The hidden cost of payment-processing markup in field service software
Most platforms add 0.5–1% on top of Stripe's processing fee. Here's what that actually costs a 5-truck operator over a year.
If you accept card payments through your field service software, you're already paying two fees per transaction:
- The processor fee — Stripe, Square, or whoever your software uses. Usually 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
- The platform markup — what your software vendor adds on top, in exchange for "integrating" the payment.
That second fee is invisible. It doesn't show up on your card-processing statement. It's baked into the gross-vs-net you receive for every payment, and most operators only notice it when they sit down to do a vendor comparison.
Here's what it actually costs.
The math
Let's take a 5-truck residential service business. Average ticket: $400. 800 jobs a year. All paid by card.
| Component | Per-job cost | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe / Square base fee (2.9% + $0.30) | $11.90 | $9,520 |
| 0.5% platform markup | $2.00 | $1,600 |
| 1% platform markup | $4.00 | $3,200 |
| 2% platform markup | $8.00 | $6,400 |
That platform markup, depending on your vendor, is somewhere between $1,600 and $6,400 a year for a single 5-truck operation. On software you're already paying $50–$300/month for.
For a 10-truck operation doing $1,200 average tickets, the same markup math gets you to $4,800–$19,200/year in invisible vendor fees.
Why it exists
Payment processing markups exist because they're frictionless margin. Operators don't see them on a single transaction — a 1% markup on a $400 ticket is $4. Nobody flips tables over $4.
But your software vendor isn't taking $4 from one operator. They're taking $4 from every transaction across thousands of operators. That math is why the largest field service software companies are quietly some of the largest payment-processing companies in their adjacent vertical.
What to ask your current vendor
Three questions, in order:
- Do you take a percentage of payments processed through the platform? If "yes," ask the rate. If "no but," they probably do.
- What's the all-in rate I see on my Stripe / Square statement vs the rate I see on my bank deposit? The difference is the markup.
- Can I bring my own processor account? If yes, you can route around the markup. If no, ask why not — there's no technical reason; it's a business model.
How ServiceGrid handles it
We use Stripe for payment processing. We don't add a markup. The rate you see is the rate you pay — 2.9% + $0.30 for cards, less for ACH.
That's not generosity. We just don't think it's a sustainable place to take margin. If we ever do start taking a slice of payments, we'll tell you what the rate is and let you opt out.
If you're switching from another platform, this comparison lists each major competitor's payment markup (where it's publicly verifiable) so you can do the math against your own ticket size and volume.