Step-by-step fee calculations on real-looking numbers, terminal rent-or-buy maths, online gateway costs, repricing after surcharges ended, and a best-fit method for comparing quotes.
There is no single "best" payment provider. There is a best fit for how your customers pay, your average sale, your monthly card takings and the equipment you need. The best-fit selection guide gives you a repeatable method, and the quote comparison checklist turns it into questions to put to every provider on your shortlist.
The other guides show the arithmetic. The monthly cost worked example prices one small business's card mix under three pricing models. Further guides show how fixed cents per transaction change the effective rate on small sales, how much a business that used to surcharge may need to adjust prices, whether to rent or buy terminals, what online gateways add for card-not-present payments, and when switching provider pays back.
Use the card fee calculator for the fee on your takings, the monthly processing cost estimator for a low–high range, and the terminal and switching payback calculator for one-off costs. All rates in these tools are illustrative defaults: replace them with the figures from your own quote or statement.
Worked costings and choosing a provider
Why a fee like 0.9% plus 10 cents costs more than a 1.5% flat rate on a $5 coffee, how to find your crossover sale amount, and what low-ticket businesses should ask for.
Worked costings and choosing a provider
Turn flat-rate, tiered and cost-plus quotes into one comparable monthly figure using your own transactions, spot the fees that quotes leave out, and negotiate with evidence.
Worked costings and choosing a provider
Compare renting and buying card terminals on total cost, payback and contract terms, with a worked example, the hidden equipment fees to check, and tap-to-pay on phones.
Worked costings and choosing a provider
A step-by-step way to find the best-fit card payment provider for an Australian small business, using your own statements, card mix, equipment needs and contract terms instead of rankings.
Worked costings and choosing a provider
A line-by-line costing of one month of card payments for an illustrative Australian bakery under flat-rate, blended and cost-plus pricing, with the arithmetic shown.
Worked costings and choosing a provider
How online card payments are priced, the gateway, acquiring, fraud and 3-D Secure costs to add up, a worked example for an online store, and what changed for online sellers in 2026.
Worked costings and choosing a provider
A worked method for businesses that used to surcharge cards: calculate the price rise needed to absorb card costs, compare it with switching plans, and display prices correctly.
Worked costings and choosing a provider
Work out whether moving to a cheaper card payment plan is worth it after exit fees, new terminals and set-up time, with a worked payback example and a no-downtime switching plan.
