HostMetric · 1 October 2026 readiness
When surcharges disappear, payment fees move into your margin.
Estimate what your business may need to absorb, compare payment setups, then identify practical ways to make the lost margin back through pricing, workflow and automation.
1 October 2026 readinessPayment workflow reviewMargin recovery levers
Tyro may create $20,508 per year in fees to recover.
Switching provider may reduce the exposure, but it does not remove the margin problem. The more useful next step is identifying how to recover the absorbed cost without relying only on surcharges.
Price lift equivalent$2.85 per transaction
Volume equivalent8.5 extra transactions/month
Provider saving gap$4,314 / year
| Provider | Best-fit use | Monthly exposure | Annual exposure | Exposure rate | Vs cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CommbankLowest1.10% of card revenue + $29.50/month | Terminal / in-person | $1,349.50 | $16,194 | 1.12% | — |
| Live Payments - Online Green1.20% + $39/month | Online payment gateway | $1,479.00 | $17,748 | 1.23% | $1,554 |
| Zeller1.40% of card revenue + $16.58/month | Terminal / in-person | $1,696.58 | $20,359 | 1.41% | $4,165 |
| TyroSelected1.40% of card revenue + $29/month | Terminal / in-person | $1,709.00 | $20,508 | 1.42% | $4,314 |
| NAB1.50% of card revenue + $25/month | Terminal / in-person | $1,825.00 | $21,900 | 1.52% | $5,706 |
| Fresha (In-Person)1.29% + transaction fees | Booking + in-person payments | $1,867.20 | $22,406 | 1.56% | $6,212 |
| Square (In Person)1.60% of card revenue | Terminal / in-person | $1,920.00 | $23,040 | 1.60% | $6,846 |
| Phorest1.40% + txn fee + GST + $30/month | Booking + terminal | $1,944.00 | $23,328 | 1.62% | $7,134 |
| Fresha (Online)1.59% + transaction fees | Booking + online payments | $2,143.20 | $25,718 | 1.79% | $9,524 |
| Timely Pay1.75% + transaction fees | Booking + online payments | $2,352.00 | $28,224 | 1.96% | $12,030 |
| Live Payments - Online Gold1.99% + $39/month | Online payment gateway | $2,427.00 | $29,124 | 2.02% | $12,930 |
| Square (Online)2.20% of card revenue | Online payments | $2,640.00 | $31,680 | 2.20% | $15,486 |
| Live Payments - Online Black2.59% + $39/month | Online payment gateway | $3,147.00 | $37,764 | 2.62% | $21,570 |
HostMetric · margin recovery plan
You’ve calculated the fee exposure. Now build the plan to make it back.
Choosing a cheaper provider can help, but it may not fully solve the problem. HostMetric can review where your business can recover the impact across pricing, payment workflow, deposits, retention, follow-up automation and average booking value.
01
Review the lossUnderstand the likely annual fee exposure after surcharge changes.
02
Find recovery leversIdentify ways to regain margin without relying on surcharges alone.
03
Prioritise actionDecide what to change first across pricing, payments, deposits and automation.
Rule context, pricing assumptions and model notes
Provider rates are modelled from the source workbook assumptions and should be reviewed before publication. The model assumes monthly card revenue is average transaction value × monthly transactions × card payment share. Deposit workflows can add transaction fees when a provider charges per transaction.
- Annual fee exposure is the selected setup’s modelled monthly fee exposure multiplied by 12.
- The “price lift equivalent” shows how much extra per transaction would mathematically recover the selected annual fee exposure.
- The “volume equivalent” estimates how many additional average-value transactions per month would recover the selected monthly exposure.
- Legal, accounting and provider-specific advice should be sought before changing pricing or payment practices.