Hidden Fee Finder for Moving Companies: Check Your Merchant Statement

How this works: the assumptions behind your numbers

Every number above comes from the totals you enter plus the assumptions below. Assumptions are estimates, not verified rates.

• Industry average effective rate by segment: retail 2.55%, restaurant 2.75%, ecommerce 3.15%, services 2.90%, healthcare 2.65%, b2b 2.80%, high_risk 4.25%. Source: TouchSuite pricing assumptions file (estimates only; replace with verified figures before launch).
• Comparison tolerance band: ±0.25 percentage points counts as 'close to average'. Source: Tool design assumption to avoid flagging trivial differences.
• Last month is representative: Monthly fee amounts are multiplied by 12 to annualize. Source: Tool design assumption; seasonal businesses should treat annual figures as rough.
• Annual fee frequency: Annual fee entered as a once-a-year amount, multiplied by 1. Source: Tool design assumption.
• Early termination fee: Treated as a one-time cost, not annualized. Source: Tool design assumption.
• Fee classification tags: Interchange and card brand fees tagged 'typically pass-through'; listed account-level fees tagged 'typically processor-set'. Source: General industry structure; actual billing varies by processor and contract, so tags read 'typically'.
• Sanity check bounds: Warn if effective rate is above 15% or below 0.5%. Source: Tool design assumption to catch data-entry mistakes.

Estimates are based on published industry averages and are not a quote. Actual rates depend on card mix, ticket size, industry, and underwriting.

Why moving company statements are harder to audit

Most movers run two very different kinds of card transactions. The deposit or reservation fee is usually keyed in from a phone call or paid through an online booking link, so it is card-not-present. The balance is often collected on delivery day, sometimes on a mobile reader in the truck and sometimes keyed in from a job sheet when the reader is not handy. Keyed and card-not-present sales generally carry higher card costs than dipped or tapped cards, so the mix between the two affects your effective rate.

On top of that, many moving companies also bill storage monthly, invoice corporate relocation clients who pay with business or commercial cards, and let customers add crew tips to the card. Each of these lands on the same statement. When you enter your numbers, use the totals for the whole statement month: every deposit, every balance, every storage charge, and every tip that ran through the card. Volume and fees must come from the same month, or the effective rate will be off.

Also pick your month on purpose. A June statement with dozens of large jobs and a January statement with a handful of small local moves can produce very different effective rates on the same pricing, mainly because fixed monthly fees get spread over less volume in the slow months. Running one busy month and one slow month gives you a more honest picture.

What a good result looks like for a moving company

Processors often underwrite moving companies as higher risk, because customers pay before the service is fully delivered and damage or delay disputes can turn into chargebacks. If your merchant agreement or statement reflects that, choose High-risk specialists as your business type. The tool then compares your effective rate to an industry average assumption of 4.25% for high-risk merchants. That figure is a published-average assumption, not a target and not a quote.

Results within 0.25 percentage points of that assumption show as Close to the industry average; that band is a tool assumption so small differences are not flagged. A result well above it, especially alongside several processor-set fees, is the clearest sign your statement is worth a closer look.

Do not read too much into cost per transaction on its own. Movers run fewer, larger tickets than a retail store, so a per-transaction cost that looks shocking next to a coffee shop's may be normal for a $2,000 move. Average ticket and effective rate are the more useful numbers for your business.

Estimates are based on published industry averages and are not a quote. Actual rates depend on card mix, ticket size, industry, and underwriting.

Worked example: a hypothetical moving company in peak season

These numbers are made up for illustration. A two-truck mover processes $60,000 in card volume in June across 48 transactions (deposits, delivery-day balances, and a few storage payments). Total fees on the statement are $2,880. The tool shows an effective rate of 4.80%, a cost per transaction of $60.00, and an average ticket of $1,250.00.

Against the 4.25% high-risk average assumption, the gap is +0.55 percentage points, so the status is Above the industry average. The owner ticks interchange, card brand fees, non-qualified surcharges, a PCI non-compliance fee, a monthly service fee, and chargeback fees. Four of those are tagged Typically processor-set, so the tool flags four fees to question.

In the full breakdown, annual fees at this pace come to $34,560 if June is representative, and the annual cost above the industry average (assumption-based) is $3,960. If the owner also entered interchange and card brand totals, the report would split pass-through cost from estimated markup, and list specific questions for each flagged fee.

Estimates are based on published industry averages and are not a quote. Actual rates depend on card mix, ticket size, industry, and underwriting.

Fees moving companies should question first

Non-qualified or mid-qualified surcharges: on tiered pricing, keyed deposits and delivery-day balances typed in by hand often get pushed into the more expensive buckets. Ask how your transactions are being sorted and what the underlying card cost is.

Chargeback and retrieval fees: claims over damaged furniture or late long-distance deliveries can trigger disputes. Check how much you are charged per dispute and per retrieval request, and whether you are charged even when you win.

PCI non-compliance fees: taking card numbers over the phone or writing them on paper job sheets is common in moving, and many processors charge a monthly fee until you complete a compliance questionnaire. This is often avoidable. Also check monthly minimum fees, which bite in winter, and any lease on readers or tablets your crews use, since a lease can outlast the equipment. Note your early termination fee before you plan any change.

Frequently asked questions