Our Offer:

Our free merchant account guidance program is open to any merchant on any platform using any processor. There is no fee, no conditions, no expectations, no pitching any offers or products. We are here to make sure you get the best deal no matter what.

Why do we offer a free merchant account guidance program?

We come from a long background of merchant services. We’ve been with great companies, and not so great companies. Our morals and integrity dictate our actions and who we are. Because of this, we’ve helped thousands of businesses over the years without ever asking for anything in return. Each time we did this, something great came out of it. They either wanted to work with us, or they stayed eight their current processor but respected us so much that they referred their friends to us.

Reviewing statement after statement, too often we find merchants have not only been taken advantage of but downright scammed.

A recent example: Merchant, let’s call them XYZ Retailer, was promised great savings and low rates. The rates were truly low and if that was all, it would been a great deal. However there was an equipment lease attached to the terminal. More about equipment leases in the future and why they are evil in merchant services. They were saving about $20 per month on the rates but were paying $150 per month on a non cancellable leased terminal that they could have purchased for $300. End result: $20 per month savings on rates, but an extra $7,200 on a terminal. (Note: don’t do equipment leases, no one but a judge can get you out of them.)

A Couple of Recent Examples

Another example: A rather large property management company, let’s call them ABC Properties, approached us to review a competing offer. They were in the millions per month in processing. The competing company was offering .02% off the markup rate, which would have saved them thousands over the course of the year. The competing company was one of the top 5 processors in the United States. After reviewing their 20 page agreement, we spotted a penalty charge of $.08 per transaction if the transaction was authorized over an internet line. Well, they do all of their transactions over internet lines as dial is antiquated. Taking this deal would end up costing thousands more than their prior processor. With our help they were able to negotiate with the new processor and they now have the deal they wanted.

The above is why we help. Not a day in our careers has gone by that we haven’t come across a shady offer or a bad signed deal. Therefore, we are here to help, but only way we can be efficient is if we can guide you before you make that deal. This is why we offer our free merchant account guidance program.

What We Will Help With:

Rate reviews

We will help you understand your rate, let you know if there is better pricing or terms out there in the industry.

Statement Analysis

We will break down your statements to show what the processor or bank is making off your account if possible, then we will show you the areas that can be improved. We look at card mix and can advise if it is better to take pin or pin-less debit. Lastly, we will audit random interchange line items to make sure they are true interchange and not marked up (no processor should markup an interchange line item, but many do).

Equipment Advice

We will ask about your current setup and can guide on options and decisions about equipment based on your research.

Proposal Review

We will look at and advise any proposals that you receive. Based on your volume, industry, transaction type, we can advise where to negotiate or where there are holes in the proposal.

Fees

We can guide you on fees that you should or should not be getting. After the analysis of each fee, we explain those that make sense, and advise on those that are not supposed to be there (hint: there are a lot that are not suppose to be there).

Data Breach Protection

We can advise on how to protect your customers data. The last thing you want is to show up in the news for a data breach.

PCI compliance

We can advise basic PCI principles and sources.

Contract Review

Many processors have contracts and cancellation fees. We look for liquidated damages and help you review the pros and cons of terminating the contract.

Recommendations (optional)

If you request, we can give you a list of preferred processors to check with as an alternative processor.

Architecture

We can give preliminary guidance on architecting your terminal network.

Overall, it is our job to make sure that you get the best deal.

What we will NOT help with:

1. We will not assist with your PCI self assessment. No one knows your business like you do. Understandably, we do not want any liability for offering our free help.
2. We cannot research vendors or manufacturers for you. We are here to guide you, but not do the work for you.
3. Chargebacks: we are not the mediation provider and cannot comment on what the card brand does or does not accept.
4. Surcharging: there are a lot of laws around this and from our experience it will negatively hurt your business. Our recommendation is to raise prices and offer a cash discount. More on this later.
5. Leases: these are generally ironclad and non cancelable. Your only option is to consult an attorney or take your chances with closing your bank account and fighting the collections. Here is a great article written all about leases, why not to do them and the leasing devisions of some companies.
6. Speak on your behalf: we cannot speak to other parties about your account.
7. Prohibited business: we will not advise on how to go around credit policies or rules with the networks. You are welcome to call a high risk processor.
8. Competition: our clients are held in complete confidentiality, we do not store statements or the contents of our conversations. Because of this, we will not deny or confirm any customer at anytime.
9. Career advice: on occasion we will help a fellow merchant processor, but we are only interested in helping teach how to do the right thing for the customer. We do not teach pricing, networking or compliance as this is something your company should be speaking on.
10. Implementation: due to the fact that we do not want access to your code for liability reasons, we will not advise on your API implementations.

Terms

We are here to help with our free merchant account guidance for free. You will get 1 hour of guidance over the phone, in person or over email. Sorry, we do not offer consulting services beyond our free merchant account guidance program. Our guidance and advice is purely our opinion, and you are responsible for taking your own actions. As a result, we will not be held liable for any action that you take. Please understand we are here to help, but not here to make decisions for you. In order to keep this service free, we ask that you respect that and agree to these terms.

To reach us, please use the contact form on the home page. We cannot wait to talk to you.