Quick Close Playbook

How to sign and install fast using Instant Approval MCCs. Two tracks: close and install it yourself, or demo-and-sign a small restaurant and hand it to the Dealer. Companion to The Process.

Two Tracks Best Targets Instant Approval MCCs One-Visit Close Speed Levers Full Process

They just said something and you went blank

Type a few words of what they said. You get the reply and the move that follows it, which beats trying to recall a page you read three weeks ago.

Can this one close today?

Five things have to be true for Instant Approval. Tick what you know and it tells you where you stand, so you find out at the table rather than a week later.

Two Tracks to a Fast Deal

Remember the rule: the only POS we can close ourselves is Genius for Retail Essentials or Advanced. Everything else POS goes through a Dealer (or SRM for Retail Complete).

Track A · Self-close, self-install

Retail & services: Essentials / Advanced, terminal, handhelds

Fastest money, most installs on you

You close it, you board it, you install it. No third party in the loop.
Low-risk Instant Approval MCCs board fast, so a clean app can go signature to install in days.
One-visit close is realistic: signature on the initial FTA.
Comp: 100% SAR and residuals, plus the MID incentives running that month (see Incentives).
Trade-off: you do the install and the admin yourself.

Track B · Demo, sign, hand off

Small single-location restaurants

A little more setup, far less admin

Set the demo, sign on the spot, hand to POS Specialists (or RSI). SRM only if it is Genius for Retail Complete.
Dealer explains packages, handles install and most admin, so your time investment ends near signature.
Best with 1-location restaurants: decision-maker is on site and the package pitch is simple (free equipment on cash discount for qualifying volume).
Restaurants 5812/5814 are Instant Approval MCCs too, and the one vertical where ecomm and face-to-face can mix.
Comp: $500 on install (good standing required), 50% residuals, 50% SAR.

Best Targets: High-Chance Business Types

All from the Instant Approval list, filtered for places where the owner is usually behind the counter and a one-visit close is realistic.

Track A · Retail storefronts

Genius for Retail Essentials / Advanced fits here

Gift & novelty shops (5947), variety stores (5331), discount stores (5310)
Hobby/toy/game (5945), book stores (5942), bicycle shops (5940)
Craft & artist supply (5970), sewing/fabric (5949), music/record stores (5733/5735)
Antique shops (5932), secondhand stores (5931)
Hardware (5251), nursery & garden (5261), glass/paint/wallpaper (5231)
Pet stores, florists (5992), cosmetic stores (5977)
Grocery & convenience (5411/5499), bakery (5462), candy (5441)
Liquor stores (5921): must be 100% card present, no CNP

Track A · Services & auto

Often terminal or handheld only, even faster

Barber/beauty (7230), tailors (5697)
Dry cleaning & laundry (7210/7211/7216), carpet cleaning (7217)
Auto service (7538), auto body (7531), tire stores (5532), car wash (7542), misc repair (7699)
Tax prep (7276), accounting (8931), quick copy (7338)
Locksmiths, mail & packing stores (7399)
Vets (0742), doctors (8011), dentists (8021), chiropractors (8041), optometrists (8042), podiatrists (8049)
Parking lots & garages (7523), bowling (7933), arcades (7994)

Track B · Food & drink

Demo, sign, hand to Dealer

Restaurants (5812), catering must be 15% or less
Fast food (5814), same-day delivery only
Bars & drinking places (5813)
Sweet spot: single location, owner-operated, under $250k revenue goes RSI-style packages, over $250k often gets free everything from POS Specialists on cash discount

Instant Approval: How It Works

From the Underwriting Criteria Guidelines (11-01-24). Instant Approval still gets a post review, so application hygiene rules from Pend Prevention apply in full.

Deal must fit ALL of these

$10M or less annual volume ($5M cap for warehouses, childcare, marinas, advertising; $50K cap for schools 8211 and civic orgs 8641)
Average ticket $2,500 or less ($75 or less for schools and civic orgs)
Brick and mortar: 65% or more card swiped
Retail future delivery 25% or less, max 30 days out (lodging up to 40%)
Full KYC: all 25%+ owners with legal name, DOB, address, SSN
1 recent satisfactory processing statement recommended (under 10% returns, under 0.75% chargebacks, with Interchange Summary)

Know before you pitch

Derogatory credit may force Daily Settlement; soft credit pull hits every signer, so ask about credit freezes upfront.
No processing history at all = automatic 5-day hold of funds, so always ask for a statement.
Post review can still pend a sloppy app. Instant Approval is not a free pass.
Notable exclusions from instant approval: herbal/vitamin shops, pet med sales over 50% CNP, adult anything, gentlemen's clubs.

The One-Visit Close

Signature on the initial FTA. It works; the trick is showing up ready to finish.

Prospect for the close, not the appointment

Route-plan around Instant Approval MCC density: strip malls, downtown squares, auto rows.
Qualify at the door: single location, owner on site, card-present business, ticket under $2,500.
If the owner is there and has 20 minutes, the FTA is NOW. Do not book a callback you could close today.

Arrive ready to finish

Demo gear charged and in the car (Track A) or dealer pitch sheet ready (Track B).
App ready to fill in Atlas; quote template handy.
Ask the owner to pull a recent processing statement during the conversation. It speeds underwriting and kills the 5-day no-history hold.

FTA + Demo + Signature, one sitting

Discovery, then demo the exact fit (Essentials/Advanced for retail, terminal for services).
Pitch dual pricing / cash discount if volume is $50K+ (card price on the shelf, 3-4% flat).
Collect signer info on the spot: full legal name (no nicknames), DOB, SSN, address, all 25%+ owners, real business phone.
Ask for the signature today. Worst case you leave with a firm demo time.

Log it before you leave the parking lot

Salesforce: new Lead if needed, FTA as a TASK (not Event), mark Converted. Unlogged FTAs can be claimed by anyone, including Inside Sales.
Atlas: create the opportunity and start boarding the same day.
Track A: you install, so Installed By reflects you; choose HSC before submitting only if you want install team backup.
Track B: hand off to the Dealer/SRM and confirm they picked it up.

Install inside the week

Clean Instant Approval app + statement = approval in days, not weeks.
Track A: schedule your own install while boarding runs; Genius line (866-646-7648) for hardware questions.
Remember: tote board credit lands only after the first batch closes, and referral $500 pays the month it installs.

Speed Levers & Deal Killers

Makes it faster

Instant Approval MCC + clean one-sitting application
Recent processing statement collected at the table
Card-present business with no future delivery
Owner is the signer and present at FTA
Asking about credit freezes before submitting (Experian unfreeze: 888-397-3742)

Kills the quick close

Nicknames or abbreviated legal names on the app (instant pend)
Cell phone listed as the DBA phone
Missing 25%+ owner info or unexplained ownership remainder
No statement and no history (5-day hold of funds)
Ecomm mixed into a retail deal (needs its own packet and MID, separate track)
High-risk wrinkles: herbal/vitamin lines, 50%+ CNP, big future delivery

MCC list and criteria from Underwriting Criteria Guidelines 11-01-24; incentives change, so check Incentives. Companion: The Process.