How much of your patient payments disappear into card fees?
Insurers pay you by EFT or check. Patients pay the rest by card: deductibles, co-insurance, membership plans and elective work like implants and aligners. That’s where your card fees add up.
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 dental statement.
Card fees work the same way everywhere. What makes your statement different is how your patients pay.
Measure fees against patient card payments
If most of your income comes from PPO plans, your card fees look small next to total revenue. Divide them by what patients paid by card instead. That’s your real effective rate.
Membership plans cost more per charge
In-house plans for uninsured patients charge a stored card every month. Stored-card charges usually cost more than a tap. And they repeat, so the rate matters every month.
Elective work is paid by card
Implants, aligners, whitening and veneers are mostly paid out of pocket. If you do a lot of elective work, more of your revenue comes in on cards. Many are rewards cards, which cost more to accept.
California pricing rules
California has its own rules on how prices and fees are shown to consumers. We set up and disclose your cash discount program to fit those rules. It also fits the way your practice posts fees. All of this happens before you go live. Traditional pricing is available too.
Your rate is not what you pay.
This Los Angeles practice paid $2,698 in card fees in one month. $717 of it was junk fees. Here is where every dollar went.
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.
| Patient card payments per month | $35,000 |
| Example effective rate, all fees counted | 2.9% |
| Card fees in this example | $1,015 / mo |
| Over a year | $12,180 |
| If a review found a rate 0.3 points lower, that would be $105 a month, or $1,260 a year, in this example. | |
| With a cash discount program, the card price covers the card fee. So much of the $1,015 would no longer come out of your practice revenue. What’s left depends on your program terms. Your written review spells them out. | |
Where the $35,000 comes from
| Tapped at the front desk | $22,000 |
| Membership plans, card on file | $8,000 |
| Payment links and phone payments | $5,000 |
Example only. The last two usually cost more per dollar than the first. Enter what patients paid by card last month, not total collections.
Let the card price cover the fees on patient payments.
A cash discount program lets the card price cover those fees. The cash price is shown next to it.
Your prices become card prices
Your fees are listed as the card price. Patients who pay by card pay the posted price.
Cash gets a lower price
Patients who pay with cash or check get a discount and pay the cash price. The receipt shows both prices.
Signs show both prices
Signs at the front desk and on the terminal show the cash price before patients pay. The rules require them. We set them up with you before you go live.
No one shows up at your front desk.
You send a statement, get the answer in writing, and decide. The free analyzer takes about a minute.
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 front desk.
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 your first patient or after your last.
- Membership billing moves over on a planned date, so no payment is missed.
What LA practices ask before they switch.
We bill mostly PPO insurance. Is a review still worth it?
Usually, yes. Insurance pays by EFT or check, so card fees only hit the patient portion. That’s deductibles, co-insurance, and non-covered and elective work. Measure the fees against patient card payments, not total collections. They’re often bigger than they look.
Can a dental practice in California use a cash discount program?
California law and card-brand rules control how card pricing is shown to patients. Dental practices also have insurance billing and posted fees to account for. Before anything is switched on, we go through how cash discount would apply to your practice. Traditional pricing is available too.
Can our in-house membership plan payments move to a new processor?
Recurring billing on stored cards is supported. Whether your stored patient cards can move depends on your current processor. We check that before you switch. Then we plan the move so no membership payment is missed.
Will it connect to our practice management software?
Tell us which system you use. We’ll confirm whether it connects before you commit to anything.
Do we have to meet with a sales rep?
No. The statement review happens online, and you get the results in writing. Want to talk it through? Book a 15-minute call in Pacific time, before your first patient or after your last.
Want more on fees, effective rates and switching? See card processing for dental practices.
See what patient card payments really cost you.
Upload a recent statement for a line-by-line breakdown in about a minute. Or book a 15-minute call in Pacific time.