Year-End Merchant Statement Review: An 8-Step Checklist

The short answer: the last two weeks of December are the best time to review a full year of card processing. Pull all twelve statements, calculate your effective rate for each month, and look for fees that crept in, rates that rose, and contracts or leases coming up for renewal. An hour of review now can save hundreds or thousands of dollars next year.

Here’s the checklist we use when we review a year of statements for an Orange County business.

1. Gather All Twelve Statements

Download every monthly statement from your processor’s portal and save them in one folder. Your accountant will want them for taxes too — see our post on Form 1099-K basics.

2. Calculate Your Effective Rate Month by Month

For each month, divide total fees by total card sales. Put the twelve numbers side by side. Small changes are normal, because your card mix shifts with the seasons. Watch for a step up that never comes back down. That usually means a pricing change. Our fee calculator does the math.

3. Look for Notices of Rate Increases

Processors often announce increases in a single line of small print on a statement. Search each statement’s message section for words like “increase,” “adjustment,” “effective,” or “pricing change.”

4. List Every Recurring Fee

• Monthly statement, account, and service fees
• PCI program or PCI non-compliance fees
• Gateway and batch fees
• Annual or “regulatory” fees — often charged once a year, so easy to miss
• Monthly minimum-processing fees

Add them up for the year. Many owners are surprised by the total.

5. Check Your Equipment Costs

Are you still paying a monthly terminal lease or rental? Compare what you’ve paid to date with what the equipment would cost to buy. Find out when the lease ends and what it costs to cancel.

6. Review Chargebacks and Refunds

Count your chargebacks for the year and what each one cost. Look for patterns — the same product, the same channel, or the same reason code. Our chargebacks guide covers prevention.

7. Check Your Contract Dates

Find your merchant agreement. Note any renewal date, auto-renewal terms, and early termination fee. Many contracts renew automatically unless you give notice within a set window.

8. Decide What to Change in January

If your effective rate rose, fees piled up, or you can’t tell what you’re paying, January is a natural time to renegotiate or switch. Ask your current processor for interchange-plus pricing and a list of every fee in writing. Or send us your statements, and we’ll do this whole review for you, free.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I review my processing statement?

A quick look every month at your effective rate and any new fees, and a full review once a year.

What if my processor raised my rates?

Ask for the reason in writing, and request interchange-plus pricing with a clear markup. If they won’t, compare offers — a statement review shows what a fair rate looks like for your business.

Can I get out of my processing contract?

Check your agreement for the term, auto-renewal, and early termination fees. Some processors will waive or reduce the fee, and some new processors help cover it.