FightMyFees
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Do it yourself · Free, no account

Negotiate your own bills. Here’s exactly how.

Every vendor has a retention desk with a better price on it. You don’t need leverage, a consultant, or a new contract. You need the number to ask for and the words to say. Both are on this page, for seven vendors, free.

Start with card processingPrint the one-page sheet

The one move that works on all of them

  1. Name the number. Say what you pay, out loud, to the dollar. Vagueness is where they win.
  2. Name the increase. When it went up, and that nothing changed on your side.
  3. Ask for retention. Not support, not billing. The retention or loyalty desk has a price the first rep doesn’t.
  4. Get it in writing before you hang up. An email with the new price and the date. Nothing else counts.

Do them in this order: card processing first, payroll second, the rest the same afternoon.

Vendor 1 of 7

Card processing

Interchange and the card-brand assessments are set by Visa and Mastercard. Nobody can change those. Everything above them is your processor's markup, and that is the only thing you are negotiating.

Step 1

Find your rate

On last month’s statement, find total card sales and total fees. Fees ÷ sales × 100 is your rate. Sales ÷ number of transactions is your average ticket.

Over 2.8% in a shop or restaurant: you’re overpaying. Make the call.

Can’t find the statement? Here’s where every processor hides it.

Step 2

Find the junk

  • PCI non-compliance feeremove
  • Non-EMV / non-chip feeremove
  • Statement, batch, regulatory feeremove
  • Annual feeremove
  • “Discount rate”negotiate

“Discount rate” is not a discount. It’s what they keep.

Step 3

Pick your ask by size

Card sales / monthAsk for
Under $250kInterchange + 0.10% + 5¢
Over $250kInterchange + 0.05% + 3¢

Average ticket under $50: the per-transaction fee is your money. 5¢ on an $8 coffee is 0.6%, more than the whole markup. Over $50: the basis points are your money.

If they say it’s impossible, it’s the number they give the next customer who pushes. See your number on the calculator.

Your script, your numbers

Call the retention line and say this

Enter last month’s sales and fees above and the script fills itself in.

A real yes

The words “interchange-plus”, junk fees removed, new pricing in writing, no new contract, no new equipment.

Not a yes

“A better program” (tiered pricing). “A free terminal” (a lease). “Visa requires it” (only interchange and assessments are Visa's).

Vendor 2 of 7

Payroll

Gusto, ADP and Paychex all discount for customers who sound like they're leaving. You just have to sound like it.

Step 1

Find your number

Base fee per month, plus the per-employee fee times your headcount. On your bank statement, look for the small line marked FEE next to the payroll company, not the big payroll debit. The small line is what you negotiate.

Step 2

Ask for

  • 15 to 25% off for 12 months
  • The per-employee fee lowered, not just the base
  • Price locked for the term, in writing
  • Any tier or add-on you don’t use removed

Say this

We’re reviewing vendors and payroll is one of them. I have quotes coming in around $___ a month and I’d rather not migrate. What can you do on the base fee and the per-employee rate if we stay another year? And can you lock it?

A real yes

A percentage off both fees, a lock date, and an email confirming it before you hang up.

Vendor 3 of 7

Software subscriptions

QuickBooks, Adobe, scheduling, CRM. The trick isn't the rate. It's the price increase you never got an email about.

Step 1

Pull 12 months of charges

For each subscription, pull a year of charges from your bank or card statement. Circle any month the amount went up. No email, no new features, no added users: that’s a silent increase. We see $115 to $140 on bookkeeping software constantly.

Step 2

Ask for one of three things

The old price back, the annual-prepay rate, or the tier you actually use. Chat or phone, both work. Downgrade threats work faster than cancellation threats.

Say this

My charge went from $___ to $___ in ___. I didn’t add anything. I’d like the previous price back, or the annual rate applied to my account.

A real yes

The old price restored, or a credit for the months since the increase. Both are routine.

Vendor 4 of 7

Phone & internet

Promotional pricing expires quietly. You are paying for the same service new customers get for less.

Step 1

Find the gap

Look up what the carrier advertises to new business customers for your speed and line count today. Compare it with your bill. The difference is your ask.

Step 2

Ask for existing-customer promo pricing

Ask for “current promotional pricing for existing customers.” If refused, ask to be transferred to cancellations. That desk can do what billing can’t.

Say this

I’m paying $___ for the same service new customers get for $___. Match it, or I’ll need to move.

A real yes

A new monthly price with a date it holds until, and a confirmation email or case number.

Not a yes

A “free upgrade” that adds a line, or a new 24-month term to get the old price.

Vendor 5 of 7

Waste & recycling

Look for fuel surcharges, environmental fees and container rental added since you signed. Then check the auto-renewal date.

Step 1

Compare the invoice to the agreement

Every line item on this month’s invoice that wasn’t in the contract you signed is negotiable. Most waste contracts auto-renew for multi-year terms with a narrow cancellation window, so find that date first.

Say this

My invoice has fees that weren’t in my agreement. Remove them, or show me where I agreed to them.

A real yes

The surcharges credited and removed going forward, in writing.

Vendor 6 of 7

Shipping

UPS and FedEx published rates are the starting point. Steady volume qualifies for a discount tier, but nobody applies it until you ask.

Step 1

Ask your rep for an account review

Add up a month of shipping spend. Email your account rep, or open a business account if you don’t have one, and ask what tier that spend qualifies for.

Say this

I ship about $___ a month. What discount tier does that qualify for, and can you apply it to this quarter?

A real yes

A percentage off published rates by service level, applied to the account, with an effective date.

Vendor 7 of 7

Business insurance

General liability, property, workers' comp, auto. Renewals go up a little every year whether or not anything changed, because most owners sign the renewal without reading it.

Step 1

Get your declarations page

It lists every coverage and limit you carry. Sixty days before renewal, send it to two independent agents and ask them to quote the same coverage. Same limits, same deductibles, so the quotes compare.

Step 2

Take the quotes back to your current agent

Most carriers will match or come close rather than lose the account. If they won’t, you already have the replacement quoted. Either way, ask whether you’re paying for coverage you don’t need any more: a vehicle you sold, equipment you scrapped, a location you closed.

Say this

My renewal came in at $___. I have the same coverage quoted at $___. I’d rather stay, but I need you to get closer to that, and I’d like to drop anything on here we no longer use.

A real yes

A revised renewal in writing, the same limits and deductibles as your declarations page, before the current policy expires.

Not a yes

A lower premium that came from a lower limit or a higher deductible you didn't ask for. Compare the declarations pages line by line.

Before you sign anything

Five things not to sign

  1. An equipment lease. A $300 terminal becomes $3,000 over four years, and the lease outlives the processor.
  2. “Free” anything with a term. Read what happens in month 37.
  3. A new contract to get a lower rate. A rate cut doesn’t need a contract. A commission does.
  4. Tiered pricing. “Qualified / non-qualified” lets them pick the bucket your sales land in. Interchange-plus doesn’t.
  5. A markup they won’t state. If they can’t say the number above interchange, it’s high.

Write down every price you agree to, with the date and the rep’s name. The next increase is easier to fight when you can quote the last call.

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