The Independent Retail & Boutiques Fix Kit
Built for independent retailers and boutiques.
Boutique owners search margins, card fees and shrink, and those are exactly where the money leaves. It goes out through a processing statement nobody reads, a surcharge set up against the card rules, shrink nobody counts, dead stock sitting at full price, vendor discounts left on the table, chargebacks lost by default, sales tax that doesn't reconcile, overlapping software, shipping sold below cost, and a tax deduction owners miss. I wrote this kit so you can check each one against your own statements and counts.
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The 10 leaks it covers
8 you can close it · 1 the other side owes it · 1 a pro decides
- Card processing statement never read, so the real rate is unknownWhere to look first: Pull the last three monthly processing statements.Keep it from coming back: Work out the effective rate every quarter.You can close it
- Card surcharges set up against the card network rulesWhere to look first: If you surcharge credit cards, check the amount. Visa's maximum credit card surcharge is 3% (VERIFIED: Digital Transactions, Visa rule effective April 15, 2023).Keep it from coming back: Recheck surcharge setup whenever your processor or POS changes.You can close it
- Shrink never counted, so losses hide in cost of goodsWhere to look first: Run a full count on your top 50 items by value. Compare to what your POS says you should have.Keep it from coming back: Cycle-count your top 50 items every month.You can close it
- Dead stock sitting at full priceWhere to look first: Run an aged inventory report: every item with no sale in 90 days.Keep it from coming back: Run the aged report the first week of each month.You can close it
- Vendor early-payment discounts left on the tableWhere to look first: List vendors that offer early-pay terms, such as 2/10 net 30: 2% off if paid in 10 days, otherwise due in 30.Keep it from coming back: Flag discount invoices the day they arrive.You can close it
- Chargebacks lost by not respondingWhere to look first: Pull every chargeback in the last six months: reason, amount, outcome.Keep it from coming back: Check for chargeback notices every business day.The other side owes it
- Sales tax collected but not reconciled to what was filedWhere to look first: Pull sales tax collected from your POS and online store for the last four filing periods.Keep it from coming back: Reconcile before you file each period.You can close it
- Overlapping software and subscriptionsWhere to look first: List every subscription: POS, ecommerce, email, loyalty, scheduling, accounting, design, apps.Keep it from coming back: Review the list every quarter.You can close it
- Online shipping charged below what you payWhere to look first: Pull 50 recent online orders. For each, write what the customer paid for shipping and what you paid for postage, box and packing.Keep it from coming back: Recheck after any carrier rate change.You can close it
- The qualified business income deduction never discussed with your preparerWhere to look first: Owners of pass-through businesses, like sole proprietors, partnerships and S corporations, may qualify for the qualified business income deduction. The IRS explains it at irs.gov (search "qualified business income deduction").Keep it from coming back: Ask about it every year before filing.A pro decides
Free: one full leak from this kit
No sign-up, no email. Here is leak 1 of 10 exactly as it appears in the kit, so you can see what you get before you buy.
Card processing statement never read, so the real rate is unknown
You can close it- Pull the last three monthly processing statements.
- Add up every fee: per-transaction, percentage, monthly, PCI, statement, gateway, chargeback.
- Divide total fees by total card sales. That is your effective rate (CALCULATED: fees / card volume).
- Look for a PCI non-compliance fee. It usually goes away when you complete the annual questionnaire.
- Ask your processor for an itemized pricing schedule and get one competing quote with the same three statements.
Your part: Do the math once and use it to shop.
Email to your processor: Hi [NAME], My effective processing rate for [MONTHS] was [PERCENT] on [VOLUME]. Please send my current pricing schedule, explain the [FEE NAME] charges, and tell me how to remove the PCI non-compliance fee. I'm reviewing options. [YOUR NAME] | MID [#]
Work out the effective rate every quarter.
What this kit can't decide for you: We don't recommend any processor.
That's 1 of 10. The other 9 come the same way in the kit: steps, words to send, a habit to keep each one closed.
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What people in this work look up
When independent retailers and boutiques go looking for answers, they search things like “boutique profit margin”, “retail credit card processing fees”, “retail shrinkage” and “boutique inventory management”. Those searches turn up forms, averages and other people's numbers. This kit starts from your own records instead: the 10 places money leaks in this work, where to look first and the words to send to close each one.
What you get for each leak
- Numbered steps to close each leak
- Your part, spelled out
- Words you can use: letters and scripts, ready to send (fill in the brackets)
- A habit that keeps each leak from coming back
- An honest line on what the kit can't decide for you
A page from the kit
Questions people ask
Card processing statement never read, so the real rate is unknown: where do I start?
Start here: Pull the last three monthly processing statements. To keep it from coming back: Work out the effective rate every quarter.
Card surcharges set up against the card network rules: where do I start?
Start here: If you surcharge credit cards, check the amount. Visa's maximum credit card surcharge is 3% (VERIFIED: Digital Transactions, Visa rule effective April 15, 2023). To keep it from coming back: Recheck surcharge setup whenever your processor or POS changes.
Shrink never counted, so losses hide in cost of goods: where do I start?
Start here: Run a full count on your top 50 items by value. Compare to what your POS says you should have. To keep it from coming back: Cycle-count your top 50 items every month.
What it can't decide for you
This kit works from your own records. It doesn't give legal, tax, licensing or financial advice, and it never tells you what to charge. Where a CPA, attorney, insurer or state board makes the call, the kit says so and gets your records ready for them.
16-page PDF · instant download after payment · Code VYR-KIT-BOUTIQUES-01
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
Next step
- Run your free LeakReceipts check — it reads your own receipts and records and shows where money is leaking out, line by line.
- TrueNET — the whole-picture money truth: what you actually keep after every cost, across everything you earn and spend.
Use Jobber or Housecall Pro? Run the free leak check — it reads your job export in your browser and shows the money leaks the software doesn't flag. Nothing is uploaded.