The short answer
Statements are laid out differently from one provider to the next, but they are usually built from the same few blocks. Once you can find the blocks, you can ask better questions about the parts that matter.
This guide uses no figures on purpose. What appears on your statement depends on your business, and only your own statement can show what you pay.
What a statement usually shows
| Section | What it tells you | A question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Summary | Total card sales, refunds and what was deposited for the period | Do these match my own sales records? |
| Fees by card type or category | What was charged on each kind of sale | Which of these are passed through, and which are yours? |
| Account and service fees | Charges that do not depend on a single sale, such as account, statement or gateway fees | Which of these repeat, and which can change? |
| Chargebacks and adjustments | Disputed sales and corrections | Why was this adjusted, and what do I do about it? |
| Deposits | When and how much reached your bank | Does this equal sales minus fees and adjustments? |
If your statement has a section that fits none of these, ask your provider what it is for.
Sort every fee into three groups
The simplest way to make sense of a long list is to sort it. Take any statement and mark each charge as one of three types.
- Passed through from the networks and banks. These are the charges described in our guide to interchange: interchange and network assessments. They depend on the kind of sale, not on which provider you use.
- Charged by your provider. This is the markup on sales, plus any per-transaction amounts the provider adds.
- Everything else. Account, statement, gateway, equipment and other fees, plus chargeback and adjustment lines.
Group one is the part you cannot compare between providers. Groups two and three are where providers differ, so they are the part to look at when you compare offers.
Where statements get hard to read
Some labels depend on how a provider builds its pricing. For example, you may see sales sorted into named categories, with a different charge for each. Whether that is tiered pricing, a flat rate, or a cost-plus structure shapes what the lines mean, and the labels are not always the same from provider to provider. Our guide to payment processing rates versus value describes the common structures in general terms.
Check that the deposits make sense
A statement is a record, so it should line up with your own books.
- Add up the sales you recorded for the period. Compare them with the sales total on the statement.
- Subtract refunds, fees and adjustments from that total.
- Compare the result with the deposits that reached your bank.
If these do not match, ask what is missing. There may be a timing difference, such as sales that were approved late in the period and deposited afterward. Ask your provider to explain any gap in writing.
Questions to ask about your statement
If you are weighing a new offer, bring a recent statement with you. It is the clearest way to compare like with like. The checklist for choosing a payment processor lists what else to ask, and the guide to how processors, gateways and merchant accounts fit together can help you see which provider is responsible for which line.
If a line on your statement is a dispute or an adjustment, how chargebacks work explains what is behind it, and how to reconcile your card deposits with your sales shows how to match the statement to your bank.