How To Start An ATM Business: 14 Insanely Crucial Steps To Pursue
One of the most liked business ideas is the ATM business; it is considered a business with a passive income source, for one is not required all the time.
How much does an ATM cost?
The costs for an average ATM can vary from $1,000 to $10,000; the revenue can be raised through surcharge fees.
The machine that costs an average price can host four or five daily transactions, allowing for recouping costs.
With time, the profits can be plowed back into the expansion of the ATM business when more machines are purchased.
If you are looking for the process to buy an ATM, you can find it at the end of the article. As an ATM buyer, you will need to go through the same procedure.
If you are keen enough to know how to start an ATM business, this article will explain all the crucial steps you need to take in order to set up a successful ATM business.
14 Step-by-Step Guide On Starting An ATM Business
Is the ATM business dying? Arguably, such an ATM business is an advantageous business venture.
Planning an ATM business should be done with a lot of precaution and critical execution because of the hard work it demands before achieving great success.
Look at the keys below on how to start a successful ATM business.
1. Decide A Name For Your ATM Business
Give the ATM business a catchy, easy-to-remember name. Make sure the name is available by dropping it across all trademark databases and all state registration lists.
Consider a suitable domain name. Keep the name simple and easy to remember, pronounce, and spell. Think about marketing and decide on a name that contributes to the brand you will be building with your ATM business.
This way, the brand will be relevant and be remembered even after years of your business life.
2. Curate Your ATM Business Plan
The business plan for the ATM will undoubtedly be essential to understand the market and strategy.
Some elements it probably had to contain are Executive Summary, Company Overview, Industry Analysis, Customer Analysis, and Competitive Analysis.
Anything additionally included in an overall Marketing Plan would consist of the 4Ps, that is, the Product, Price, Promotions, and Place.
An Operations Plan would contain the key processes, needs for staffing, and the timeline for growth, with the Management Team comprising the details.
The Financial Plan will offer sales and revenue projections, a cash flow statement, and an expense budget.
The plan should also be in a position to spell out start-up costs and income generation, the projected sales and expenses for the next five years, and whether, for instance, there will be a necessity for funds to be able to start a business.
The plan should proffer, sometimes, an unmistakable outline of the background of the management staff and financial projections of the company.
3. Pick Up The Legal Structure
Now, some of the most common structures used in starting an ATM business include the sole proprietorship, the partnership, the LLC, the C-Corp, and the S-Corp.
Among all, a sole proprietorship is the most straightforward and the cheapest, the partnership is quite common, and the liabilities are joint.
LLCs have the flexibility, pass-through taxation, and limited personal liability of C corporations—limited liability at the expense of double taxation.
Consult your attorney for the best possible legal structure of your business.
4. Stress On Startup Funding
You may have realized, in creating your ATM business plan, that you do need to raise money to take your business from the dream stage to the launch stage.
Essential sources of financing that businesses, like that of the ATM venture, may consider in this case include personal savings, family and friends, credit card financing, bank loans, crowdfunding, and angel investors.
One starts the business and is also more likely to give capital to it, based on the reason that he or she believes its growth potential is genuinely excellent.
5. Finalize Locations For The ATM Machines
Following are some considerations you need to make when looking for a location for your ATM business. You have to find a place that will serve the customers who come to this place.
Ensure the office space is quite accessible and very open with enough parking area. You also want to consider that you can operate in the area at a reasonable cost.
Typical places where ATMs are located include convenience stores, retail stores, bars, filling or petrol stations, supermarkets, and even pharmacies.
6. Get Your ATM Business Registered With the IRS
Then, you will have to register your business with the IRS, which eventually provides you with an EIN issued by the IRS.
Most banks require that you have an EIN to open up an account. If you intend to hire employees, you must have an EIN since that is again required for the IRS to track your payroll tax payments.
Note that as a sole proprietor who does not have employees, you generally don’t have to have an EIN. Instead, you will use your social security number, rather than your EIN, as your taxpayer ID number.
7. Open A Merchant Account In the Bank
Firstly, you must open a bank account in the name of your ATM business. The procedure is as follows:
Find a bank you want to visit and get in touch with them.
Source and submit required documents, typically including your company’s Articles of Incorporation, driver’s license or passport, and proof of address.
Complete the bank application form with all details. Meet with a banker, explain your needs to the business, and build a relationship.
8. Acquire A Merchant Credit Card
A business credit card is a must for your ATM business if you want to keep business and personal expenses separate. Again, you can apply for a business credit card from the bank or from a credit card company.
The bank or the credit card company will need information regarding your business. Approved business credit cards can help you build a credit history that might well support you in getting the funds through business loans and credit lines.
9. Get The Necessary Business Permits And Licenses
It will require your license from the ATM company along with the local license requirements that go with it, your zoning codes, etc. Each state is going to require their license and license needs.
Other licenses may be required for the alcoholic beverage business, a signed license from the Department of Transportation, and shoreline substantial development.
State, county, and city licenses are required for ATM businesses, depending on their nature.
10. Acquire Your Business Insurance
Own and operate an ATM business. Consider the risks, such as in your community, for instance, the high rate of crime or rental. Purchase a liability policy to cover you for litigations to be expected.
General liability policy: This has to do with an injury on a person’s property, injuries to workers, or a workers’ compensation policy in case of an injury at the workplace with related medical bills. Run over different policies with an insurer.
11. Lease Or Buy an ATM Machine & Appropriate Equipment
How to own an ATM?
If you want to get into an ATM business, this is the setup you will need: ATMs, computer, internet line, phone line, scanner, square reader, processing account, cash notes in different currencies, one security camera, safe, passport, tools for the routine maintenance of the equipment, and one alarm system.
How to buy an ATM machine?
A few steps are required to acquire a cash withdrawal device. The type of machine you need is first.
You should research reputable manufacturers or dealers. Installation and training costs can be included in the quote.
12. Curate Your Marketing Materials
Your ATM business only needs a well-designed logo, a professional site, and a social media account to advertise and retain customers. A good design for your logo increases awareness and customer trust.
Professional websites portray your products, history, and contact with your customers. Social media accounts make customers find you easily.
13. Purchase And Configure The Required Software
The software required to run the business of an ATM includes a point-of-sale system and a back-office system.
The running point-of-sale system encompasses the system interface made by the customers. Joint general-running ATM businesses in use include Zenith and Wincor Nixdorf.
Software for the back office, on the other hand, captures the data regarding the ATM transactions and can report the account balances and transactions.
SunGard software: Does software like Velocity conduct back-office functions like cash management, accounting, and an audit trail?
Mainly, the software, that directly operates the ATMs, is Windows-based. These Windows-based software are to be integrated with the back-office software.
14. Announce “We Are Now Open”
You are now ready to go out and start an ATM machine business. Following the above, you should be in great shape to build a successful ATM business.
A side note: If you are excited to get into this ATM machine business but not start from scratch, you can go ahead and opt for an ATM business for sale.
May You Like Also: How To Create A Vending Machine Business Plan: Important Steps To Follow
Key Takeaways
How to start an ATM business?
If you are planning to take the strategic decision of setting up an ATM business, you might as well go in for solid software, perhaps SunGard’s Velocity.
It will be there for you to carry out your operations effectively with exact cash management, progressive accountancy, and reliable audit trails—all nowadays seen as novelties in this kind of market.
With these systems in place, you can quickly go ahead with your ATM business.
You’re not just honing your entrepreneurship skills but almost guaranteeing yourself success in a fantastic, booming ATM business, all by following the way things are supposed to be.
We wish you all the best of luck with your new and exciting project.
You May Like Also: