Merchant Statement Review | Reduce Processing Fees

Understand Your Processing Costs With a Merchant Statement Review

Credit card processing statements can be confusing. Rates, transaction charges, card-brand costs, monthly fees, equipment expenses, PCI-related charges, gateway fees, and processor markups can make it difficult to determine what your business is actually paying.

Soltis Merchant Services provides a Merchant Statement Review that breaks those costs down in plain English. We help business owners understand their effective processing rate, identify significant account fees, and determine whether their current pricing structure still makes sense.

Whether you're concerned about increasing fees, comparing processors, or simply want a second opinion, we'll help you understand the numbers before you make a decision.

Call (440) 570-9355 or Contact Us or Get Started Today!

What Is a Merchant Statement Review?

A Merchant Statement Review is an analysis of the statement you receive from your current credit card processor.

Instead of focusing on one advertised processing rate, the review looks at the overall cost of your merchant account.

Depending on what appears on your statement, we may review:

Monthly processing volume: How much card volume your business processes.
Total processing expenses: What you paid during the statement period.
Transaction count: How frequently your business accepts card payments.
Effective rate: Your overall processing expense compared with processed card volume.
Monthly fees: Recurring account charges appearing on your statement.
Equipment or software costs: Charges associated with your current payment setup.
Processor pricing: Costs associated with your existing processing arrangement.

The goal isn't simply to find the lowest-looking rate. It's to understand the complete picture.

What Is Your Effective Processing Rate?

Your effective rate can provide a useful snapshot of your overall processing costs.

Rather than looking at a single advertised percentage, it compares the processing expenses shown on your statement with the card volume processed during the same period.

This matters because a business might be quoted an attractive processing rate while still paying additional transaction charges, monthly account fees, software costs, equipment expenses, and other applicable charges.

A Merchant Statement Review can help put those different expenses into context.

Are You Overpaying for Credit Card Processing?

You can't reliably answer that question by looking at one fee.

Processing costs vary based on transaction volume, average ticket, card mix, how transactions are accepted, equipment, software, and the pricing structure associated with the account.

However, there are several reasons a closer look may be worthwhile.

You may want your statement reviewed if:

Your monthly processing costs have increased.
You don't understand several charges on your statement.
Your business has grown significantly since opening the account.
You're paying for equipment or software you no longer need.
You're considering switching processors.
Another processor has given you a competing quote.
You don't know your current effective processing rate.

Understanding your existing account gives you a baseline before making changes.

Why Small Processing Fees Matter

Small charges can become meaningful when they're repeated across hundreds or thousands of transactions.

A per-transaction difference that seems insignificant on its own may add up over an entire month or year. Recurring account, software, gateway, or equipment costs can have a similar effect.

That's why we look at the account as a whole.

The purpose of a Merchant Statement Review is to identify where your money is going and determine whether the overall arrangement is reasonable for the way your business processes payments.

How Our Free Statement Review Works

Getting your statement reviewed is straightforward.

Send Soltis Merchant Services a recent merchant processing statement. We'll examine the available pricing and transaction information and explain what we find.

We can help you understand:

Your approximate effective processing rate
Major recurring fees
Transaction-related expenses
Equipment or software charges shown
Your existing pricing structure
Areas that may deserve additional attention

Afterward, you can decide whether you want to keep your existing provider, explore another pricing arrangement, or compare different payment technology.

Do I Have to Switch Processors?

No.

Requesting a Merchant Statement Review doesn't mean you have to change anything.

If your current processing arrangement looks competitive and your existing equipment meets your needs, staying with your current provider may make sense.

If we identify an area where another setup could potentially improve costs or operations, we'll explain the option and let you decide whether it's worth pursuing.

We'd rather give you useful information than recommend a switch that doesn't provide meaningful value.

Compare Processing Quotes Correctly

If another processor has offered you a quote, don't compare only the advertised percentage.

Look at the entire proposal.

Ask about:

Processing pricing
Per-transaction charges
Monthly account fees
Equipment costs
Software subscriptions
Gateway expenses
Contract terms
Additional services

Then compare those costs against your actual historical processing activity.

A lower advertised rate doesn't necessarily mean a lower total cost.

Statement Reviews for Restaurants

Restaurants often process large numbers of transactions and may also deal with tipping, online orders, multiple terminals, and POS software.

That can make processing statements more complicated.

A Merchant Statement Review can help restaurant owners understand their current payment costs before considering a different processor or restaurant POS system.

If technology is part of the problem, Soltis Merchant Services can also discuss North-supported restaurant payment and POS options based on the restaurant's actual requirements.

Statement Reviews for Retail Businesses

Retail processing requirements can range from one countertop terminal to multiple registers and locations.

Some businesses only need reliable card acceptance, while others need inventory management, barcode scanning, employee controls, and detailed reporting.

Before changing equipment or POS platforms, reviewing the existing processing account can help establish whether the primary issue is pricing, technology, or both.

Statement Reviews for Contractors and Service Businesses

Contractors and service companies may accept payments differently from traditional storefronts.

Transactions might occur at customer locations, through invoices, through payment links, or remotely after work is completed.

These different payment methods can affect processing costs.

Reviewing the statement can help determine how those transactions are currently being priced and whether the payment setup still fits the business.

Should You Consider Cash Discounting?

After reviewing your statement, you may also want to compare alternative pricing structures.

For eligible businesses, a Cash Discount Program may provide another approach to managing card-processing expenses.

It's not automatically the right solution for every merchant. Transaction size, customer behavior, industry, and checkout environment should all be considered before making a change.

Soltis Merchant Services can explain available options so you can decide whether one fits your business.

Should You Upgrade Your Payment Equipment?

High processing costs aren't the only reason businesses consider changing providers.

Your equipment may also be outdated or poorly suited to your operation.

Depending on your requirements, Soltis Merchant Services can help you compare North-supported solutions for:

Countertop payments
Mobile payment acceptance
POS systems
Virtual terminal payments
Invoicing
Payment links
Remote payments
Multi-location businesses

We recommend technology based on what the business actually needs rather than automatically replacing everything after a statement review.

What Should I Send for a Statement Review?

A recent complete merchant processing statement is usually the best place to start.

The statement should contain enough information to understand the account's processing volume, transaction activity, and applicable charges.

If you aren't sure what pages we need, contact us and we can help you determine what to provide.

Is My Merchant Statement Sensitive?

Merchant statements can contain business and account information, so they should be handled carefully.

Before sharing one, review the document for information you don't intend to provide and use the submission method discussed with your representative.

You should never post a merchant processing statement publicly.

When Should You Review Your Processing Statement?

You don't need to wait until something goes wrong.

A review can be useful when your business experiences significant changes in processing volume, opens another location, changes how customers pay, adds new equipment, or receives a competing processing offer.

It can also simply be worthwhile when you haven't reviewed your processing costs in a long time.

Get a Free Merchant Statement Review

You shouldn't have to guess what your business pays to accept credit cards.

Soltis Merchant Services can review your current processing statement, help calculate your effective processing rate, explain major fees, and identify areas worth examining.

From there, the decision is yours.

If your current setup makes sense, you can move forward with greater confidence. If there's an opportunity to improve pricing, equipment, or payment capabilities, we can show you available options.

A Merchant Statement Review gives you the information you need to make that decision based on your actual processing activity—not just an advertised rate.

Call (440) 570-9355 or Contact Us or Get Started Today!