Finance Policies, Procedures and Forms

Use the Bizmanualz Finance Policy, Procedure, and Forms Manual to fulfill your financial
compliance requirements by establishing financial controls and, at the same time, strengthen and
improve your financial processes for enhanced performance. Whether you are managing your
financial processes or trying to improve your fiscal performance, financial policies and procedures
templates from Bizmanualz make the process much simpler and easier

36 Prewritten Policies and Procedures

1. Document Control 19. Related Party Transactions
2. Service Processes 20. Foreign Exchange Management
3. Continuity Planning 21. Managing Bank Relationships
Finance & Treasury 4. Document Control 22.
23.
Merchant Accounts
Letter of Credit
5. Record Control
Procedures for 6. Annual Stockholder’s Meetings 24. Financial Forecasting
Compliance and 7. Board of Directors’ Meetings 25.
26.
Financial Reporting
Financial Statement Analysis
8. Business Plan
Performance 9. Capital Plan 27. Financial Management Review
10. Valuation 28. Financial Restatements
US$ 595.00 11. Bank Loans 29. Financial Information Release
12. Stock Offering 30. Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance
Includes six (6) modules: 13. Debt and Investment 31. SAS 70 Compliance
1. Introduction and Table of 14. Asset Acquisition 32. Risk Assessment
Contents 15. Leasing 33. Risk Management
2. Guide to preparing a well 16. Working Capital 34. External Auditing
written manual 17. Cash Management 35. Internal Auditing
3. A Sample CFO Manual 18. Inventory Management 36. Corrective Action
covering common
requirements and practices 58 Forms and Records
4. 36 Policies and 58
corresponding forms 1. Financial Objectives 30. Related Party Transaction
5. Business Guide: Manage 2. Sample Management Review Agenda Questionnaire Log
Your Business from Start to 3. Continuity Plan Worksheet 31. Foreign Exchange Management Plan
Finish 4. Document Request 32. Foreign Exchange Management Results
6. Complete Index 5. Document Control Database 33. Banking Relationship Contact
6. Sample Master File Guide Index Management Log
7. List of Finance Records 34. Bank Meeting Agenda/Minutes
Choose your delivery option:
8. Record Retention Guidelines 35. Merchant Account Review
 Hard Cover Book plus
9. Notice of Shareholders’ Meetings 36. Letter of Credit Checklist
CD containing all documents
(sample) 37. Financial Forecast Checklist
in editable Microsoft Word
10. Authorization of Proxy to Vote Shares 38. Financial Report Checklist
format and instant download
11. Minutes of Shareholders’ Meetings 39. Financial Analysis Plan
or
12. Minutes of Board of Directors’ Meetings 40. Financial Management Plan
 Instant download only (no (sample) 41. Financial Management Meeting Agenda
shipping) 13. Business Plan 42. Financial Restatement Checklist
14. Capital Analysis 43. Financial Information Release Log
Have questions? Email: 15. Capital Plan Worksheet 44. Financial Information Request
sales@bizmanualz.com 16. Capital Plan 45. Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Checklist
17. Valuation Plan 46. SAS 70 Compliance Checklist
How to Order: 18. Valuation Improvement Plan 47. Risk Assessment/Management
Online: www.bizmanualz.com 19. Valuation History Worksheet
By Phone: 314-863-5079 20. Loan Application Checklist 48. Sample Charts of Accounts
800-466-9953 21. Stock Offering Plan 49. Internal Control Checklist
By Fax: 314-863-6571 22. Debt and Investment Plan 50. Corrective Action Plan
23. Debt and Investment Action Log 51. Audit Schedule
24. Lease/Buy Financial Analysis 52. Audit Plan
25. Working Capital Plan 53. Audit Checklist
26. Cash Management Plan 54. Audit Opinion
27. Inventory Management Plan 55. Final Audit Report
28. Inventory Management Results 56. Nonconformity Report
29. Related Party Transaction Policy & 57. Corrective Action Request
Conflict of Interest Questionnaire 58. Corrective Action Log
Finance Policies, Procedures and Forms www.bizmanualz.com

Document ID Title Print Date

TM1060 MERCHANT ACCOUNTS mm/dd/yyyy
Revision Prepared By Date Prepared
0.0 Preparer's Name / Title mm/dd/yyyy
Effective Date: Reviewed By Date Reviewed
mm/dd/yyyy Reviewer's Name / Title mm/dd/yyyy
Approved By Date Approved
Final Approver's Name / Title mm/dd/yyyy

The Company shall plan for, monitor, and review its merchant
Policy: accounts in order to ensure the greatest value for the service.

Purpose: To ensure the selection of a merchant account that meets the

Company's need to balance best service and lowest cost.

Scope: This procedure applies to the Finance Department.

Responsibilities: The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is responsible for overseeing the
selection of merchant accounts and for conducting periodic reviews
of merchant accounts.
Definitions:
Merchant Account – Service provider that processes credit card
payments for a merchant (business), such as our Company.
Chargeback – Reversal of a credit card transaction; can be
accompanied by penalties and fees to the merchant.
Discount Rate – Fee paid by the merchant as a percentage of the
transaction amount (e.g., 3%).
Fixed Transaction Fee – Flat fee paid by a merchant on every
transaction.
Holdback – Percentage of transactions paid by the merchant and
held by the merchant account provider to cover any transaction
related dispute. Funds in the "holdback account" are released to the
merchant at a predetermined time (e.g., after six (6) months).

Procedure:
1.0 MERCHANT ACCOUNT PLAN
1.1 The CFO shall periodically (e.g., annually) review the Company's use of
merchant accounts, to ensure that the Company is receiving the required service
level and that fees are competitive. A small reduction in fees can result in
significant overall savings, especially for high volume and high dollar amount
transactions; however, cost must be balanced with the level of service. Credit
card transactions must be conducted swiftly and smoothly, and without
interruption of service.

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Finance Policies, Procedures and Forms www.bizmanualz.com

1.2 The CFO shall periodically review existing and potential merchant account
providers, considering and comparing attributes such as:
 Monthly fixed fees;
 Discount rates;
 Fixed transaction fees;
 Charge backs;
 Termination fees and contract requirements;
 Accuracy and timeliness of the existing merchant account's processing and
reporting; and
 Return fees and policies.
1.3 The CFO shall create a total cost estimate for each month or quarter based on fee
information gathered (Section 1.2), using historical merchant account use and
projecting future use.
1.4 The CFO shall create a method for evaluating merchant account service levels
(for example, listing key service areas required by the Company and rating
availability of the service by existing and potential merchant accounts). Examples
of important service features include:
 Chargebacks;
 Customer service availability (responsiveness, speed of resolution);
 Ease of use;
 Reliability; and
 Holdback policies.
1.5 Based on the review of overall fees and service levels (see Sections 1.1, 1.2), the
CFO shall:
 Continue the existing merchant account under the current terms;
 Attempt to renegotiate terms with the existing merchant account; or
 Find and negotiate with an alternate merchant account provider.
2.0 MERCHANT ACCOUNT COMPARISONS
2.1 The CFO shall annually complete the TM1060-1 – MERCHANT ACCOUNT
REVIEW with existing and potential merchant account provider’s fee
information.
2.2 The CFO shall calculate the estimated total fees per period (e.g., month, quarter)
for existing and potential merchant account providers and record the estimated
total fees on TM1060-1. The CFO shall consider the following when calculating
estimates:
 Information about the various merchant account fees;

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Finance Policies, Procedures and Forms www.bizmanualz.com

 Historical merchant account use;

 Projected future merchant account use;
2.3 The CFO shall list and rate important service features of existing and potential
merchant account provider’s on the TM1060-1 – MERCHANT ACCOUNT
REVIEW form (see Section 1.4).
3.0 MERCHANT ACCOUNT COMPARISON REVIEW
3.1 The CFO shall use the information on the TM1060-1 form to determine if any
action is required in the Company’s merchant account provider (see Section 1.5).
3.2 The CFO shall list reasons and justifications for the decision to continue,
renegotiate, or change merchant accounts on TM1060-1.
4.0 MERCHANT ACCOUNT IMPROVEMENTS
4.1 The CFO shall make changes and adjustments to its merchant accounts, in
accordance with the decision described on TM1060-1.
4.2 As part of the annual merchant provider review, the CFO shall (re)evaluate the
merchant provider evaluation process, to ensure its continuing suitability and
usefulness. The CFO shall be responsible for making any recognized
improvement to this procedure and the associated form TM1060-1 to enhance the
merchant account review/selection process.
Effectiveness Criteria:
 Lowest merchant account total fees
 Effective merchant account service
 Merchant account ease of use
References:
A. CFO Manual
 Section 5.3.7 – Merchant Accounts
Additional Resources:
A. Carroll, Jim, and Broadhead, Rick, Selling Online: How to Become a Successful
E-Commerce Merchant, Dearborn Trade, a Kaplan Professional Company, 2001.
ISBN-10 #0-7931-4517-1.
B. Ogden, Anthony L., What Every Business Should Know About Accepting Credit
Cards, BankCardLaw Media Corp., June, 2004. ISBN-10 # 0-9759-6050-4;
ISBN-13 # 978-09759-6050-9.
C. “Don’t Fly By Night: The Inside Information on Merchant Accounts”, available
at http://www.powerhombiz.com/vol39/merchant.htm.
D. “Choosing an Internet Merchant Account”, available at
http://www.findmyhosting.com/web-resources/Articles/internet-merchant.htm.

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Finance Policies, Procedures and Forms www.bizmanualz.com

E. "Merchant Account 'How-To' Tips for Beginners", available at

http://www.goemerchant.com/getting_started.htm.
Forms/Records:
 TM1060-1 – MERCHANT ACCOUNT REVIEW
 Meeting minutes and reports
Revision History:

Revision Date Description of changes Requested By

0.0 1/1/2012 Initial Release

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 Finance Policies, Procedures and Forms www.bizmanualz.com

TM1060-1 – MERCHANT ACCOUNT REVIEW

1. Merchant Account Fees

Merchant Account Fixed Discount Transaction Termination Misc. Estimated Total

Provider Fees Rate Fees Fees Fees Fees (per period)

Comments:

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 Finance Policies, Procedures and Forms www.bizmanualz.com

2. Merchant Account Services

Service Feature Service Feature Service Feature Service Feature

Merchant Account Provider
1 2 3 4
List Specific Service Feature –>

Comments:

Decisions, Justifications, and Actions for Merchant Accounts

Approval:

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