4 ms·

Square vs. Merchant Account Comparison Calculator

54 points by seanharper 16y ago

Revisor 16y ago
Two weeks ago someone submitted the Paypal vs. Merchant Account Calculator to HN http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1471371 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1471371 Are hackers going to post every calculator they come up with?
- seanharper 16y ago
  Probably. ;) The whole point of making these things is because they are fun to show off and potentially useful to other people. No sense in building something useful and not telling people about it.
- charliepark 16y ago
  These are genuinely useful tools for an audience of startup cofounders. When you're bootstrapping or working off your angel funding, every dollar counts. If you can save $200 a month, thanks to these calculators, you've just extended your runway.
agotterer 16y ago
Speaking of Square. I signed up 2 months ago and still haven't gotten my swipe device. Anyone else waiting?
- sachinag 16y ago
  They're delayed: https://squareup.com/letters/the-home-stretch https://squareup.com/letters/the-home-stretch Also, I thought you misspelled "Swype" at first. Man, that keyboard has invaded my brain and I can't even use it with my new iPhone!
- seanharper 16y ago
  I think lots of people are waiting and they have come up with a few versions of them. They have been silent for a while but rumors are that they are working on something awesome.
- wooster 16y ago
  http://status.squareup.com/iphone-4-square-card-reader-interaction http://status.squareup.com/iphone-4-square-card-reader-inter...
reteltech 16y ago
This is a really useful tool!
- cleeb 16y ago
  i am not o certain. i do not like to buy additional hardware. it is then about delivery, logistics (shipping), handling, etc. i would like a solution without any additional hardware... chris
wildmXranat 16y ago
>Does TransFS work outside of the United States? >No, unfortunately TransFS is only able to help business in the United States. (Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam and US Commonwealths are also excluded) And that's where you lost me.
- jws 16y ago
  Showing a bar graph more than twice as tall for a 6% difference in price denied them my trust.
pleslie8 16y ago
Really cool way to make a quick but effective decision. I would never have the time to research these fees on my own, glad someone out there put this together to make it easy to make a decision.
SteveD503 16y ago
The whole payments industry is totally insane when it comes to transparency. This is a really useful tool.
msy 16y ago
I hope dearly that whoever wrote that graphing method isn't allowed anywhere near a system that handles actual money.
- seanharper 16y ago
  SMARTASS! :) Fair enough - that is admittedly not at all mathematically correct and we should have chosen a different way to graphically show which side was "winning". You got us - questionable design decision.
GrandMasterBirt 16y ago
Wait hold up. Did anyone notice that if you increase the volume of sales the square cost goes up significantly? The number they gave $30 per trans avg + 4000 per month is the sweet spot. This is kind of bs. Oh and uncheck the iphone option and square sucks.
- seanharper 16y ago
  I was one of the guys that wrote it - it's not BS - its just a random starting point. Most people play with the bars to try a few different scenarios.
carlcoryell 16y ago
TransFS is selling merchant accounts and lies with their graphics. $30 transactions and $50K/month they calculate their fees at $1220 and the square fees at $1625 and yet the bar graph is shows square as twice as much.
- jkrall 16y ago
  I helped create this calculator... and it's sad to see someone say that it is "lying". The reality is that this is by far the most honest, transparent way to compare the all-in costs of Square vs. using a wireless terminal with a merchant account. The costs are all very carefully laid out below, and the $ amounts are real. Say what you want about our choice of the bar-graph... that's fair criticism. It wasn't intended to be an accurate graph, just something cool to look at. What we really care about at TransFS is giving people unbiased, accurate information about their options. Square is a great deal for many merchants... which is why we suggest them to our customers and link to their site.

54 points by seanharper 16y ago

Two weeks ago someone submitted the Paypal vs. Merchant Account Calculator to HN http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1471371 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1471371 Are hackers going to post every calculator they come up with?

seanharper 16y ago
Probably. ;) The whole point of making these things is because they are fun to show off and potentially useful to other people. No sense in building something useful and not telling people about it.
charliepark 16y ago
These are genuinely useful tools for an audience of startup cofounders. When you're bootstrapping or working off your angel funding, every dollar counts. If you can save $200 a month, thanks to these calculators, you've just extended your runway.

agotterer 16y ago

Speaking of Square. I signed up 2 months ago and still haven't gotten my swipe device. Anyone else waiting?

sachinag 16y ago
They're delayed: https://squareup.com/letters/the-home-stretch https://squareup.com/letters/the-home-stretch Also, I thought you misspelled "Swype" at first. Man, that keyboard has invaded my brain and I can't even use it with my new iPhone!
seanharper 16y ago
I think lots of people are waiting and they have come up with a few versions of them. They have been silent for a while but rumors are that they are working on something awesome.
wooster 16y ago
http://status.squareup.com/iphone-4-square-card-reader-interaction http://status.squareup.com/iphone-4-square-card-reader-inter...

reteltech 16y ago

This is a really useful tool!

cleeb 16y ago
i am not o certain. i do not like to buy additional hardware. it is then about delivery, logistics (shipping), handling, etc. i would like a solution without any additional hardware... chris

wildmXranat 16y ago

>Does TransFS work outside of the United States? >No, unfortunately TransFS is only able to help business in the United States. (Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam and US Commonwealths are also excluded) And that's where you lost me.

jws 16y ago
Showing a bar graph more than twice as tall for a 6% difference in price denied them my trust.

pleslie8 16y ago

Really cool way to make a quick but effective decision. I would never have the time to research these fees on my own, glad someone out there put this together to make it easy to make a decision.

SteveD503 16y ago

The whole payments industry is totally insane when it comes to transparency. This is a really useful tool.

msy 16y ago

I hope dearly that whoever wrote that graphing method isn't allowed anywhere near a system that handles actual money.

seanharper 16y ago
SMARTASS! :) Fair enough - that is admittedly not at all mathematically correct and we should have chosen a different way to graphically show which side was "winning". You got us - questionable design decision.

GrandMasterBirt 16y ago

Wait hold up. Did anyone notice that if you increase the volume of sales the square cost goes up significantly? The number they gave $30 per trans avg + 4000 per month is the sweet spot. This is kind of bs. Oh and uncheck the iphone option and square sucks.

seanharper 16y ago
I was one of the guys that wrote it - it's not BS - its just a random starting point. Most people play with the bars to try a few different scenarios.

carlcoryell 16y ago

TransFS is selling merchant accounts and lies with their graphics. $30 transactions and $50K/month they calculate their fees at $1220 and the square fees at $1625 and yet the bar graph is shows square as twice as much.

jkrall 16y ago
I helped create this calculator... and it's sad to see someone say that it is "lying". The reality is that this is by far the most honest, transparent way to compare the all-in costs of Square vs. using a wireless terminal with a merchant account. The costs are all very carefully laid out below, and the $ amounts are real. Say what you want about our choice of the bar-graph... that's fair criticism. It wasn't intended to be an accurate graph, just something cool to look at. What we really care about at TransFS is giving people unbiased, accurate information about their options. Square is a great deal for many merchants... which is why we suggest them to our customers and link to their site.