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Fees and Calculations

• Number Sales / Month:  Used to calculate Transaction Fees cost based on the Transaction Fee rate for each provider
• Dollar Sales / Month:  Used to calculate Discount amount based on Discount Rate for each provider
• Discount Rate:  May vary for different levels of risk, lowest for 100% retail.  Used to calculate Discount amount based on expected Dollar Sales / Month.  For Internet businesses, be sure to get the Discount Rate that applies to this type of business from your provider.
• Per Transaction Fee: Charged for each transaction.  Used to calculate Transaction Fee cost based on Number Sales / Month
• Batch Header Fee:  Charged for each batch of transactions submitted for capture.  Estimated cost will be based on two batches a day, 25 days a month for monthly sales numbers above 100.  For lower sales numbers the batch number will be 1/2 the sales number.
• Minimum Monthly Fee:  Charged by provider only when Discount paid is less than this amount.  The full fee will be charged for a month with no sales or no Discount paid.  Based on expected Dollar Sales / Month and Discount Rate.
• Monthly Statement Fee:  Charged for administration costs each month.
• Monthly Gateway Fee:  Applies to some packages where connection services to Visa / MasterCard networks are bundled with basic Merchant Account costs
• Annual Fee:  Charged once a year by some providers.  Will be divided by 12 for monthly cost.
• Setup / Application Fee:  A one-time fee to be divided by 24 for monthly cost.

Calculated Values

• Average Ticket:  Average Transaction Amount based on expected monthly Dollar Sales and Number Sales
• Total Monthly Cost:  Total cost for all fees based on rates entered for each provider
• Cost Percent of Sales:  Calculated by dividing Total Monthly Cost by Total Sales

Note:  After saving your data the detail view provided will show how each fee contributed to the total cost.  The monthly fees and calculated costs for pre-loaded providers are estimates based on published disclosures by the providers.   The providers may change their fees at any time and these changes may not always be updated on this site in a timely fashion.  Some providers charge more on one fee and less on another, thereby making it difficult to compare one provider's charges against another's without knowing all fees charged.  Fees may also be charged for authorization connection costs and penalties may also be levied for chargebacks and for exceeding monthly sales limits.  A reserve discount of 10% or more may also be held for six months or longer for added security on the behalf of the provider.  If two providers have similar costs, be sure to get a  Full Disclosure of all costs, fees, reserves and possible penalties that may be charged from both providers.  Some states require that merchant account providers disclose a Schedule of Fees to all merchant account applicants.

Remember that the cost calculation and comparision is based on the amount and number of monthly sales you enter for your business.  The Maculator will calculate and adjust the rates based on the formulas published by each pre-loaded provider.  For some providers the rates may be lower for more sales.  For others, the reverse may apply.  Since you can change providers in the future, you may benefit by first entering the sales numbers for your near-term business expectations and then entering those for your long-term optimistic expectations.  You can use different User Key Names to identify different scenarios or different Business Names such as MyBusinessName Stage 1, MyBusinessName Stage2, and so on.