What Happens in a Free Statement Review

What you send

One recent monthly processing statement, every page. The summary page shows your totals, but the detail pages and the fee schedule are where individual charges are listed, so a partial statement gives a partial answer. A PDF from your provider's online portal is ideal, and clear phone photos of each page work too. If you are not sure where to find the statement, your provider's portal or support line can tell you, and so can we. You do not need to send login details, and nothing changes on your account because you asked for a review.

How the statement is read

Every line is identified and grouped. Some charges are set by the card networks and passed through, such as interchange and network assessments. Some are set by your processor, such as the markup on each transaction, per-item fees, and monthly account, statement, gateway or PCI program fees. Some come from third parties, such as a terminal lease billed on the statement. For each line the review notes who collects it, what it pays for and whether it is fixed by the networks or set by your provider. Lines with vague names, or two lines that seem to pay for the same thing, are flagged so you can ask about them.

Your effective rate

Your effective rate is the total you paid in processing fees for the month divided by your total card sales for the same month. It is the single number that lets you compare one statement with another, whatever pricing model each provider uses. The review calculates it from the real totals on your statement, not from the rate you were quoted when you signed up, and shows the working so you can check it yourself.

What is negotiable and what is not

Interchange and network assessments are set by the card networks and are the same whichever provider you use, so no provider can honestly promise to remove them. The processor's markup, per-transaction fees and most fixed monthly fees are set by your provider, and that is where offers differ. The review separates the two, so you can see how much of your bill is actually open to negotiation. Some owners find their setup is already priced well and leave with peace of mind. Others find fees they did not know they were paying.

What you get back

A written summary in plain language: your effective rate, every fee named with who collects it and why, the negotiable lines set apart from the fixed ones, and a comparison against a correctly structured account at your own volume, with the monthly and yearly difference worked out from your statement's numbers. It is yours to keep whether or not you switch. We never contact your current provider without your written permission.

What you decide afterwards

There are three reasonable outcomes. You can move to a new provider. You can take the review to your current provider and ask them to match it, which is a legitimate result in its own right. Or you can do nothing, knowing exactly what you pay and why. Whichever you choose, it is worth doing before your contract next renews, while you have the most room to act. Check your agreement for the renewal date and any early termination fee.

What changes for multi-location and enterprise operations

Larger businesses often have several merchant IDs, sometimes with different providers, different pricing and different contract dates. A review works the same way, but with one statement per merchant ID for the same month, so the totals can be compared side by side. That tends to show where locations are priced differently for the same kind of sales, where fixed fees repeat across accounts, and where accounts for closed sites are still billing. Send statements for a typical month rather than a holiday peak, and include any separate gateway or equipment invoices so the picture is complete.