Credit Card Processing Statement Review
A processing statement is written to be hard to read. Fees are split across dozens of lines, named in card network shorthand and spread over several pages, so most owners only ever look at the total. A statement review from The Gabb Group turns that document into one clear answer: what you really pay to accept cards, and what you could pay instead.
For businesses on flat-rate processors such as Square and Stripe, the answer is often dramatic. We can cut processing costs by up to half, and the review is how we show the exact figure for your business before anything changes.
What We Look For
We read every line on one to three months of statements and group the charges into the three parts every processing fee is made of:
Interchange
Set by the card networks and paid to the bank that issued your customer’s card. It varies by card type (debit, standard credit, premium rewards, business cards) and by how the card was taken (chip, tap, keyed in or online).
Network Assessments
Small fees charged by Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express on your volume and transaction count.
Processor Markup
Everything your processor adds on top. This is the only part that is truly negotiable, and it is where flat-rate and tiered pricing hide their margin.
Then we look past the rates to the fees that quietly add up:
- Monthly, annual and statement fees
- PCI non-compliance fees, which disappear once compliance is filed
- Batch, gateway and per-transaction fees
- Chargeback and retrieval fees
- Equipment rentals or leases, including leases that run for years and cost more than the terminal itself
- Early termination terms in your current agreement
Your Effective Rate
The single most useful number in processing is your effective rate: total processing fees for the month divided by total card volume for the month. A business that paid $1,450 in fees on $50,000 of card sales has an effective rate of 2.9%.
The effective rate cuts through every pricing model. Two processors can quote very different headline rates and land on the same effective rate, or quote the same rate and land far apart. We calculate yours from your own statements, month by month, so you can see whether it has crept up as your card mix changed.
Why Flat Rates Cost Growing Businesses More
A flat-rate processor charges one percentage on every card. That simplicity has a price: a basic debit card costs the processor far less than a premium rewards card, but you pay the same rate on both. As a business grows, more volume flows through that one rate, and the gap between what you pay and what the transactions actually cost widens every month.
Pricing tied to interchange passes the real cost of each card through to you, plus a small, disclosed markup. That structure is where most of the savings come from.
What You Receive
At the end of the review you get a written summary:
- Your current effective rate, by month.
- Every fee on your statement, explained in plain English.
- Fees you can remove right away, such as non-compliance fees.
- A side-by-side comparison of your actual volume under the program we recommend through our partner, USA Payments.
- Any terms in your current agreement to plan around, such as an equipment lease or a cancellation fee.
If switching makes sense, we handle the move, following the steps in our guide to switching credit card processors. If your current setup is already competitive, we tell you that too.
How to Find Your Statements
Most processors post monthly statements in their online dashboard as PDFs. Square and Stripe show fees in their reporting screens, which we can work from as well. Send the most recent full months, ideally including your busiest month, since seasonal volume changes your card mix. For Florida businesses that see a winter season, a statement from both a peak month and a slower month gives the most accurate picture.
Signs Your Rate Has Drifted
Processing costs rarely jump all at once. They drift, and the signs show up on the statement long before anyone notices the total:
- New line items that were not there when you signed, often labeled as network, service or compliance fees
- A rising share of “non-qualified” or “mid-qualified” transactions on a tiered statement, each billed at a higher rate
- An effective rate that climbs while your average ticket stays the same
- A rate increase notice buried in a statement message
Any one of these is a reason to review. We recommend looking again at least once a year, and whenever your sales mix changes, such as adding online orders or a second location.
What Does Your Statement Reveal Beyond Fees?
A statement is also a record of how your customers pay. The mix of debit, credit, rewards and business cards, the share of keyed-in or online transactions, and your average ticket all show up in the detail. That picture helps us recommend the right equipment and checkout setup along with the right pricing.
Processing Fees in Your Books
Processing fees belong on their own line in your chart of accounts, not netted out of sales. When we keep your monthly books, we record gross sales and fees separately, so your effective rate is visible in every monthly report and any increase is caught the month it happens.
The review is part of our credit card processing service, and it pairs naturally with a look at cash discount and surcharge programs for businesses that want to offset fees entirely.
Questions About Statement Reviews
What Is a Good Effective Rate for Credit Card Processing?
It depends on your card mix and how you take payments. Card-present debit transactions cost far less than keyed-in premium rewards cards, so a restaurant and an online store can both be well priced at different rates. We compare your rate against what your own transactions actually cost, which is a fairer test than any industry average.
How Many Statements Should I Send?
One recent full month works. Two or three months, including your busiest, give a more accurate picture.
Will You Contact My Current Processor?
No. The review is done entirely from your statements. Nothing changes with your current processor unless you decide to switch.
What If I Am Locked into a Contract?
We read the termination terms in your agreement and include any cancellation cost in the comparison, so you can see whether the savings outweigh it and when.
Can You Review Statements from Square or Stripe?
Yes. Their reports show fees per transaction, which we use to calculate your effective rate and compare it with the program we recommend.
What Is the Difference Between Interchange and Markup?
Interchange is set by the card networks and paid to the bank that issued the card. Markup is what your processor adds on top, and it is the part a better pricing structure lowers.
Request Your Statement Review
Send us a note about how your business takes payments, and we will tell you which statements to send and what we will look for.
- Consultation
- A no-cost 30-minute consultation to look at where your business stands today.
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM
- Where We Work
- Based in Riverview, serving Florida and clients nationwide. See Areas We Serve