Worked cost examples, effective-rate arithmetic and checklists for comparing processor quotes.
Knowing how fees are built is only half the job. The other half is putting your own sales mix into numbers: how many transactions a month, what average ticket, how much is Interac debit, how much is credit, how much is online, and which monthly fixed fees come on top.
This section works through those numbers. You will find worked monthly estimates for different kinds of businesses, a step-by-step method for calculating your effective rate from a monthly statement, the arithmetic of renting versus buying a terminal, what online gateways and POS software add, a method for checking whether switching processors pays for itself, and a quote-comparison checklist.
There are no rankings here and no provider scores. A processor that fits a seasonal food truck can be the wrong fit for a dental clinic, and the reverse. The aim is that you can put two or three quotes side by side and see the full monthly cost of each in dollars. Begin with the card processing cost estimates and use the monthly cost estimator with your own figures.
Cost examples and choosing a best-fit processor
Worked monthly card processing estimates for five kinds of Canadian small businesses, the inputs that move the total, and how to build your own estimate.
Cost examples and choosing a best-fit processor
A method for comparing card processing quotes on the same month of sales, the documents to request under the Code of Conduct, and the non-price terms that decide fit.
Cost examples and choosing a best-fit processor
A step-by-step method to find your real card processing cost from a monthly statement, split it into pass-through costs and markup, and spot fees that do not belong.
Cost examples and choosing a best-fit processor
What Canadian online sellers pay to accept cards: card-not-present rates, gateway fees, fraud tools, cross-border and currency costs, with worked examples.
Cost examples and choosing a best-fit processor
What a point-of-sale system costs a Canadian small business beyond card fees: software plans, add-ons, hardware, bundled processing and the cost of leaving.
Cost examples and choosing a best-fit processor
How to work out whether switching card processors pays for itself, which one-time costs to count, how the Code of Conduct exit rights help, and a step-by-step switch plan.
Cost examples and choosing a best-fit processor
Compare renting, buying and leasing a payment terminal in Canada over its useful life, with payback arithmetic, lease warnings and what the Code of Conduct says.
