Foodservice East | Current Issue

Vol 85 No 1 | Spring 2010

Inside this issue:

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Greg DiGiovanni’s French-inspired fare offers layers of flavor and pays homage to the richness of fresh vegetables (p4)
FOODTRAK: A growing urban-based foodservice dining services company delivers ethnic meals to senior centers, charter schools, daycare centers and more in Boston (p6)
OTHER STORY: Today's diners seek casual places with comforting fare (cover)

Guest Column: Are you getting fried on hidden fees? Simple steps for understanding card processing statements

Sanford Brown is the chief sales officer at Heartland Payment Systems® (NYSE: HPY), a leading provider of credit/debit/prepaid card processing, payroll, check management and payments solutions to more than 250,000 business locations nationwide. The company, in partnership with the National Restaurant Association, Council of State Restaurant Associations and 40 state restaurant associations, helps restaurateurs across America to improve their businesses with a full course of business solutions. For more information, please visit GoFullCourse.com.

Today, most businesses accept credit and debit cards to offer added convenience for their customers and boost profits by taking in more income. However, if your restaurant is one of these businesses, you’re probably confused about the mounting cost of these transactions.

The truth is, by the time a card is swiped, processing fees for a single transaction can range from two to five percent of the total sale. In fact, the fees for card processing services may be among one of the three highest expenses your business incurs, perhaps outmatched only by inventory, labor and property costs. Unlike overhead costs, you might not be sure what you are paying when it comes to processing card transactions. Yet, it is critical to identify all of the fees and surcharges you’re paying so you can begin to control them and save money.

The easiest way to do this is to review your statements to better understand what you’re really being charged. A helpful tool to utilize is CostOfABurger.com, an educational site that discusses the complexities of processing statements and offers a fictional monthly statement to use as a tutorial when reviewing your own. As you examine your statements, keep these guidelines in mind:

1. What types of cards are being used? Many processors list Visa® or MasterCard® in the card type column - designating the card company - but not the card type. By not identifying the card type, many processors charge you more for lower-cost transactions. Also, debit card transactions, for example, usually cost less to process than credit card transactions. Without the identification of card type, it is hard to decipher exact costs.

2. "Total card fees" don’t represent your total costs. Don’t rely only on the "total card fees" line item to determine your total cost. If your statement lists this amount, you will have to do a little math to find out the total you are really paying. Add the "less discount paid" (the fee you pay your processor) to the "total card fees" (the interchange you pay) to arrive at your real bottom-line costs.

3. "Discount rates" are misleading. "Discount rate" is an industry-accepted term for the fee your processor charges. However, many processors quote you a low ‘in-the-door’ discount rate without disclosing that most transactions do not qualify for it. Look at your statement carefully, and you will likely see many transactions charged at much higher rates.

4. Beware of bill-backs and other surcharges. Many processors hide arbitrary fees - often classified as "bill-backs" and "surcharges" - without disclosing them to you. They charge a low discount rate on all your transactions, and then add extra surcharges to them. Some are billed the month the transaction occurs and others the following month ? making reconciling charges and figuring out your total monthly costs even more difficult.

5. Take note of additional fees. There may be even more fees - from PCI security and per-transaction fees to batching, authorization, annual charges and more. Understand what they are and why you’re paying for them. It’s possible some are just randomly included.

6. Don’t do it alone. Reviewing monthly statements can be overwhelming. Until you know what to look for and how to find red flags indicating hidden fees, consider contacting your payments processor to help you navigate your statement. Or consider having your accountant or even another processor take a look. At no cost to you, some competitor processors will walk you through your statement to help uncover hidden fees and show you where you can save money.

By learning the facts about payments processing practices and the right questions to ask, you can ensure you are eliminating hidden fees and reducing your out-of-pocket expense on every transaction - and put these savings toward more important things - like your restaurant.

RECIPE: SWEET BREADS WITH WILD ORGANIC MUSHROOMS AND TARRAGON

For full recipe, please see the current issue's "Food for Thought" section. Download issue now!

PRODUCTS ON PARADE

BelGioioso takes top prizes for several cheeses

BelGioioso received first place honors in an American Cheese Society competition for its Burrata featuring a silky exterior and fresh cream and mozzarella center. A Fresh Mozzarella Prosciutto Basil roll took second place, while Sharp Provolone Mandarino, made from whole cow’s milk and never smoked or bleached, won third among Italian Type Cheeses. Recently, a new, less salty alternative to traditional Pecorino was introduced. Each wheel of the robust cheese is aged a minimum of eight months on wood shelves, where it is brushed and turned by hand. As a cooking cheese, Cubéddu¯ can be shredded or grated over pastas or salads or melted into oven-baked pastas and atop pizzas and grilled vegetables. Cubéddu¯ is also perfect for raviolis and other filled and rolled pastas.

For more information, www.belgioioso.com.

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