Square processing fees monthly.

Square charges different rates for card-present (in-person tapped/swiped cards) and card-not-present (online, invoice, keyed-in) transactions. Card-present is cheaper at around 1.75% because fraud risk is lower; card-not-present sits at 2.9-3.5% plus a fixed per-transaction fee for some card types. Your effective rate is the blended average weighted by your channel mix.

50,000 monthly volume split 50/50 between in-person and online at 1.75% and 2.9% rates = 875 + 1,450 = 2,325 monthly fees. Effective rate 4.65% - that's high because the blend includes the more expensive online share. Mostly in-person businesses pay closer to 2% effective; mostly online around 3%.

Volume discounts exist but only for larger businesses (200k+/month typically qualifies for Square's custom rates). At smaller scale, the standard rates apply without negotiation. For high-volume card-not-present businesses, alternative processors (Stripe at 2.9% + 20p, Adyen at 1.5-2.5% custom) often beat Square on total cost once hardware savings are factored.

A worked example

Try the defaults: monthly card volume of 50,000, avg transaction size of 45, card-present of 50%, card-present rate of 1.75%. The tool returns 1,162.50. You can adjust any input and the result updates as you type — no submit button, no reload. That's the real power here: seeing how sensitive the output is to one or two assumptions.

What moves the number most

The result responds to Monthly Card Volume, Avg Transaction Size, Card-Present %, Card-Present Rate %, and Card-Not-Present Rate %. Frequency and unit price pull the total in different directions. The biggest surprise for most people is how small recurring amounts compound into large annual figures — that's where this calculation earns its keep.

The formula behind this

Card present fees = CP volume × CP rate %. Card not present fees = CNP volume × CNP rate %. Effective rate = total fees ÷ volume × 100. Everything the calculator does is shown in the formula box below, so you can check the math against your own spreadsheet if you want.

Using this as a check-in

Re-run this every three months. A single reading tells you where you stand; four readings tell you whether things are improving. The trend matters more than any individual snapshot.

What this doesn't capture

The score is a composite of the inputs you provide. Life context — job security, family obligations, health, housing — doesn't appear in the math but shapes the real picture. Use the number as a prompt, not a verdict.