They had just renegotiated their payment processing rates.
The deal looked clean. Transparent pricing. Locked-in terms. Better than last year.
Everything checked out.
Until it didn’t.
Six months later, when we did a courtesy audit, here’s what we found buried in the agreement:
A "cost plus" model tied to variable factors they didn’t control
Nonstandard interchange markups hidden across multiple categories
A quarterly "review and adjustment" clause tied to "network fees"
On paper, they had a better rate.
In reality, the net effective rate they paid was higher than before.
By the time they saw it, the "savings" had already evaporated.
The truth is:
Contracts are built to look good on day one.
The real game is what happens over time and through some adjustments, reviews, and quiet fee shifts.
The smartest people I work with aren’t just looking at the offer on the table.
They are looking three moves ahead.
Anticipating how that deal ages when no one is paying attention.
If you want the checklist I use to pressure-test agreements (the same one we use before signing anything major),
reply with "Checklist" and I’ll send it today.
Good deals stay good under pressure.
Let’s make sure yours will too.
– Mark