New Business Card Payments: A First 90 Days Checklist

Days 1 to 14: set up the business

The IRS says that if you are creating a corporation or LLC, you should form the entity through your secretary of state before applying for an EIN, or the application may be delayed. An EIN is free: the IRS says you never have to pay a fee for one and warns about websites that charge. Its online tool issues the number immediately if the application is approved, must be completed in one session, is available at set hours, and allows one EIN per responsible party per day. The tool is for organizations formed in the US or US territories with a principal place of business there; others apply by phone, fax or mail. The IRS says you generally need an EIN to hire employees or operate a partnership or corporation, among other reasons.

Check beneficial ownership reporting

FinCEN's page, updated August 11, 2026, says a final rule effective August 14, 2026 makes US companies exempt from beneficial ownership information reporting, so they are no longer required to file BOI reports. Only certain foreign companies registered to do business in the US must report, and they do not report US persons. FinCEN also warns of scams: it has no Form 4022 or Form 5102, charges no fee to file BOI, and does not send correspondence requesting payment. Separately, banks and payment providers still ask about owners when you open accounts, as our application checklist explains.

Open a business bank account

The SBA advises opening a business bank account as soon as you start accepting or spending money as your business, saying it helps you stay legally compliant and protected. Your card deposits need somewhere to land, and a separate account keeps processing deposits, refunds and fees apart from personal spending, which makes the first reconciliations far easier.

Days 15 to 30: choose a provider and read the agreement

Visa requires an acquirer, or a payment facilitator for its sponsored merchants, to have a merchant agreement with each merchant. That agreement must require you to follow applicable laws, comply with Visa's rules on acceptance, risk and processing, and not knowingly submit illegal transactions, and it must include Visa's right to limit or terminate the agreement. Beyond those required terms, read the ones that set your costs and exit: pricing, term and renewal, early termination, equipment ownership or lease, reserves and funding timing. Our guides to payment facilitators and early termination fees explain those clauses.

Use one name everywhere

Visa's merchant name rule requires the name that identifies you to be the name you primarily use with customers, shown at your location or on your website, and spelled the same on receipts, authorizations and clearing records. If your LLC name and your trading name differ, give the provider the trading name for your descriptor so customers recognize the charge.

Days 31 to 45: get your checkout ready

If you sell online, Visa requires your website or app to show a customer service contact, including an email address or phone number, and to display your merchant outlet country within the checkout sequence, not only behind a link. Visa's receipt rules for electronic commerce transactions add your country, online address and conditions of sale, including return and cancellation policy. If you will take deposits or keep cards on file, Visa requires express informed consent to written terms before you store the card, as our card-on-file guide explains. Check which PCI self-assessment questionnaire applies to your setup.

Days 46 to 90: test, reconcile and review

Run a small real sale and a refund on a card you control, and check how both appear on the statement. Match each deposit to the batch that produced it and note the fees. When your first monthly statements arrive, calculate your effective rate and list every fee line you did not expect, then raise them with your provider in writing. Keep records for your bookkeeper, including the Form 1099-K your provider may issue.

A worked example

Illustrative example only, with made-up dates. A new LLC is formed with the state on March 1, gets its EIN online on March 3, opens a business checking account on March 5, applies for card acceptance on March 16 with its trading name, launches its website with contact details and country at checkout on April 10, and on May 20 reviews its first full monthly statement and reconciles every April deposit.