Free tool
Effective rate calculator
Two numbers from your last processing statement — total card sales and total fees — and you'll see the one number that matters: the share of every sale that actually goes to processing. We compute the fact. We don't promise anything.
On your statement it's called “Amount submitted”, “Total sales volume” or similar — the month's card sales before any deductions.
The “Total fees charged” or “Fees deducted” line — all of it, including monthly, PCI, statement and service fees, not just the per-transaction cost.
This tool runs entirely in your browser. The numbers you type are not sent, stored or seen by anyone — including us.
Your effective rate
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Enter both numbers to see your rate.
The result is your own arithmetic, not a quote or an offer, and it says nothing about what any other pricing would cost you. We never promise savings or approval.
Where to find the numbers
- Take last month's merchant processing statement — the PDF or paper summary your processor sends, not your bank statement.
- Find the month's total card sales: usually labelled “Amount submitted”, “Total sales” or “Volume”.
- Find the total of everything they charged you: per-transaction fees plus monthly, PCI, statement and any other line items. Some statements total this for you; on others you add two or three subtotals.
Why a fact instead of a promise
Anyone can promise savings; nobody can honestly guarantee them — pricing and approval are decided by Square and its banking partners, not by us. So we don't promise. We read your statement, show your effective rate, and let your own number make the argument. If the deal you have is already good, we'll tell you exactly that.
For reference: the published standard pricing we set up
2.6% + $0.15 per card-present transaction on the traditional program, or a 4% cash discount program where the processing cost is carried by the cardholder. What you actually pay on any processor also includes the monthly line items — which is why the statement, not the rate card, tells the truth.
Effective rate, answered
- What is an effective rate?
- Your effective rate is the share of your card sales that goes to processing: the month's total fees divided by total card sales, written as a percentage. It's the one number that folds every line — per-transaction, monthly, PCI, statement — into a single figure you can compare month to month.
- How do I calculate my effective processing rate?
- Take last month's merchant processing statement, find total card sales and total fees, and divide the fees by the sales. This calculator does the arithmetic for you: enter the two numbers and it shows the percentage. Nothing else is needed.
- Where do I find total fees on my statement?
- On the processing statement — not your bank statement — look for the “Total fees charged” or “Fees deducted” line. Include everything: per-transaction fees plus the monthly, PCI, statement and service line items. Some statements total this for you; on others you add two or three subtotals.
- Is the data I enter sent anywhere?
- No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser. The numbers you type are never sent, stored or seen by anyone, including us — which is the point: you get the fact without handing anything over.