SumUp Review - Can It Help You Run Smooth Transactions?

What Is SumUp?

SumUp is an app-based payment platform for easy online and point-of-sale transactions. It charges a flat fee for card payments with no contractual obligations. The app lets you process transactions with nothing more than a smartphone, while the SumUp card reader range offers solutions for all types of customer-facing businesses.

SumUp currently serves over 30 countries and has grown to more than 3.5 million merchants. All its card readers cost less than $100, making it suitable for low-volume sales. 

With that in mind, let’s see if it’s right for you.

How Does SumUp Work?

Anyone can sign up on SumUp and start accepting card payments for a flat fee. That said, users must be verified and there is an additional business bank account available via application.

Unlike other providers, most of the features are reserved for the iOS and Android app, with limited options on the web-based dashboard.

Other than the card readers, remote payments work by generating and sharing simple payment web links and QR codes. Additionally, online invoices can be sent to customers or vendors.

The transactions are sent through the cloud, resulting in instant sales figures. SumUp then makes payouts to your designated bank account within 3 working days.

The business bank account comes with a Mastercard and speeds up payouts.

App Features

We’ve carried out SumUp reviews of each core feature you’ll find in the app.

Accept Payments Anywhere

SumUp is suitable for accepting payments online, in-store, and at events or pop-up locations. Its card readers are highly portable. They can either pair with your smartphone or connect to the internet by themselves with the app features built-in. 

Alternatively, you can manually capture customer info and process transactions using just the app itself. For example, taking an order over the phone or invoicing for online payment at a later date.

Orders are made on the fly or from your inventory, which supports unlimited items and variations. Keep these for POS or display them via the online store feature.

Payment Links

Payment links make it easy to accept SumUp payments remotely or when you don’t have additional hardware. You can send links in an email, SMS, messaging app, or via your social media accounts. As with any link, you can also put it on your website.

Using the SumUp app, simply enter the amount to charge, tap the Payment Links options, and choose how you want to share the link. 

The QR code feature is particularly useful in face-to-face transactions when you don’t have a card reader or cash till. You can generate the code on your phone and pass it to the customer to scan. Running an event? Print out the code for scanning on entry.

Whichever way the customer receives the link, they simply enter their payment information, and the transaction is complete.

Invoices

The app offers unlimited invoices that can be shared with customers or vendors via a simple email or link. The options include a payment link and a QR code for quick payment. The step-by-step creation process ensures you adhere to tax rates and legal regulations, while including your logo and business info.

Numbering and calculations are done for you, and payments are linked with the invoice, so you never lose track.

It would have been even more helpful if reminders were automated, but you can resend the invoice manually. Sorting by unpaid invoices makes this easier. Moreover, notifications let you know when you receive a SumUp payment.

Receipts

SumUp’s customer receipts are generated whether the sale is online or in-person and can be printed with a cloud-enabled printer.

When a customer pays online, over the phone, or via a card reader without a printer, the receipt is given its own link within the confirmation email or SMS. 

Receipts can be toggled on or off within the app. Moreover, there’s an option to include tax info. Alternatively, when taking a payment at the point-of-sale, simply tap ‘Send Receipt’ and it will go straight to the customer’s inbox. There is also a ‘Share’ button that enables you to send the receipt link via messaging apps like WhatsApp. 

Virtual Terminal

Virtual SumUp terminal lets you securely process card payments over the phone without a card reader. Turn the setting on and you can use it from the mobile app or web dashboard on the desktop. 

The 4-step process involves: 

• opening the Terminal page
• entering the customer’s payment info
• inputting the price
• and hitting the charge button

This makes it much easier to take remote payments or payments without a card reader because you do not have to send payment links.

Gift Cards

Gift cards are a great way to drum up sales. You can create these without an online store and share them through social media and other channels. Much like payment links, it only takes a few taps on the app to generate a gift card link. There is no additional SumUp fee for selling gift cards.

At the moment these are digital-only, but there’s nothing necessarily stopping you from printing out your own designs with the link. 

You have full control over the value of each card and there does not have to be an expiration date.

The gift card feature is available to most merchants, excluding: 

• marketing or sales services
• the auto industry
• travel
• insurance
• internet
• telecoms
• and a few others

This is due to legal regulations.

Staff Accounts

SumUp is viable for sole traders and larger businesses thanks to staff accounts. It allows three permission levels for viewing transactions, refunding transactions, and access to the virtual terminal if activated.

Sales performance is monitored from the parent account, which can sort transactions based on the staff member that processed them. 

Reporting

In this SumUp review, we checked the reporting, which is basic. However, the essentials are here. You can view and sort reports by time frame and easily export them with one tap.

• Sales Reports – View sales data based on quantity sold, payment method, and tax category.
• Online Store Reports – View all sales made via the online store feature.
• Revenue Reports – View revenue data based on the timeframe, individual product or service, payment method, and staff member.
• Payout Reports – View SumUp payouts and transaction fees.
• Fees – View monthly transaction fee totals.

All that’s lacking is the ability to integrate SumUp with your favorite accounting software, though it’s halfway there with CSV exports. 

Business Account

Though it’s not required to accept payments, the business bank account offers several advantages. Firstly, you get next working day payouts to keep your revenue accessible. You can also separate business and personal finances for easier accounting. The account is free and doesn’t charge any transfer fees to any account in the same currency.

You also get a Mastercard SumUp provides for debit transactions. This gives you instant access to your funds at any ATM withing the AllPoint Network and you can make in-store purchases, be that business supplies or otherwise.

As soon as you open the account, its features are available from within the SumUp app. You can check your balance, make transfers, and download PDF statements.

Ease of Use and Interface

The SumUp app is clean and responsive, whether on a smartphone, tablet, or one of the standalone card readers. Registering and setting up takes no longer than 10 minutes.

SumUp reviews on Google Play and the Apple Store are 2.8/5 and 2.9/5 respectively. While these are mediocre scores, they point to several past bugs that appear to have been ironed out with newer updates.

On mobile, the home screen is condensed, displaying larger icons for: 

• your business account
• invoices
• online store
• and payment links

Below are smaller links to: 

• the inventory
• QR codes
• virtual terminal
• gift cards
• reports
• and more 

You’ll find the ‘Checkout’ button to perform a transaction at the bottom, alongside a ‘Sales’ button to see previous transactions.

On the tablet and the desktop web dashboard, you are greeted with an overview of daily, weekly, monthly, and average sales figures. In the same window, you can also see your last payout. The rest of the features are listed in a left-hand menu. 

Further settings are easily found by tapping your profile picture at the top. Here you can configure: 

• your accepted payment methods
• staff sub-accounts
• tax rates
• tipping
• and whether or not you want to enable receipt printing

The app is well-designed, and it doesn’t take long to find what you need. 

SumUp Card Readers

SumUp provides its own range of card readers to facilitate in-person transactions. These are sold at a one-off price. You are only charged per transaction. Explore our SumUp card reader reviews below for each device.

SumUp Solo

SumUp Solo is a sleek and modern touchscreen card reader that you can take anywhere. It contains a SIM card with unlimited data and connects to Wi-Fi if you prefer. The SumUp app is built in. Just keep the USB charging station on hand and you’re good to go.

All you have to do is log in via the main account (or a staff account) and tap the product you want to sell. You can also charge an amount manually for a one-off sale by tapping ‘Checkout’ straight away. Add a quick description to identify the transaction later. 

Then, flip the reader around for the customer to make a payment using a contactless card, Google Pay, or Apple Pay. 

If tipping is turned on, the customer can tap one of the recommended amounts or enter a sum of their own choosing.

Once a transaction is complete, you can send a digital receipt if the customer provides their email or phone number.

Pick up the Solo for $99.

SumUp Plus

The SumUp Plus card payment reader is the cheapest card reader directly from SumUp. It costs $35 on its own or $49 with a Cradle charging dock. It connects to the app via your smart device to facilitate transactions. In the UK and other regions, it’s branded as SumUp Air.

The device itself has a small display that shows the payment total and related prompts. The customer taps the display for contactless payments, including Google and Apple Pay.

The reader is charged by micro-USB outside of the Cradle and can handle at least 500 transactions when fully juiced.

All other features are handled via your paired iOS or Android smart device. This includes digital receipts, refunds, tipping, etc. 

The connection must be maintained via Bluetooth.

Receipt Printing

Cloud printing lets merchants print physical receipts via the SumUp app and compatible printers. This includes Google Cloud Print and Apple AirPrint. 

Customer Support

You can contact SumUp customer support by direct email at [email protected] and by clicking the support link in the app. While its lack of live web chat is a bit of a letdown, it’s nice to see phone support available. However, lines are only open Monday to Friday, during working hours. 

There is also an extensive help center in multiple languages. This covers all conceivable topics, from signing up to the fine details of each card reader. 

If you can’t find what you’re looking for by browsing the categories, the search bar does a good job.

SumUp Pricing

SumUp has three flat pricing elements for all merchants with less than $10,000 in monthly revenue. These cover in-person, remote/online, and invoicing-based transactions. There is no free trial. 

• 2.75% per in-person card payment.
• 3.25% + $0.15 for online, virtual terminal, mobile payments, and gift cards.
• 2.90% + $0.15 for invoice payments.

All card readers come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The SumUp credit card reader app is free.

If you generate over $10,000 in revenue each month, you can negotiate a custom rate with the sales team.

SumUp Review – Verdict

SumUp has a lot going for it for small businesses that want to quickly accept card payments. It’s affordable, with almost no setup costs and no monthly fees or contracts. Its app and card readers also have a very low learning curve.

However, its simplicity is also its main drawback. The online store is as basic as they come, and the app does not have accounting, CRM, or integrations to be your main business solution.