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Insights & Guides

Plain-English breakdowns of fees, pricing models, and industry practices so you can make smarter decisions for your business.

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Fees & Interchange

What Is a Monthly Minimum Fee on a Processing Statement?

Fees & Interchange Most merchants see a monthly minimum fee on their processing statement and assume it is a penalty for low volume. It is not. The monthly minimum fee is a floor — a way for processors to ensure that the fixed costs of maintaining your account are covered regardless of how much you […]

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Business Growth

Barry Knew the Answer. He Just Needed Someone to keep Him Accountable.

Human Nature · Barry Series · Part 4 This is Part 4 of the Barry series. Part 1 · Part 2 · Part 3 Small business accountability is not about checking in to see if someone failed. Accountability for small business owners is not about performance reviews or status reports. It is about staying close […]

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Human Nature

Christine Said the Same Thing for Eight Months. Then She Saw the Annual Number.

The dual pricing objection was always the same. She said it three times over eight months. “My customers will stop coming back.” Not “I need to think about it.” Not “the timing isn’t right.” The dual pricing objection was always the same sentence, delivered the same way — certain, a little protective, like she was […]

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Industry Insights

WorldPay Is Holding Over $100,000 of a County’s Money. The Clearance Was Already Given.

Case Study This is what a WorldPay fund hold looks like in practice. The clearance had already been given. The front-end processor had reviewed the account, flagged the volume as legitimate, and communicated that to WorldPay. Everyone agreed the money belonged to the county. WorldPay still had not released it. More than $100,000 in public […]

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Business Growth

Barry Had the Land. He Just Did Not Have a Plan. We Fixed That in About Twenty Minutes.

Human Nature · Barry Series · Part 3 Barry Had the Land. He Just Did Not Have a Plan. RV park marketing is the piece most new park owners skip — and the reason most of them sit empty for six months. This is the third time I have visited Barry’s shop. The first time, […]

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Industry Insights

Dr. Sandra Levy Has Been on Stripe for Four Years. Her Office Manager Finally Did the Math.

Dr. Sandra Levy runs a dermatology practice in Flagstaff, Arizona. When her office manager started researching Stripe alternatives, the conversation began the same way it always does — with a spreadsheet and a number that was harder to ignore than expected. Eight exam rooms, two providers, a full aesthetics menu. The kind of practice that […]

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Industry Insights

Nina Was Paying Square $468 a Month. Then She Looked at Her Options.

Nina runs a food truck in Nashville. Smash burgers, loaded fries, a line out the window on a good Saturday. She started with Square three years ago because it was the obvious choice — download an app, plug in a reader, start taking cards. Ten minutes and she was live. For a while, it was […]

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Business Growth

Barry Had Five Ideas. One of Them Was Ready to Make Money This Week.

This is Part 2 of a series. Part 1: He Owned the Answer for Eight Months. He Just Never Had Time to Look at It. Prioritize as a small business — that’s the advice everyone gives. Almost nobody explains how. Not in a way that tells you which specific idea goes first, and why, and […]

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Business Growth

He Owned the Answer for Eight Months. He Just Never Had Time to Look at It.

Human Nature · Barry Series · Part 1 How to prioritize as a small business owner is one of those questions nobody asks out loud — but almost every owner is quietly losing to. I stopped by Barry’s shop on a Tuesday afternoon. He owns an auto repair place in Charlotte — eight bays, four […]

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Industry Insights

The Rep Was Gone. The Lease Was Not.

Clover problems are rarely visible at the point of sale. Simone owns a home goods boutique in Atlanta’s Ponce City Market. Candles, ceramics, small-batch textiles — the kind of shop where the product display matters as much as the product. When a Fiserv rep walked in and showed her the Clover station, she bought it […]

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Fees & Interchange

Your Processor Said It Was Visa. It Wasn’t.

Fees & Interchange The notice showed up in the footer of her April statement. Three sentences. Something about card brand changes affecting interchange, assessment rates, and industry classifications. She assumed it was Visa and Mastercard doing what they do twice a year. She did not read it closely. She did not compare it to last […]

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Industry Insights

Gary Grabbed a Case of Toilet Paper and a Payment Processor. One Was a Bargain.

Elavon reviews were the last thing on Gary’s mind when he stopped at the kiosk. He owns an HVAC company outside Nashville. He has been an Executive Costco member for fourteen years. He buys his shop supplies there, his crew snacks, his cleaning products. He trusts Costco the way people trust a brand that has […]

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