A dental office can calculate its effective processing rate by dividing all card-processing fees for the month by the patient-payment volume processed in that period. The next step is to separate interchange and network assessments from processor markup, PCI charges, batch fees, statement fees, and downgrade categories. The office's card mix explains part of the rate; unexplained markup explains the rest.
Dental payments can include a mix of debit, rewards cards, health-spending cards, card-present copays, and larger card-not-present balances. That mix makes a generic “normal rate” unreliable. A statement-level reconstruction uses the actual transaction categories and public network tables, then asks what the processor added above those costs.
What the record changes
The office should use a statement that covers a normal month and redact patient information before upload. The report does not need patient names or treatment details. It needs the volume, card categories, fee lines, and pricing method. Every line that cannot be classified stays flagged rather than being pushed into a guessed interchange or markup bucket.
- The buyer for this audit includes dental and medical offices processing roughly $20,000 to $500,000 a month, according to the offer research.
- Public Visa and Mastercard interchange materials provide dated network-cost inputs for a reconstruction.
- A bookkeeper or CPA who already sees the monthly statement can use the same reconciliation without granting merchant-portal access.
How to use this answer
A useful statement review starts with one equation: total processing fees divided by total card volume. The full audit then reconstructs that total from interchange, network assessments, processor markup, and other fee lines. The components must add back to the statement total within tolerance before any markup or unexplained fee is described.
- Use the statement's total card volume and total fees to calculate the effective rate before comparing any quoted percentage.
- Separate public network costs from the processor's markup and classify every monthly, batch, downgrade, PCI, or other fee line.
- Reconcile the components to the statement total, then send the owner-written request for specific fee removals or a specific markup.
Where the service stops
Reality Contact, LLC is not a payment processor, recommends no processor, and accepts no referral fees. We read the statement and write a letter that you send. We do not contact or negotiate with your processor, promise savings, interpret a contract, or log into a merchant portal. This is not legal advice, tax advice, or financial advice.
Sources: Visa merchant and interchange information; Mastercard interchange-rate information; FTC endorsement guidance.