uilding bridges is a specialized art form. Bridging the gap between the purchasing of a business and the actual opening of the business is the specialty of TurnKey Business Solutions and Consulting.

The chief architect is Tom Koziol, a veteran of the payment-processing industry. Having garnered experience and expertise from such established organizations as Heartland, Koziol relocated in early 2001 to Gainesville, Fla., and started his own operation. "I liked the business but wanted to have the ability to walk in and have a solution for any need a customer might have," says Koziol. "I started working out of my garage, and my decision to form my own company has worked out wonderfully."

Koziol relied on his retail knowledge to format his vision for the new company. "I remember when I had a restaurant business and folks would come in saying they could help with credit cards or checks but not everything," says Koziol. "It's confusing for the everyday businessperson to have to work with different guys for their payment solutions. No one goes in and says they can help with any inherent problem.

"For the mom-and-pop businesses, there's no one on their side. They get taken advantage of. As corny and goofy as it sounds, someone needs to be on their side."

Koziol's philosophy is all about helping business owners with the intricacies of running their business. "Just because you make a good pizza doesn't mean you are a good pizza shop operator," says Koziol. "If you choose to get into business, there are certain steps you have to go through to open the door, which is why we named our company TurnKey.

"People always say they are a turnkey operation, but when you get down to it, it's a misnomer. You just don't buy a turnkey business. You need insurance, payment processing, etc. You can't just open your doors for business. You have to have someone direct you toward that line of thinking. Your accountant can't do it. We can."

Koziol boasts that TurnKey's directional ability is one of its primary differentiators. "We have all the answers," says Koziol. "And our programs and our ability to administer them are available in all 50 states. It's human nature to concentrate on a specific group and forget the end user. He's the most important part of the equation. The merchant is the entity that needs to be protected. They are the reason we do business."

TurnKey's core competency is concentrated on finding what business owners need. "We walk in and talk to merchants and find out what it is that they are uncomfortable with," says Koziol. "Consulting first and then finding the solution is at our core." One of TurnKey's hottest services is its tax-credit program, which allows merchants to take advantage of federal and state tax credits. The program is geared around information sharing. TurnKey consults with businesses, informing them of certain empowerment zones established by the government as well as other credits that are available for hiring certain types of people. All of these credits are not zone-specific, but there is an advantage if the business is located in a zone.

These zones offer tax credits to businesses that conduct their operations in those specific zones and/or hire certain individuals from those zones. By encouraging businesses to relocate to certain county and city areas, the government provides an opportunity for merchants to realize savings. TurnKey provides the awareness of these zones to the merchants.

"Many businesses are not aware of this program, especially the mom-and-pops," says Koziol. "Our product allows them to cut out 80% of their effort to get these tax credits. We even put it on line so most of the paperwork is eliminated. We target small to midsize merchants because they haven't heard a lot about this, but we also provide for larger merchants as well."

Koziol claims the cost for TurnKey solutions are very competitive. Another benefit to the marketplace, especially for ISOs, is that all services can be private labeled. "If Heartland says they like a program and want to offer it, we can put Heartland's name on it," he says. "We are in the background, processing the information."

Koziol believes in TurnKey's overall appeal to the ISO community. "It's a buffet line for ISOs," says Koziol. "They can pick and choose what they want and put it into their mix and not be penalized for doing business with other companies. It doesn't matter to us who else they work with. We like the ability to provide the answer and solution to anyone who wants it. If an ISO comes to me and asks if I can help them with a problem, I want to be able to say yes, no matter what it is."

TurnKey is providing services for hundreds of merchants and effectively answering problems for many ISOs. Just what does TurnKey seek in an ISO?

"We look for someone that can get things done," says Koziol. "There are a lot of people out here who will promise you the moon and not deliver. Pretty quickly you can distinguish whether they can back up what they say they'll do. We usually don't work with people unless they are referred through someone we already work with. However, I encourage anyone to visit our Web site and contact me. I'll be happy to send anyone any information they want and I'll be happy to talk to anyone."

In addition to successful resellers, TurnKey relies on its successful partners for services and support. E-commerce solutions are paired with ACH Services. Credit card processing is paired with ISO Merchant Services, a registered ISO/MSP of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Secure Payment Systems and Affirmative Technologies provide check services, BancTec provides check recovery and Pay Systems of America handles payroll services.

"We have strategic alliances with many different companies, some of which are competitors," says Koziol. "Anyone in the payment-processing business can be seen as competition, but we work well with all of them."

TurnKey strives to partner with companies with a good history.

"I want a good, solid company that pays their people correctly," says Koziol. "I look to see what their current customer base says about them. I also research the Internet as well as over 50 trade magazines to see what the industry says about them. You've got to be careful. Are things being written because it's true or are they paying an advertising fee?

"We got burned in the beginning and found out who we could trust and who we couldn't. I now do business with people who do business with my friends. That's the beauty of our relationships. We work with people we trust."

Koziol's trust in his partners extends to customer support. While some customer support is provided directly through TurnKey, various partners facilitate similar services. TurnKey provides training manuals and onsite training for ISOs, depending on the product and the size of the organization.

Koziol, personally, is integral to support. "Everyone I do business with has my office, home, fax and cell number as well as my e-mail," says Koziol. "My background was in 24-hour restaurant service. I'm used to getting up at 2 in the morning. I still do it, and it's OK. Anybody can call me anytime with anything. I take care of the problem."

In addition to effectively troubleshooting, another challenge facing TurnKey is getting merchants to truly appreciate the services it offers. "We're challenged to get certain industries to take hold of private-label issues with tax programs," says Koziol. "More than anything, a problem exists because people don't understand tax credits and other programs currently out there for their merchants. But I believe these programs will change the payment-processing industry. It has that kind of impact."

Koziol believes so strongly in his bold statement because of the revenue he predicts can be realized bringing private-label services to the merchant base. "The money to be made is staggering, especially with our tax program," says Koziol. "ISOs make a percentage on all their merchant tax savings. It's another way for them to increase their revenue. For example, one merchant saved $1 million last year. You do the math."

Koziol believes the changing industry economy will force the issue. "In the credit card industry, margins are shrinking," he says. "The guy out on the street, pounding the pavement, can't go in with just one product. There are too many beating the same doors. If you can have an answer for all the problems in your bag of tricks, you'll succeed. Where we fail is that we walk into a merchant and tell them how we can save them money, but we never go in and ask them how can we help. That has to change."

Koziol sees the cannibalism of the industry also affecting the ISO community. "It's going to be very tough for the guys on the street to make a living with all the mergers and acquisitions," he says. "It's up in the air what will happen to the playing field. It's already tightening up. On the one hand, it's good for accountability without competition. On the other hand, it's bad because you won't have the same freedoms. It's a double-edged sword."

Koziol predicts three or four major players will dominate with all others falling in line as resellers for them. For TurnKey, Koziol predicts a much brighter future.

"I see us skyrocketing," says Koziol. "Once people grasp and understand our programs, especially our tax program, it will frustrate people that they are not doing it. They'll want to get it, and we will be happy to provide it for them."