card imprinters like Discount Credit Card Machine and USA Merchant Solutions would be glad to sell you merchant plates or replacement credit card imprinters.

Feed your credit card imprinter

Most makers of credit card imprinters sell sales receipts in packets of 100, and that's a good thing for you: Your credit card imprinter won't work without one. Most merchants can use 2-ply slips--one copy for your bank and one for your customer--but if you need to send a copy of the sales to your accounting department, for example, you'll want 3-ply. And don't forget credit slips, which are your means for issuing a refund. You won't need as many of those as of the sales slips, but it's smart to have them on hand just in case.

I recommend: Most suppliers of manual credit card imprinters like Cash Register Tape and PaymentStuff.com stock 2- and 3-ply sales slips and credit slips too.