Collision pricing exception matrix
Record reviewed pricing rules and escalation routes for actual office scenarios.
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| Payment scenario | Approved price treatment | Supporting rule reference | Customer disclosure reference | Permitted staff action | Escalation role | Review date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payer changes payment method, fictional | Use current approved configuration | Written-program-review | Approved-price-display | Owner-or-provider-role | Current review date needed |
- Starting records are fictional examples, not merchant evidence.
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Give the body-shop office a written pricing exception matrix before introducing dual pricing. Staff need to know which approved treatment applies to customer payments, insurer payments and unresolved cases. The matrix should identify the current price configuration and escalation owner. It must not authorize employees to invent a surcharge, waive a charge without permission or treat every digital wallet as the same payment method.
Use with this guide
body-shop pricing launch checklist
The body-shop pricing launch checklist provides the surrounding implementation review.
estimating and payment integration scorecard
Use the estimating and payment integration scorecard to record tested invoice and terminal behavior.
Browse the complete auto body guides and worksheets.
Check your own costs: calculate your effective processing rate or upload a merchant statement for analysis.
Start with the actual approved pricing program
Retrieve the merchant’s written program review and configured invoice or terminal behavior. Dual pricing, a cash discount and a credit-card surcharge have different requirements. Labels alone do not make a program compliant. Obtain a review of network, acquiring and applicable legal requirements for the shop’s actual setup. Use the approved customer disclosure and complete price before asking the office to explain payment choices.
Debit and prepaid card holders should not be charged a credit card surcharge. A mobile wallet logo does not indicate whether the underlying method of payment is credit, debit or something else. The conditions of the insurer’s virtual card must also be reviewed, including the name of the payer and the account terms and conditions. Staff should not be told that all payments to the shop from an insurer are treated the same. The body-shop pricing launch checklist provides the surrounding implementation review.
List exceptions the front desk encounters
Document a customer changing payment method, a revised supplement after a deposit, an insurer payment with unclear terms and a refund involving a previously collected charge. Record the supported action for each approved situation. When instructions are missing, the action should be escalation, not a guessed percentage. Keep the owner’s commercial authority separate from a processor’s technical permission to alter a transaction.
The exception matrix records the scenario, approved price treatment, supporting rule reference, customer disclosure reference, permitted staff action, escalation role and review date. Use fictional examples while developing the office procedure. Keep actual customer, claim and payment information outside the public tool. A completed matrix is not a legal certification or evidence every terminal follows the documented process.
Reconcile the actual cost instead of promising a free account
A 0% merchant credit-card processing program does not necessarily remove monthly account charges, debit costs or other fees. Compare the signed pricing schedule and statement before claiming the merchant pays nothing. BlueFinch’s reported 3.54% pre-conversion effective rate is a first-party merchant case-study figure across card types, not a national body-shop average or a guarantee of another shop’s result.
Use a fictional exception to check staff behavior: an approved invoice was prepared for one payment method, but the payer arrives using a different method. The advisor should use the supported price correction and required disclosure from the shop’s actual setup. The example provides no specific charge amount because the applicable method, program and rules determine the approved calculation. Record unresolved configuration questions for the processor.
Review exceptions after real configuration changes
Test the approved workflow with fictional records when the invoice software, terminal or provider changes. Check the displayed totals, payment-method treatment, receipt wording and refund behavior. Do not assume a previously documented exception remains correct after an integration update. Preserve the test result and obtain a provider answer where the system cannot perform the documented action safely.
Review the matrix with the office and bookkeeper and remove the outdated exceptions. Store a copy of the previous approved exceptions in controlled storage. List the questions that repeatedly come up from staff and resolve them as a procedure. The goal is to set a price for customers and to have a traceable process in the office for the decisions that are made. Use the estimating and payment integration scorecard to record tested invoice and terminal behavior.
Primary sources
BlueFinch last reviewed these sources on October 4, 2026. Payment rules and state requirements can change.
- Visa: merchant credit-card surcharge FAQ and debit restrictions
- BlueFinch: pre-conversion processing-cost methodology
Use this page for general business information. It is not legal, tax, or accounting advice.