Smog checks, big repairs, fleet cards. See what each one costs you.
Picture one morning at an LA shop. You take a $50 smog check and a big repair approved by phone. Then a contractor pays with a fleet card. Your processor prices each one differently.
Calls in Pacific time. Written results by email. No obligation.
- Early termination fee waived in writing
- $69/mo platform fee per terminal
Four things to check on your LA shop’s statement.
Card fees work the same way everywhere. What makes your statement different is your mix of work, and California’s rules on how you price it.
Written estimates and approval
California requires a written estimate and the customer’s authorization before work starts. After the work, it requires an itemized invoice. If you offer a cash price, it has to be clear on both. That way, what the customer pays matches what they approved.
Smog checks are small tickets
A smog station runs a lot of small card sales. Flat per-sale and monthly fees take a bigger bite out of a small ticket. So your real rate can run higher than your quoted rate.
Fleet and business accounts
Delivery vans, contractor trucks and company cars often pay with fleet or corporate cards. These usually cost more to accept. Sending extra sale details, called Level 3 data, can get some of those sales lower rates.
Approvals from across town
When a car owner is at work and approves the repair by phone, the card gets keyed in. A payment link usually costs less than a card read over the phone. So does paying at the counter at pickup.
Your rate is not what you pay.
A Los Angeles business paid $2,698 in card fees in one month. $717 of it was junk fees. Different business, same kinds of fees you’ll find on a shop’s statement.
How to find your real rate
Add up every fee on your monthly statement. Divide by your card sales. That’s it.
That’s $2,698 in one month. Over a year, it’s about $32,380.
| Base processing fees | $1,756.47 |
| “Qualification” surcharges | $377.82 |
| Card network fees | $192.46 |
| Compliance fees | $156.00 |
| PCI non-compliance penalties | $123.44 |
| Other add-on fees | $59.75 |
| Per-sale, batch and AVS fees | $32.42 |
| Total for the month | $2,698.36 |
A Los Angeles pain-management practice. Real statement, name removed. $717 of the total was junk fees: charges worth questioning.
Your fees, minus what cash discount costs. That’s the savings.
On cash discount, the card price covers processing. You pay a $69/mo platform fee per terminal. So your savings are what you pay in fees today, minus what cash discount costs: about $89.75 a month with one terminal, including processor pass-through costs.
It’s the total fees line on your statement. Not sure? Use the helper below.
A guess works. The free analyzer finds the exact number from your statement.
Your percentage is your own math: your fees minus what cash discount costs with one terminal, $89.75 a month (the $69/mo platform fee plus processor pass-through costs). Each extra terminal adds $69 a month. Under $10,000 a month in card sales, you see the plain dollar math. Already on cash discount? We can lower your program rate instead. This is a simple estimate, not a quote. Your real numbers depend on your statement and program terms.
| Monthly card sales | $70,000 |
| From smog checks | $6,000 |
| From fleet and business cards | $15,000 |
| Example effective rate across all cards, all fees counted | 3.1% |
| Card fees in this example | $2,170 / mo |
| Over a year | $26,040 |
| If a review found a rate 0.3 points lower, that would be $210 a month, or $2,520 a year, in this example. | |
| With a cash discount program set up to fit California’s estimate and pricing rules, the card price covers the card fee. So much of the $2,170 would no longer come out of your shop’s margin. What’s left depends on your program terms. Your written review spells them out. | |
Small tickets, big bite
Flat per-sale fees take a bigger bite out of a small ticket than a big one. A smog lane runs a lot of small tickets, so your real rate can run higher than your quoted rate. The free analyzer shows you exactly how much.
Let the card price cover the card fee.
Choose cash discount or keep traditional pricing. With cash discount, card customers see the card price. The cash price is shown too, with the required signs.
Your prices become card prices
Your prices are set as card prices. Customers who pay by card pay the posted price.
Cash gets a lower price
Customers who pay cash get a discount. The terminal applies it and prints it on the receipt.
Signs show both prices
A clear sign at the counter explains it before anyone pays. The rules require it. Before you go live, we set up your estimates and invoices to fit your state’s rules.
No one walks into your bay.
You send a statement. You get the answer in writing. Then you decide. A call is there if you want one.
Rather we run the numbers for you?
Tell us your monthly card sales. We’ll email your numbers within one business day. No call needed.
Thanks, we’ve got it.
We’ll email your numbers within one business day. Want them faster? Run the free analyzer.
No downtime at the counter.
Your old processor keeps running until a test sale goes through on the new terminal.
- 1 minute
Check your statement
Upload it to the free analyzer, or send it to us. You see every fee and your real rate.
- 15 minutes
A short phone call
Pick a time. We call you at your number, walk you through your numbers and answer your questions.
- 5–10 minutes
A quick application
Fill it out by phone or online. The agreement waives the early termination fee, in writing.
- About 3 days
Your terminal ships
We help you set up the signs. No downtime: you take cards the whole way through.
- Want to talk it through? Book a 15-minute call in Pacific time, before you open or after you close.
What LA shop owners ask before they switch.
How should card pricing show on a California repair estimate?
California requires a written estimate and the customer’s authorization before work starts. It also requires an itemized invoice after. Any card pricing or cash discount should be clear on both. That way, the amount the customer pays matches what they authorized. We set this up with you before your cash discount program goes live.
We run a smog lane. Why look at small tickets?
Flat per-sale fees take a bigger bite out of a small ticket than a big one. That flat fee can be a noticeably bigger share of a smog check than of a repair. So if you have lots of small tickets, your statement is worth reading line by line.
Our fleet customers pay with fleet and corporate cards. Can that cost less?
Sometimes. Fleet and business cards usually carry higher base fees, set by the card brands. Some of these sales can get lower rates when extra sale details are sent with them. These details are called Level 2 or Level 3 data.
Will it work with our shop management software?
Tell us which system you use. We’ll confirm whether it connects before you commit to anything.
Want more on fees, effective rates and switching? See card processing for auto repair shops.
See what every kind of ticket really costs you.
Upload a recent statement for a line-by-line breakdown in about a minute. Or book a 15-minute call in Pacific time.