How do I compare the full cost of payment processing?

Collect a consistent starting point

Gather recent statements and any separate gateway or billing-platform invoices. Pick representative months rather than a single unusually quiet or busy period. Note the number of transactions, total volume, average sale, and how customers pay.

Ask a prospective provider to explain its estimate against that same activity. If its estimate leaves out a category of charges, ask for that category separately before comparing totals.

Ask what is included—and what is separate

• Percentage-based processing charges and per-transaction charges.
• Monthly gateway, account, billing-platform, or software charges.
• Charges connected to refunds, disputes, or additional services, where applicable.
• Hardware, setup, development, and migration expenses.
• Minimums, term commitments, cancellation charges, and any pricing-change provisions.

For example, Authorize.net’s pricing distinguishes a gateway-only plan from a plan combining a gateway and merchant account. This illustrates why the scope of an offer matters as much as the rate. It is not a JetGo quote. See Authorize.net’s published plan structure.

Use a simple illustration

Suppose an example business pays $1,500 in included fees on $50,000 of processed volume. Dividing fees by volume gives 3%. If a separately billed $100 gateway charge belongs in the comparison, the combined figure becomes 3.2%.

Compare operations as well as price

Ask about integration support, reporting, funding terms, and who handles problems. A quote with a lower apparent cost may require more implementation work or omit something your business relies on.

Start a processing review

Tell Jet which processor and billing tools you use, plus your main concern. You can begin with a conversation before sharing statements. We’ll discuss the appropriate way to provide any documents needed for a closer review.