THE EFFECTIVENESS OF IMPLEMENTING ACQUIRING IN SMALL BUSINESS: ANALYTICAL ACCOUNTING APPROACH

Abstract

The article investigates the effectiveness of implementing acquiring in the activities of small business entities from the perspective of accounting and analytical support for managerial decisions. Contemporary trends in the digitalization of payment infrastructure, the increasing role of cashless transactions, and changes in consumer payment preferences are analyzed, which determine the relevance of using acquiring services to increase the accessibility of goods and services, optimize financial flows, and ensure the competitiveness of small businesses. The regulatory framework governing acquiring has been studied, and it has been established that it does not contain separate specialized provisions that would comprehensively regulate the accounting procedures for acquiring operations specifically in small enterprises. As a result, small businesses are forced to rely on explanations from regulatory authorities and their own professional judgments, which increases the risk of errors in recording acquiring-related expenses and in accurately determining the financial results of their activities. Special attention is paid to the structure of expenses for acquiring services, which includes acquirer bank commissions, interchange fees of payment systems, processing fees, costs of renting or depreciating POS terminals, integration costs for online payments, licensing and certification fees, personnel training expenses, and cybersecurity-related expenditures. It is emphasized that the multi-level structure of these costs requires systematic accounting and analytical control, which allows improving the reliability of financial reporting and ensuring transparency of managerial information. The necessity of an analytical approach for assessing the effectiveness of acquiring systems is substantiated, which will make it possible to forecast revenue growth, evaluate the impact on the average check, determine the profitability of sales channels, and optimize expenses for payment processing. It is highlighted that the systematization of accounting and analytics of acquiring expenses can ensure transparency of settlement operations, effective resource management, and the adoption of well-founded strategic decisions in small business.