Reading your merchant statement, line by line
Most owners have never had anyone read one of these with them. It takes about fifteen minutes and it usually changes the conversation.
Four things to find, in this order
Total card volume and total fees
Divide fees by volume. That is your effective rate, and it is the only number that compares cleanly against any other offer.
Interchange, which should be itemised
On an interchange plus statement it is listed separately at cost. If you cannot find it, you are probably on tiered or flat rate pricing and the markup is hidden inside the rate.
The processor's markup
On interchange plus this is a stated basis point figure. This is the only layer that is negotiable, and knowing it is most of your leverage.
Monthly and annual fees
Statement fees, PCI fees, regulatory fees, program fees, gateway fees, batch fees. Individually small, collectively not, and several only appear once a year.
Watch for the annual fees
A single January line item can quietly be several hundred dollars. Look at a January or February statement as well as a recent one, because some fees only appear once a year and are easy to miss on a spot check.
Send us last month's and we will read it with you. Free, no obligation, and if your rate is already fair we will tell you that.
Questions owners ask
What is a normal effective rate?
It depends on your average ticket. Small tickets carry fixed fees badly. A full service room with a healthy average check should expect meaningfully below 3%.
What if I am on tiered pricing?
Then your statement is designed to be hard to read, with qualified, mid qualified and non qualified buckets that move transactions into more expensive tiers. Getting off tiered pricing is usually the single biggest saving available.
Have your own numbers checked
Send last month's statement. We read it with you, free, and tell you straight whether we are the ones to fix it.
Send your numbers
About a minute. It goes straight to the Equip team.
It reaches Judd Alsup and the Equip team. If we have a crew near you, that is who calls. If we do not, Judd handles it himself. We never ask for card or bank details on this site.