How the calculator works
Start with comparable figures. See the assumptions. Check the whole period.
1. Understand your current costs
Use gross card sales and recurring provider charges from the same representative month, covering the same locations and payment channels. Add only the costs that are outside the provider amount.
Monthly cost = recurring provider charges + separate monthly charges + recurring annual charges ÷ 12.
Cost per £100 taken = monthly cost ÷ card sales × 100. This overall cost ratio includes the expenses you enter. It is not the processing rate charged by the provider and is not evidence that you are overpaying.
2. Compare another offer
Use the same monthly sales and payment counts for both plans. For each channel or card group, processing cost is sales × percentage rate ÷ 100, plus payment count × pence fee ÷ 100. Rates must include the applicable scheme, interchange and provider charges.
The calculator adds any minimum-charge shortfall, monthly fixed costs, annual fees averaged over 12 months and future one-off costs. On the alternative plan, introductory processing rates apply for the entered whole months, then standard processing rates apply.
A small fictional example
£10,000 of monthly card sales at 1.2%, plus 1,000 payments at 3p each, gives £150 of processing costs. Add £50 in monthly fees and £120 in annual fees, averaged as £10 a month. The resulting recurring total is £210 a month, or £2.10 per £100 taken. If that month repeats, recurring costs are £2,520 over 12 months.
This is an illustration of the arithmetic, not a quotation or a promise of a particular price.
3. Follow costs over time
Compare 12, 24, 36 or 60 months. One-off costs are included in cumulative totals from the start. Lasting break-even is the earliest month when the alternative is no more expensive overall and stays that way for the remainder of the chosen period. It does not predict what happens after that period.
Fixed contract payments extending beyond the comparison period are shown separately. The committed fixed amount must already be included in monthly fees; it is not added twice.
Questions people ask
What if I do not know a charge?
Choose “I don’t know”. You can still download a checklist, but a complete cost or savings result is held back until the required figures are entered and valid.
Can I compare a quote that lists separate card types?
Choose card-group pricing and create a group for each distinct rate and channel, up to eight groups. Do not overlap categories. Include every payment once.
How are minimum fees handled?
Enter the minimum processing charge itself. The calculator adds only any shortfall between the eligible processing fees and that minimum. It supports one minimum per plan, applying to in-person fees, online fees or both combined. Different eligibility rules or multiple minima need a separate review.
What does “standard rate” mean?
It is the processing rate that applies after the introductory period you enter. Only one introductory processing-rate period on the alternative plan is modelled. Fixed charges do not expire automatically.
Does the calculator handle VAT?
Use a consistent VAT basis across both plans. The calculator does not add or remove VAT. Check the treatment of each charge on the statement or quotation.
Can I upload a statement or receive a quote?
This version has no statement-upload facility and does not generate provider quotations. You enter figures yourself. The optional review route lets you check a request before sending it to Search And Submit Ltd. Your report is included only if you choose it. You can also copy the request into an email to info@epossavings.co.uk.
Need to account for seasonal trade?
The seasonal calculator accepts twelve monthly cost totals or estimates a simple tariff from each month’s card sales and payment counts. It can compare two arrangements, include extra annual and future one-off costs, and produce a downloadable text report. It has its own method and limitations on that page.
Scope and limitations
- In the main calculator, sales and payment counts repeat each month. For different monthly figures, use the separate seasonal card payment cost calculator, which totals twelve individual months.
- Annual fees are averaged, so the timeline is not an invoice cash-flow forecast.
- Current processing rates remain constant. Multiple promotions and expiring fixed fees are not modelled.
- Refunds, chargebacks, authorisation and settlement charges are included only where you enter them as other costs.
- Renewal prices, inflation, financing, equipment resale value and operational benefits are not forecast.
- Contract commitments shown beyond the period exclude variable processing and annual fees.
- Figures are entered by the user or taken from a labelled fictional example. Calculations do not independently verify a statement or agreement.