The Annual Payment Processing Audit: A Complete Guide for Business Owners

Just as you conduct annual financial reviews, your payment processing setup deserves a thorough annual audit. Processing costs are dynamic — interchange rates change, processors adjust fees, your business evolves, and better options emerge. An annual audit ensures you are always operating at peak efficiency.

Part 1: Cost Analysis

Pull 12 months of processing statements and calculate your average effective rate for the year. Compare it to the previous year. Break down costs by interchange, assessments, processor markup, and ancillary fees. Identify any fee increases or new charges that appeared during the year.

Part 2: Processor Performance

Evaluate your processor on uptime and reliability (any outages?), funding speed and consistency, customer support quality, reporting and analytics capabilities, and technology currency (do they offer the latest features?).

Part 3: Equipment Review

Assess your POS hardware and terminals. Are they current with EMV and NFC support? Is the software up to date? Are you using all available features? Is it time for an upgrade to improve efficiency or support new payment methods?

Part 4: Security and Compliance

Verify PCI compliance is current. Review security practices and access controls. Ensure tokenization is active. Check chargeback rates and fraud prevention measures.

Part 5: Contract Review

Check your contract expiration date. Review auto-renewal provisions. Evaluate whether your current terms are still competitive. If your contract is expiring, begin evaluating alternatives at least 90 days out.

Part 6: Market Comparison

Request quotes from two or three competing processors. Compare total cost of processing, not just quoted rates. Use competitive quotes as leverage in renewal negotiations with your current processor.

Mogil Partners conducts comprehensive annual processing audits for businesses of all sizes. Our analysis typically identifies 15-30% in savings opportunities. Schedule your annual audit today.