There are three main components required to accept payments in online sales: a merchant account, a shopping cart solution and a secure payment gateway. These components can be implemented separately by different providers or they can either be implemented in combination by web developers, hosting companies, merchant account providers, Internet service providers or E-commerce companies or one provider can implement the entire solution.

A turnkey provider can supply you with all your system and service needs from hosting a website, and developing a storefront and catalog system, to providing a merchant account, building a payment gateway, and executing payment processing. The end result is often referred to as an ‘out of the box’ solution.

A turnkey solution offers several advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

Rapid Development: There is a single point of contact when working with one company, as compared to a number of contacts when working with multiple vendors.

Affordability: Increased competition in the market has forced providers to offer competitive prices.

Easy Administration: Working with one company means there is only one bill to deal with; most turnkey providers offer you easy access to site content so modifications can be made.

Guaranteed Price: A contract is signed with the provider, tying parties into the quoted price.

High Level Technology Capabilities Not Required: The provider builds the entire site, so there is no need for you to have high-level technical skills.

Disadvantages:

Content Limitations: Most turnkey solutions provide page templates, but do not allow for any variation from these templates.

Content Rights: Since most turnkey providers develop their own script and use their own software they may require ownership of the tools made with the script and software.

Service Commitment: Some providers may stipulate in the contract how long they are entitled to service your site.

Portability: The provider will most likely develop the site using their own software, which can make it difficult for other providers to take over if you choose to move the site.

Choice of a turnkey provider:

Once you decide to use a turnkey provider to build your E-commerce site, it is recommended that you develop a list of requirements to track your needs and assist you select the best provider. The solution you choose will depend on various factors:

- Business objectives
- Website requirements: These include E-commerce capability, shopping cart solution required, payment options offered, security features required and so on.
- Storage and bandwidth requirements
- Inventory and delivery management requirements
- Design and content requirements
- Marketing services required
- Training provided to the employees
- Reporting and administration tools required
- Affordability
Factors affecting cost of turnkey solutions:
- Domain name
- Hardware
- Software
- Content