Step-by-Step Guide on How to Start Accepting Cryptocurrencies for Your Business

At this stage, you’re probably aware of the benefits of accepting cryptocurrencies for your business, but in case you missed it, we’ve written about it here. Maybe some of you are thinking of integrating a crypto payment gateway into your online businesses or perhaps you’ve just integrated with one. What do you need to do now? We’ve written an easy guide on what you need to set up and do in order for you to handle all your crypto sales appropriately and efficiently. We’ll go through step by step the basics, from setting up your crypto wallet, integrating payment gateways and accounting software, to monitoring transactions as well as a few additional tips to get you on your way.

Step 1 — Set Up a Crypto Wallet (or Safe)

There is a myriad of crypto wallets available, which you can read about each of their pros and cons here. Based on your preferences and requirements we strongly recommend that you choose a wallet that supports the networks and currencies in which you would like your customers to pay you (major currencies in the main networks would be a good starting point). Another point to consider is whether you need a single key or a multi-signature wallet (Multisig). For micro-enterprises or sole proprietary businesses, it is still sufficient to use single key wallets as usually there is only one person who is in charge of the funds and who makes the transactions.

However, as businesses grow larger, having only one person who is in charge of the account might not be a safe way to manage the business funds. There is the risk of that person mismanaging or absconding with the private keys or simply making transaction mistakes. One way to manage this risk is to use a multi-signature wallet, which is a crypto wallet that requires two or more private keys to sign and carry out transactions. This assures that no single person could compromise the funds and also allows for the “maker checker” process to happen. An example of a reliable multisig wallet is the Gnosis Safe which is trusted by large institutions and businesses alike.

Step 2 — Integrate a Crypto Payment Gateway into the Checkout Page

After deciding which crypto payment gateway to use, you need to ensure that it is integrated into your checkout page. If you are still unsure about which to go ahead with, we recommend reading this before making a decision. It’s best to ensure that the crypto payment gateway is easy to use and integrate, offers a seamless customer checkout experience, and allows for instant payouts with the best possible transaction fee to go along with your business needs.

Step 3 — Integrate Crypto Payments With Accounting Software

This part is where a lot of businesses get stuck as they or their accountants are not familiar with how to treat crypto transactions accounting-wise. Fortunately, there are plenty of solution providers to help with this. In most countries, the tax regulators require that businesses report the revenue as gross income based on its fair market value when it was received. In addition to this, tax authorities also consider cryptocurrencies similar to investments (such as stocks and bonds) and could be subject to capital gains taxes (we strongly recommend that you check with your local tax authorities on how each country treats tax on cryptocurrencies). Something to bear in mind with this is that businesses could be subjected to both income tax (from sales revenue) and capital gains tax if the cryptocurrency has increased in value from the time it was received to the point that it is sold.

One way to handle crypto transactions in accounting is to work with a crypto accountant who can assist you with this. However, we do recognise that this field is still new and in some countries, it could be difficult to find one in your business vicinity. In this case, you can use crypto accounting software to make it easier to account for and track crypto transactions. These transactions can then be exported into a CSV file and imported into your preferred accounting software to be integrated into your business accounting reports. Some crypto accounting software even has seamless integrations with traditional accounting software, where transactions are automatically synced. Softwares such as Cryptio, Coinbooks, and Accointing work seamlessly with the likes of Xero and Quickbooks and are worth looking into.

Nevertheless, for smaller businesses with a low number of transactions, it might still be possible to track on spreadsheets and manually input the transactions into the traditional accounting software used. However, this could get tedious and increases margin error as the volume of transactions increases.

Step 4 — Monitoring Sales Transactions

Once all the above steps are set up, you now need to be able to track transactions and the best way to do this is through a comprehensive dashboard. Paywong payment gateway account holders will be given access to an optimised dashboard to help them strategise, simplify, and track their payments and transactions. It is important that you have access to such a dashboard to be able to have a good overview of your business and to monitor it daily.

Additional Steps

In the case that you need to convert your cryptocurrencies into fiat currencies (off-ramping) you might need to connect with third-party providers which offer local payment methods into your traditional bank accounts. You should choose solution providers which are compliant in your country and also one which suits your budget (as there are fees associated with withdrawing cryptocurrencies and transferring them into your bank account). One of the more popular solution providers is XanPool which offers localised payment methods instead of using expensive credit cards or wire transfers.

About Paywong

With Paywong, anyone can accept crypto payments, including stablecoins, from anywhere in the world with low transaction fees, with or without a website. The startup is also working with a third-party off-ramp solution to allow its users to convert crypto to fiat in real-time. Paywong is a non-custodial crypto payment gateway that provides merchant services for businesses that cater to all kinds of customers. In addition, Paywong is also useful for individuals who are working as freelancers and want to get paid for their services in crypto via Paywong’s crypto invoicing service.

Paywong has launched a payment gateway that comes with an intuitive dashboard for managing funds, e-commerce integrations, and an invoicing system that generates a payment link that anyone can share. Book a demo to learn more, and you’ll be accepting cryptocurrency as payment from your customers in no time.

For more details and updates, check out the official website as well as Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram portals.

About The Company

Paywong is a product of Walawong Solutions Pte Ltd — a Web3 startup based in Singapore. We are on a mission to simplify crypto payments for businesses by leveraging the power of blockchain technology.

Contact:

Moe Tengku
CEO/Co-Founder
moe@paywong.com

Sam Zulkifli
COO/Co-Founder
sam@paywong.com