Transaction Cost Metrics | Upstack Documentation

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

Data Source: Shopify
Metrics: 11

Metrics in This Group

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

RC Other Fulfillment Gateway Cost

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