Short answer: the easiest merchant services leads to close are businesses that haven't chosen a processor yet, and that mostly means new ones. A business that just registered with the state has no contract, no leased terminal, and no statement for a competitor to undercut. Florida registers about 10,513 new businesses a week. Restaurants, shops, salons, gyms, and auto shops are the ones that take cards first, and calling them in their first weeks puts you ahead of the reps who wait for them to show up in a database.
Where do merchant services reps get leads?
Most payment reps work a mix of the same few sources. They differ mainly in what you are up against when you call:
| Lead source | What you're up against | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Referrals from POS resellers, bankers, accountants | Not much. A warm introduction is the best lead there is. | Whenever one comes |
| Existing-merchant lists and statement reviews | A current processor, a contract, often an early termination fee | Years after they started |
| Canvassing and walk-ins | Busy owners and every other rep on the same street | Once the doors are open |
| New business filings | Usually nothing yet. The owner hasn't picked anyone. | Days after the company registers |
Referrals stay the best source, but you can't control how many you get. New filings are the one source you can work every morning, and the only one where you are setting up an account instead of trying to switch one.
Why new businesses are easier to sign than switchers
- No contract to break. An existing merchant may owe an early termination fee or have a terminal lease running for years. A new business owes nobody.
- No statement to beat. Switchers are a rate fight against a number on paper. A new owner has no number yet, so you can sell on setup, funding speed, and service.
- Fewer calls from your competitors. Established merchants hear from processors every week. A business that registered last Tuesday mostly hears from filing services and website sellers.
- The decision is coming soon. Every business that sells to the public needs a way to take cards before it opens, and most owners haven't thought about it until someone asks.
Which new businesses take cards first?
Not every new company is a card-processing prospect. Holding companies, real estate LLCs, and one-person consulting firms rarely run much through a terminal. Put these at the top of the list instead:
| New business | Why they need you early | New Florida filings a week* |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants, cafes, food trucks | POS, tips, online ordering, high daily volume | 164 |
| Retail shops and boutiques | Countertop and mobile checkout, inventory, sales tax on every sale | 300 |
| Salons, spas, barbers | Appointments, deposits, tips, card on file | 178 |
| Auto repair and detailing | Large tickets and mobile payments | 204 |
| Medical and dental offices | Patient payments, payment plans, HSA and FSA cards | 309 |
| Gyms and fitness studios | Recurring memberships and card-on-file billing | 74 |
*Average between August 17 and October 9, 2026, counted from business names that say what the business does. Many new companies have names like "Blue Palm Group LLC" that don't, so the real numbers are higher.
Contractors, cleaning companies, and trucking firms take fewer card payments, but many need invoicing, ACH, and a virtual terminal for commercial customers. They are a second tier, not a skip.
Timing: the window before they open
A new filing doesn't mean the doors open next week. A restaurant often registers months before opening, while it signs a lease and finishes a build-out. A salon, food truck, or retail booth may be taking payments within a few weeks. That changes how you work the list:
- Fast openers (salons, mobile businesses, small retail): call now. The setup decision is days away.
- Build-outs (restaurants, gyms, medical offices): make the first call now, then follow up on the opening date. The POS decision usually comes with the build-out, and you want to be the rep they already know.
Florida businesses that sell taxable goods have to register with the Florida Department of Revenue before they collect sales tax. That is a useful opener: the state rate is 6% plus a county surtax in most counties, and a POS set up with the wrong county rate is a problem the owner won't notice until later.
What to say on the first call
Lead with what the owner is about to deal with, not with rates. They have no statement for you to beat, so a rate pitch has nothing to stand on. For example:
"Hi, is this Ana? This is Chris with Coastal Payments here in Tampa. I saw Ana's Kitchen registered with the state last week, congratulations. I help new restaurants around Hillsborough get set up to take cards before they open: the POS, tips, and the right county sales tax, with deposits the next day. Have you picked how you're going to take payments yet?"
Three things make the first call land:
- Be specific to their business. A salon cares about deposits and no-shows. A food truck cares about mobile checkout and signal. A restaurant cares about tips and table turns.
- Be honest about the default. If they are tiny, say a free app might be fine for now and tell them when it stops being the right fit. Owners remember the rep who didn't oversell them.
- Offer one useful thing. A checklist of what to have ready before opening day, or an introduction to a banker or bookkeeper you trust, is worth more than a brochure.
Our guide to calling new businesses has voicemails and a follow-up cadence that work for any industry. Before you dial, read the calling rules that apply in Florida.
Doing it yourself vs. a daily list
The raw material is the state's daily filing data: about 2,527 new filings a day statewide. It has no phone numbers and no industry, and most of it is holding companies, real estate LLCs, filing services, and companies outside your territory. Sorting it and finding a phone number for each owner takes 5 to 10 minutes a record. That is time you aren't on the phone.
FiledToday's merchant services leads do that part. Each weekday you get your county's new businesses with the owner's name, phone number, and mailing address, with restaurants, retail, salons, and the other card-heavy businesses sorted to the top. Plans are $99 to $249 a month per county, month to month, and you can get a free county sample first.
Common questions
How do I get merchant services leads?
The usual sources are referrals from POS resellers, bankers, and accountants; walk-ins and canvassing; purchased lists of existing merchants; and new business filings. New filings are the only source of businesses that haven't picked a processor yet, which makes them the easiest accounts to set up instead of switch.
What are the best merchant services leads?
Businesses that are about to start taking cards: new restaurants, shops, salons, gyms, auto shops, and medical offices, plus businesses changing ownership. They have no contract to break and no statement to beat, so the conversation is about setup, not price.
Won't new businesses just use Square or Stripe?
Some will, and for a very small business that can be the right choice. Owners with a real location, tipped staff, or higher volume often want next-day funding, integrated hardware, and someone local to call. The rep who reached them first, and was honest about the trade-offs, is usually the one they call when they outgrow the default.
Which industries are best for merchant services?
Restaurants, retail, salons and spas, gyms, auto repair, and medical or dental offices: businesses that take cards every day. Between August 17 and October 9, 2026, Florida filings with names that said so included about 164 restaurants, 300 retail shops, and 178 salons and spas a week.
Are new business leads exclusive?
No, filings are public. But the state's files have no phone numbers and are full of holding companies, so almost no payment rep works them. You get each business the morning after it registers, with the owner's number already found, so you'll usually be the first rep they hear from.
Updated October 13, 2026 · By Ben Thalmann, founder of FiledToday