Payments
How to read your UK merchant statement, line by line
Your merchant statement shows what you processed, what was charged and what was paid out. This walkthrough explains the common labels and how to compare the figures with your agreement.
Written by Jessica Gardner, In-house Editor, Reeve Consult · 2 min read
Updated
What does a merchant statement tell you?
It records card payment activity and the charges applied over a stated period. Start with the merchant account and dates, then identify sales, refunds, transaction charges and any separate equipment or account fees. Settlement figures explain what was paid out, but fees may be deducted or collected separately. Read the statement alongside your fee schedule and bank entries to understand the complete cost.
- Statements differ by provider and pricing model; not every one uses the same headings.
- The advertised transaction rate and total fees divided by takings measure different things.
- A disputed charge is easier to investigate when you identify the line, period and agreed price.
Your merchant statement records payment activity, charges and settlement for a period. Its labels depend on the provider and pricing model, so the agreement is part of the reading process.
Which period and account does it cover?
Check the merchant account, dates and outlets included. A business with several accounts or locations may receive separate statements. Compare like periods before treating a changed total as a price increase.
Identify sales, refunds and chargebacks. Then check whether the fees are deducted from payouts or collected separately. The amount arriving in the bank does not always equal the month's sales minus the fees printed on one document.
What do the fee headings mean?
Transaction rates can be bundled or split into interchange, scheme and provider charges. A per-transaction fee may appear separately. Equipment rental, account services and charges for particular events need their own entries in the calculation.
Match each relevant line with the fee schedule. If a label is unfamiliar, ask the provider what it covers and how it was calculated. There is no single statement layout used by every UK supplier.
Use your own payment activity to compare transaction charges, terminal costs, contract terms and payout schedules.
How does the example illustration add up?
The invented statement illustration shows £42,310.42 in sales. Its example charges are £334.25 in transaction pricing, £8 for a PCI-related service, a £30 surcharge, £22 rental and £24.94 in authorisation fees.
Those charges total £419.19, leaving £41,891.23 if all are deducted from those sales. The overall cost is about 0.99% of takings. The illustration's 0.79% transaction rate covers only part of that calculation. These figures explain a method; they are not a quote or a typical statement.
Why might the cost change?
A different card mix, more small purchases or an event-related fee can change the total without changing a particular headline rate. A renewal or price notice can affect the agreement separately.
Identify which activity or price changed before deciding whether the charge is wrong. Give the provider the line, period and calculation you want explained.
Check your current contract, compare a written quote and plan the handover before cancelling your existing service.
How can the statement help with a new proposal?
Ask each provider to price the same activity and identify all relevant charges. Include equipment and any separate software costs where they are needed for the proposed setup.
Reeve Consult can discuss those figures alongside the till, terminal and support arrangements. The useful comparison explains the whole proposal rather than treating one percentage as the decision.
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers
Is the transaction rate the same as total fees divided by takings?
Why might the bank deposit differ from the statement calculation?
Next step
Which part of your payment setup would you like to improve?
Tell us where customers pay, which till you use and which charges you want explained. We can discuss the options and arrange a statement review.
Request a payment reviewJessica Gardner is the in-house editor at Reeve Consult. She writes and edits every guide, blog post, and resource published on the site, making sure the writing is plain-English, the facts check out, and the advice is genuinely useful for the UK independent business owners we work with.