Given client's cc information to set up website?

Business Issues
#1

I’m part of a team that plans to create a website on Squarespace for a client. Client is said to be giving our team their credit card info to set up the monthly billing required for Squarespace. The site is going to be set up under the team leader’s Squarespace account, with the client being the co-owner. I’m told that at any point in time this site created under the team’s Squarespace account can be moved to a new, different Squarespace account, if the client so chooses. That last part sounds fine to me.

What doesn’t sound fine is being given client’s credit card info to set up the monthly billing for the website to Squarespace. I get that as private contractors or businesses, clients at times provide their credit card #s over the phone so we can bill them. Myself, I’ve always received payment without having to ask or be given a client’s cc #. So I’m very reluctant to be handling customer’s credit card information, and having to type in their full name, full billing/home address, phone number and credit card # at the Squarespace checkout page, as if I’m the credit card holder. Is this normal for website designers to do? I would think that the right thing to do would be to have the client do that themselves, at the very least, for their own protection. However, if we as the design team have access to the website account, whether it be under the team leader’s Squarespace account or one created for the client, couldn’t we still potentially see client’s cc information, and potentially still be liable if client said they didn’t agree to a charge? You had access to my cc information, so you could have done it!

And I have an aversion to even the idea of putting in all that information as if I were the cc holder when I’m not. Am I overthinking this, and this is just normal for non-web/tech savvy clients who don’t want to be bothered to do this stuff for themselves? Or is this something of a potential red flag/future litigious problem?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

#2

For things like this I always get the client to sign up themselves.
That way they are put in their info, their payment, they control the passwords/logins

They then give you access and you work on it.

1 Like
#3

I would tell them the Squarespace terms of service is a legal agreement between their company and Squarespace, and your company can’t legally commit to that on their behalf.

1 Like
#4

The way my previous workplace handled it was we would write up a contract/agreement. Part of that agreement was if the client was unable or unwilling to enter their own payment information into the host site and requested to provide us with their info and for us to enter the payment info on their behalf then we could not be held liable for any billing discrepancies or errors.
Please also consider that this was the case if the host account profile info was under the client name or client company name and NOT under my company name. If we were running their website through our own host then the client needed to pay us directly, not the host.

1 Like
#5

Thanks Mojo, @Smurf2, @Mojo , and @IzChik IzChik for the replies and the advice.

I’m inclined to defer to the senior team members, but if something doesn’t sound/feel right, I’ve come to realize it usually isn’t right and could lead to problems.

#6

Keep in mind it’s always worth it to follow your gut and express your concerns with a trusted teammate and hopefully a manager. It can be hard in many workplaces to implement new processes even though they are likely very beneficial. People can get stuck in their ways :sweat_smile:

1 Like