Transaction Costs: Track Payment Gateway Fees

Track transaction cost metrics in Upstack. Includes Gateway Cost, Transaction Fees, and payment processing expenses by customer type.

Transaction cost metrics track payment processing expenses—gateway fees, interchange costs, and other transaction charges.

Data Source: Shopify
Metrics: 13

Metrics in This Group

The tables below highlight the most commonly used metrics in this group — browse the full list in the sidebar.

Metric	Description	When to Use
Gateway Cost	Payment gateway fees	Track processing costs
Gateway Cost Per Order	Gateway cost per order	Per-order fees
Gateway Cost %	Gateway as % of revenue	Fee burden
Other Transaction Cost	Additional transaction fees	Misc processing costs
Total Transaction Cost	All transaction costs combined	Total processing burden
New Customer Gateway Cost	Gateway fees for new customers	Segment analysis
Returning Customer Gateway Cost	Gateway fees for returning customers	Compare segments
New Customer Other Transaction Cost	Other fees for new customers	Detailed new customer costs
Returning Customer Other Transaction Cost	Other fees for returning customers	Detailed returning costs
New Customer Total Transaction Cost	All transaction costs for new customers	Total NC payment burden
Returning Customer Transaction Cost	All transaction costs for returning customers	Total RC payment burden

How These Metrics Relate

Transaction costs impact contribution margin at the CM2 level:

• Total Transaction Cost = Gateway Cost + Other Transaction Cost
• New Customer Total Transaction Cost = NC Gateway Cost + NC Other Transaction Cost
• Returning Customer Transaction Cost = RC Gateway Cost + RC Other Transaction Cost
• CM2 = CM1 - Fulfillment Costs - Transaction Costs
• Gateway Cost % typically ranges from 2-3% of revenue for most processors

Choosing the Right Metric

• Payment optimization: Use Gateway Cost % to benchmark processor fees
• Per-order economics: Use Per Order metrics for unit economics
• Total processing: Use Total Transaction Cost for full payment burden
• Customer profitability: Compare New vs Returning transaction costs