Entering Statement Data

Entering statement data is easy, once you get the hang of it. Please know that all of the fields are important to have values that accurately represent the data on the statement, or else the results will be very inaccurate. Here is a quick list of the fields along with a description of what we are looking for on the statement.

Description: This field is for your eyes only. Whatever you type into this field will appear on the merchant profile as the label for this statement analysis. In the event that you analyze multiple statements for this merchant, it would help to label them each something that makes them stand apart from the others. For example, I always go with the Month and Year of the statement in the event that I analyze multiple months.

SIC Code: It is extremely important to be accurate with this selection. Since the algorithm being applied is directly affected by the SIC code, please take your time in making sure that the merchant fits the SIC code that you select.

Volume and Transaction Count fields: Each card brand should be totaled and entered into these fields. There are certain statements that have multiple line items for each card type. Add them up and then enter the amount. This DOES NOT include the Pin Debit volume, but rather the credit and off-line debit (also known as check card) volume.

Current Fees: Total fees on the statement, including credit card processing fees, pin debit fees, ancillary fees, and daily discount fees. Everything.

Amex Fees: We ask that even though you have already included these in the Current Fees field, we need you to single them out and enter in the fees only associated with Amex. Since Opt Blue has it's own interchange, we have to evaluate Amex separately from the other card types.

Merchant Type: This should reflect the kind of environment they are in for taking transactions. A retail environment simply means that they are swiping cards while MOTO and E-Commerce is for Card Not Present transactions.

High Speed: How is the merchant setup? The reason we want to know is because you may or may not have different buy rates for Dial versus High Speed connectivity.

Current Pricing: By far the most sophisticated question we ask! In order to be precise, it is important to be able to distinguish between statements that show tiered pricing versus statements that show interchange pricing. With tiered pricing, we are forecasting where the merchant is hitting the interchange categories via the SIC code. With interchange pricing, there is no forecast at all, but rather a few additional fields that we require you to fill out.

If the Current Pricing is "Interchange"....

• Interchange Markup: This field only appears if the "Interchange" option is selected in the "Current Pricing" dropdown, which means that the merchant is currently on Interchange plus pricing. In this case, we ask that you locate the Discount Rate or Interchange Markup on the statement and insert that number in this field.
• Trans Markup: This field only appears if the "Interchange" option is selected in the "Current Pricing" dropdown, which means that the merchant is currently on Interchange Plus pricing. In this case, we ask that you locate the "POS AUTHS" or the "Per Item" fee or the "Trans Markup" that indicates a Markup over the Interchange Per Items fees on the statement.
• Add Misc Fees: It is crucial to account for all the fixed ancillary fees that you find on the statement. Examples of miscellaneous monthly fees are; Statement fees, Non-PCI Compliance fees, Monthly Maintenance fees, Account on File fees, etc...You can add as many of these as needed in order to give an accurate assessment of what you find on the merchant's current statement.

If the Current Pricing is "Tiered"...

• Tiered: If the current statement that you are analyzing shows a tiered structure of pricing, whether it's a combination of Qualified, Mid-Qualified and Non-Qualified rates, or even a type of E.R.R. pricing structure, then you are correct in selecting "Tiered".

Batches: This number should reflect the number of days that the merchant batched out their system. If the current statement doesn't have this fee as a line item expense, then you will be required to add up the number of dates that money was deposited in the merchant's account. There will normally be a section of the statement that lists out every single day's batch total with a date next to it. Add up all these line items and as many rows as you can count, that is normally the number of batches that the merchant batched out to their front end processor.

Gateway Trans Fee: On the rare occasion that you are analyzing a merchant statement that shows some kind of Gateway that the merchant is currently processing through and you can identify some kind of gateway transaction fee that is in addition to the POS Auth fee, then be sure to put the fee in this field. Ex: If a restaurant is using the Micros point of sales system, and you can identify an additional transaction fee in the $0.06-$0.10 range, then be sure to put that number here. That way, you can be sure to account for all possible fees that you may have to charge the merchant when selecting your own pricing plan to place the merchant on.

Pin Debit: This always seems to be an area that throws agents off. The key to entering this data correctly is to know whether or not the Pin Debit network fees are displayed on the statement. If they are, then enter the total amount of fees associated with Pin Debit in the "Fees" field. This number should include the Debit Network fees, the Pin Debit Transaction fees, and any fixed ancillary fees listed as well. If the Network fees are not listed on the statement, and instead you can only find a "Per Item" fee, then the Pin Debit section of the statement analysis doesn't apply and you are to mark each field in the Pin Debit section with a zero value.

"Your account name" Settings: This is the drop down that contains each of the Schedule A's that you have loaded into the software. Please determine which front end network you wish to board the merchant and make your selection. Based on the Processor you choose, only the Pricing Options that you created for that Processor will become available on the right hand side of the screen.