Let’s talk about card-op laundry payment

If you’re feeling stuck in a rut; tracking down laundry route operators, dealing with bags filled with dirty quarters, and paying for the maintenance of old coin slot laundry payment systems—it may be time to re-think your laundry payment setup.

Card-operated payment for laundry equipment isn’t a new solution. In fact, the concept has been around for many years. Yet many card-op systems of the past have been clunky, hard-to-manage, and unreliable.

Today, a few of the leading companies in laundry payment management have perfected their payment products for maximum usability, reliability, and ease of use. These state-of-the-art products and services provide valuable benefits to residents and property managers alike.

While there are an untold amount of reasons for switching to a card-op laundry system, if you’re a property manager that currently has all coin-op laundry machines, here are seven benefits to implementing a coinless payment system in your laundry room:

1. Save time, money and gain peace of mind with a hybrid card/coin-operated laundry payment system

Collecting the coins from each machine in your facilities is a time-consuming business. Even if you pay a laundry route to do it, that’s still money out of your pocket. And unfortunately, there are still the security risks that coin-operated machines present, as well as the uncertainty of how much is actually being collected.

Hybrid card-op laundry payment allows you to audit the amount of both coin and card sales in each of your machines. As your money boxes near capacity, you can be alerted by email and schedule the right time to have them emptied.

Plus, with an accurate system of accounting for your machines, you know that your collections are being correctly deposited. Hybrid coin-and-card systems allow you to take the worry and complexity out of dealing entirely with coins alone and save you precious time.

Ready to eliminate coins all together? No problem. The same hybrid coin-and-card equipment can be also configured to accept cards only.

Automate your collections and simplify your laundry room. Turn your two hour routine of collecting every quarter from multiple machines into a smooth five minute detail.

2. You don’t have to buy all new machines, retrofit your current machines to accept cards

Adding a digital card-op laundry payment solution does not always mean you have to replace your existing laundry equipment. In most cases, if your laundry equipment has a computerized timer or utilizes a coin drop rather than a coin slide, they are already compatible with card systems.

Payment retrofitting allows you to turn your existing laundry facilities into lean, card-operated, profit-making machines.

3. Regulate vend price incrementally

Let’s face it, the utilities needed to run a washer and dryer are not free, and gas, water, and electricity prices fluctuate daily. Having the ability to remotely change the vend price based on your utility costs will ensure that your laundry room maintains an ample profit margin.

If you make the move to card-op laundry payment for your machines, you can also stop vending your equipment in 25 cent price increments. Raising your vend prices a few pennies per cycle will have a major impact on your gross sales and often will cost justify the investment in the system in just a short time frame.

4. Access your machines remotely from any internet-enabled device

Payments are received and deposited over the internet for most laundry payment services. You can remotely view sales reports and usage statistics, as well as your systems’ statuses. These features can all be accessed from your mobile device, PC, or Mac computer in your office or at home.

5. Your residents will love it

When’s the last timed you had more than a dollar in quarters in your pocket? Now, vending machines, fast food, and even your cup of coffee, can be paid via plastic.

Many of your residents will be relieved to have the option to pay for their laundry with a debit or credit card. And if some of your residents want to pay with cash, a hybrid card-and-coin-op option with an attendant loyalty card will suit their needs.

Better yet—with the FasCard app, your residents can use their smartphones to pay for their washes and view their machine’s status in real-time from anywhere. They can see which machines are in use and when new ones will become available. And, once they get their laundry started they can ask the system to notify them when their cycles are nearly complete!

6. Eliminate refunds and start equipment remotely

Ever get call from a hostile resident who just lost their quarters in one of your washers or dryers? How much time and money does it cost you to deal with a failed $2.00 wash cycle that’s failed? With cloud-based, connected digital payment systems, you can send a remote start to any machine and resolve a tenant complaint instantly. It only takes one quarter to jam one of your machines—don’t let twenty-five cents cost you hours of productivity.

7. Don’t want to accept credit cards? Try a loyalty card

Adding a card system does not mean you have to accept credit and debit cards. Alternatively, you can distribute what what are referred to as “loyalty cards” and have your tenants add funds to them with cash or through a rent adjustment.  

This option eliminates the need to pay merchant processing fees and still gives you the flexibility to manage and control your laundry room. Loyalty cards can be reloaded via a metal kiosk located in the laundry room or in a secure area near your office.

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Managing a multi-housing building isn’t easy. Turn the burden of dealing with your laundry room into a breeze with our premium whitepaper, “Must Know Tips on Managing a Multi-Unit Laundry Room”.

Card Concepts Inc. (CCI) offers high quality card-operated laundry payment solutions through our LaundryCard system, hybrid coin-and-card operated solutions through the FasCard system, and many more options for the self-service laundry industry, including:

• Secure touch screen kiosks
• Loyalty programs
• Marketing resources
• Wireless data tracking

Give us a call today at 1 (866) 860-1660 and let our experts tailor fit the best solution for your laundry payment needs.

Recent technological innovations introduced by machine manufacturers and Card Concepts Inc. provide laundromat owners and operators unprecedented freedom to manage their businesses from locations of their choosing. By providing access via the Internet to a comprehensive overview of the operational status of a laundromat, the LaundryCard and FasCard solutions empower owners to oversee every facet of their business from the convenience of their mobile devices.

Coinless Operation

Whereas the need to collect coins from machines requires employees or owners to make frequent trips to a laundromat, multi-unit building or facility, the introduction by machine manufacturers of coinless laundry payment systems permits longer intervals between servicing. Not only does coinless payment reduce the demand to employ onsite help, but it also facilitates greater recordkeeping accuracy and automation.

LaundryCard by CCI leverages this new technology by substituting networked card readers in the place of mechanical coin receivers.

Customers purchase a reusable loyalty card with cash or credit card from a card kiosk. Each coinless cycle transaction is recorded automatically, permitting effortless online analysis with LaundryCard’s application. And because money collection in centralized at loyalty card kiosks, collecting the cash is a quick and painless procedure that may save hours of owner labor.

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Smart Cloud-Based Monitoring

Simplified payment collection is only one of many advantages of the LaundryCard and FasCard solutions. Remote monitoring from a smart phone, tablet or PC of machines in use or in need of repair allows owners to schedule maintenance whenever necessary. Owners can also respond in real-time to periods of slow activity by adjusting rates and offering customers discounts with the digital laundry payment systems that CCI offers.

Not only do these smart card laundry systems help eliminate the burden of collecting physical monies, they both also have more subtle advantages.

For example, if a laundromat or multi-housing building does still utilize coin mechanisms, FasCard monitors the level of coin boxes so that owners can arrange for a pickup and then follows up with a confirmation email when collections are completed. LaundryCard even helps owners manage their employees by automatically recording hours worked and reminding staff of tasks needing completion. With remote control of so many crucial operational factors, owners can devote their time to other pursuits from anywhere Internet is available.

Other Remote Management Resources

Coinless laundry payment and remote monitoring with LaundryCard and FasCard provide the essential oversight needed to maintain off-site supervision, but other technological luxuries contribute to the ease of remote management.

Many applications and online tools offer owners helpful resources that simplify the routine tasks of running a business from afar. The additional complexity involved in managing a laundromat from off-site demands extra attention to detail and high levels of organization from owners, and a few tools can help them keep track of key aspects of the business.

Because owners monitor remotely, it’s important that all management resources are cloud-based and accessible from the Internet. Owners interested in remote management should consider incorporating the following applications into their management routines:

• Dropbox – An excellent file-sharing resource that allows users to transmit and store large files online.
• Google Docs – A good online method for sharing and editing essential business documents with employees or co-investors.
• QuickBooks Online – The online version of the popular small business accounting software allows owners to tie directly into their bank accounts and manage finances anywhere Internet is available.
• Breeze – Online project management application that helps coordinate tasks, track progress and organize priorities.

Potential investors seeking opportunities that allow them ample time to commit to other jobs or pursuits will discover that industry experts such as CCI provide easy and secure remote management solutions. Combined with widely available project management and accounting tools, these resources make an already proven business model an ideal option for off-site management.

For a more in-depth treatment of managing laundry rooms and laundromats both in store and remotely, download our free whitepaper, Must Know Tips on Managing a Multi-Unit Laundry Room.