What we review
If your business pays for it every month, it’s worth a second look. Card processing is usually the biggest single saving, so it’s often where we start, but it’s one of many.
One review covers every regular bill, not just one.
Where we find savings
Card processing
Usually the biggest single saving. We check your pricing model, the markup on top of interchange, monthly and annual fees, compliance charges, card machine costs and contract terms.
How we review card processingPhone and internet
Business lines, broadband and mobile plans. Introductory rates end, bundles change and unused lines keep billing. We compare what you have with what’s available now.
Software and subscriptions
Point-of-sale, accounting, scheduling and other tools, checked for unused licenses, overlapping services and better plans.
Equipment leases
Card machines, printers and other leased equipment. Leases can run for years and cost more than buying outright, so we check the terms and the buyout.
Service contracts
Alarm monitoring, maintenance, cleaning, pest control and anything else on an agreement. Many renew automatically, often at a higher rate.
Supplies and other contracts
Packaging, supplies and other regular purchases: the same items on better terms. If we can’t improve a cost, we’ll tell you.
Interchange is the same at every processor. The markup isn’t.
Card processing in detail
Every card payment you take carries three layers of cost. Two are set by the card networks and are the same whichever processor you use. The third is your processor’s markup and fees, and that’s where businesses overpay.
| Cost | Who it goes to | Negotiable? |
|---|---|---|
| Interchange | The bank that issued your customer’s card | No. It’s the same at every processor. |
| Network assessments | The card networks, such as Visa and Mastercard | No |
| Processor markup and fees | Your processor | Yes. This is where we work. |
What a card processing review covers
- Your pricing model: flat-rate, tiered or interchange-plus
- The markup on top of interchange
- Monthly, annual and statement fees
- PCI compliance and non-compliance fees
- Terminal leases and equipment
- Per-transaction, batch and chargeback fees
- Contract terms and early exit fees
What we look for on a statement
A simplified one-month statement for a store taking $40,000 in card payments, with the kind of notes we’d send you.
Black out account numbers before you send it.
Interchange and markup bundled, so you can’t see the split.
Three tiers usually means tiered pricing. It tends to cost more.
Often negotiable.
Charged when a yearly security form isn’t filed. Avoidable.
Leases can run for years and cost more than buying outright.
Total fees divided by card sales. The number to compare.
In this example, the store pays $1,177.90 in card fees for the month, an effective rate of 2.94%. Part of that is interchange, which nobody can negotiate. The rest is worth a closer look.
Yours to keep, whether or not you go ahead.
What you get from a review
Every review ends with a short, plain-English summary.
- What you pay now for each cost we reviewed
- Which charges are fixed, and which can be negotiated or removed
- What we recommend, and what it would save you each month
- Anything in your contracts to know about first, such as notice periods or exit fees
If you go ahead, we check every statement for as long as our agreement runs, and you get a fee sheet showing what you should be paying at your sales level. The fee sheet is yours to keep.
No savings, no fee.
The review is free and there’s nothing to pay upfront. Send us a few recent bills and we’ll show you exactly what you could save.
Or call (917) 994-9643 or email joe@sterlingmargin.com