KNOWLEDGE BASE

Learn from the field

16 plain-language guides written from engagements, not vendor decks. What things cost, what actually works, and what to check before you sign.

Payments

What card payments cost, how statements work, and when a setup is worth changing. The service

Payments

How to read your payment processing statement

Your statement shows one number. Here is what is inside it, which lines are negotiable, and the fees that should not be there at all.

3 min · Updated Sep 2026 Read Payments

Flat rate or interchange-plus: which pricing model fits your volume

Flat rate is simple and that simplicity has a price. When it is the right choice, when it stops being one, and the number that decides it.

3 min · Updated Sep 2026 Read Payments

What the free payment audit checks, and what you get back

One statement in, a line-by-line report out in 48 hours. What we look at, why more statements help, and what happens after.

2 min · Updated Sep 2026 Read Payments

Level 2 and Level 3 data: lower interchange on corporate cards

Business and government buyers pay with corporate and purchasing cards. Sending richer transaction data can cut the interchange on those cards by up to 1.5%.

2 min · Updated Sep 2026 Read Payments

Selling in both Canada and the US without cross-border fees

Route everything through one country's acquirer and you pay a surcharge on transactions that should be domestic. What dual-region processing changes.

2 min · Updated Sep 2026 Read Payments

Choosing in-store terminals: what to look for and what to avoid

The terminal is the visible part; the processor and the contract behind it decide what you pay. A short checklist before you sign for hardware.

2 min · Updated Sep 2026 Read Payments

B2B payments: invoices, net terms and bank transfers that reconcile themselves

Business customers do not pay like consumers. What a B2B payment stack needs, and where the manual work usually hides.

2 min · Updated Sep 2026 Read Payments

Online checkout: what to set up beyond the payment button

Hosted or integrated, saved cards, fraud rules and subscription retries. The four decisions that decide conversion and cost on an online store.

2 min · Updated Sep 2026 Read

Security

The controls that stop the attacks we actually see, and the frameworks behind them. The service

Security

MFA that resists phishing, and the help-desk reset that gets around it

Most intrusions now start with a credential, not malware. The two controls that close the front door: phishing-resistant MFA and a hardened reset process.

3 min · Updated Oct 2026 Read Security

Backups you can actually restore

A backup you have never restored is a hope. What immutable, off-site and restore-tested mean, and why ransomware made all three mandatory.

2 min · Updated Sep 2026 Read Security

Email security: SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and what they do not cover

Three DNS records keep your domain from being spoofed and your mail out of spam. What each does, why DMARC must be enforced, and the attacks that still get through.

2 min · Updated Sep 2026 Read Security

PCI DSS for a small business: what applies to you and how to keep it small

Every business that takes card payments is in scope. The version that is mandatory now, what your questionnaire depends on, and how to shrink the work.

2 min · Updated Sep 2026 Read Security

Which security framework applies to your business

SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIST CSF, CIS Controls, PCI DSS, PIPEDA and Law 25. Which ones are law, which are what customers ask for, and where to start.

3 min · Updated Oct 2026 Read

Infrastructure

Hosting, email, licensing and hardware, bought and run without the vendor markup. The service

Infrastructure

What managed hosting includes, and what shared hosting leaves out

Backups, CDN, SSL, monitoring and a person who answers. The checklist for hosting a site that makes money, and the signs you have outgrown shared hosting.

2 min · Updated Sep 2026 Read Infrastructure

Buying hardware and licensing through distribution instead of retail

The same channels large enterprises buy through are open to a ten-person business. What changes on price, warranty and support, and where the savings come from.

2 min · Updated Sep 2026 Read

Working with us

What an engagement looks like, what it costs to start, and what you get back. The service

Working with us

How an engagement runs, from the first conversation to support

What the first call costs (nothing), what to bring, the four stages every project follows, and the terms you are on afterwards.

3 min · Updated Sep 2026 Read
Deeper references

The longer pieces the guides point to.

Comparison

Flat rate vs interchange-plus

The same four cards priced both ways, and the volume where one model stops making sense.

Open Reference

Security frameworks and the threat report

Every framework by region with its current version, the threats businesses are facing now, and free training.

Open Insights

Interchange: what it is and how it works

The wholesale cost under every card payment, in plain language.

Open FAQ

The questions we hear most

Services, pricing, timelines, and what happens after the strategy deck.

Open

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