Rateaudit Public Help
Help & FAQ
Rateaudit helps you read merchant processing statements and compare them with another processor offer.
It is a practical review tool, not legal, tax, accounting, or underwriting advice.
What Rateaudit does
- decode the most common fees on a processing statement
- estimate your effective rate
- spot fee categories that are easy to miss
- compare your current setup with a new processor quote
- get a simple verdict on whether an offer looks better, worse, or unclear
What you need to enter
From your current merchant statement
- total monthly card volume
- total fees charged for the month
- number of transactions, if available
- processor markup or discount rate details
- interchange or pass-through fees, if shown separately
- monthly account fee
- PCI fee
- statement fee
- batch fee
- chargeback fee count, if any
- monthly minimum, if listed
- pricing model notes such as interchange-plus, flat rate, or tiered pricing
From a competitor quote or new offer
- quoted percentage rates
- per-transaction fee
- monthly platform or account fee
- PCI or compliance fee
- gateway or terminal fee
- batch fee
- monthly minimum
- contract term / early termination fee if disclosed
- pricing model type
If a field is missing, Rateaudit may still produce an estimate, but confidence is lower.
How to read the effective rate
Your effective rate is the share of your card volume that you actually paid in processing costs.
effective rate = total fees / total processed volume
Example: processed volume $50,000, total fees $1,450, effective rate 2.90%.
A quoted rate can look low while the real all-in cost is higher because of extra fixed fees, PCI charges, batch fees, monthly minimums, or pricing tiers.
Common fee terms explained
Tiered pricing
Tiered pricing groups transactions into buckets such as qualified, mid-qualified, and non-qualified. In practice, this can make statements harder to audit because the processor decides how many transactions land in the more expensive tiers.
PCI fee
A PCI fee is usually a recurring fee tied to PCI compliance or compliance programs. It may appear as PCI fee, PCI compliance fee, non-compliance fee, or security fee.
Monthly minimum
A monthly minimum means the processor expects a minimum amount of monthly revenue from your account. If actual fees fall below that threshold, you may be charged the difference.
Batch fee
A batch fee is a charge applied when transactions are settled in a batch, often daily.
FAQ
What is Rateaudit?
Rateaudit is a public tool that helps merchants understand payment processing statements and compare their current costs with a new processor offer.
Who is it for?
Small businesses, operators, and merchants who want a clearer view of card processing fees without needing to decode every line item manually.
Can I use it if I do not have every fee detail?
Yes, but the result becomes more approximate. Missing fixed fees or unclear pricing model details can change the comparison meaningfully.
What is an effective rate?
Effective rate is your actual cost as a percentage of processed volume. Formula: total fees / total volume.
Why does my effective rate look higher than the quoted processor rate?
Because the quoted rate often does not include every cost. Monthly fees, PCI charges, batch fees, minimums, and pricing-tier effects can increase the real all-in cost.
Is tiered pricing always bad?
Not always, but it is less transparent than a clearer interchange-plus structure. If a quote is tiered and details are vague, the tool should mark confidence lower.
Does Rateaudit tell me which processor is definitively best?
No. It gives a practical estimate based on the data provided. It should be framed as a comparison aid, not an absolute legal or financial verdict.
What should users do if the tool says the offer is unclear?
Ask the processor for a full fee schedule, model type confirmation, PCI/compliance fees, monthly minimum details, batch and statement fees, and contract term and termination conditions.
Is Rateaudit tax, legal, or accounting advice?
No. It is an informational tool for fee comparison and statement interpretation.
Limits of the tool
Rateaudit is helpful, but it has limits. It may not fully capture hidden fees not shown in uploaded inputs, custom enterprise pricing terms, reserve requirements or funding delays, hardware lease obligations, contract legal exposure, tax treatment, all interchange qualification edge cases, or future pricing changes after onboarding.
If the statement is incomplete or the quote is vague, the result should be treated as a directional estimate.
Plain-language disclaimer
Rateaudit is an informational comparison tool. It helps organize statement data and estimate likely cost differences. It does not replace advice from your accountant, payments attorney, or processor underwriting team.