How a residual adds up, with worked examples

A reseller's residual is 70% of Square's processing revenue on card payments.

Steps

1. The idea: follow the card fees

   Every time a customer pays a merchant by card, the merchant pays Square a fee. The reseller's residual comes out of those fees.

   The AI assistant shows the path in five lines:

   1. Total merchant processing fees: all the card fees the merchant paid that month.
   2. minus Card network & other costs: costs taken out before Square's own revenue. Square doesn't say what's in them.
   3. equals Square's processing revenue: what is left for Square.
   4. minus Square's share (30%): Square keeps 30% of it.
   5. equals Reseller's residual (70%): the other 70% goes to the reseller. OrderOut passes all of it on and keeps nothing.

   Only two of these are readings: the fees, and the residual from Square's report. The three lines in the middle are calculated from those two.

   The residual is the reseller's, not one person's. The reseller agrees its own split with its ISOs and agents and pays them, outside the portal.

   Where the card fees go

   1. Total merchant processing feesRead from Square
   2. Card network & other costsCalculated

      Square's processing revenueCalculated
   3. Square's share (30%)Calculated

      Reseller's residual (70%)From Square's report
2. Example 1: Guanaco Cantina

   In September, Guanaco Cantina paid $1,257.67 in card fees. Square's report says the reseller's residual is $524.59.

   Work back up the lines in three moves:

   1. The residual is 70% of Square's processing revenue, so divide by 70%: $524.59 ÷ 70% = $749.41.
   2. Square's share is the rest of that revenue: $749.41 − $524.59 = $224.82.
   3. The card network & other costs are what is left of the fees: $1,257.67 − $749.41 = $508.26.

   The bar shows where Guanaco Cantina's fees went.

   Guanaco Cantina · September 2026

   • Costs $508.26
   • Square $224.82
   • Reseller $524.59

   The five lines for Guanaco Cantina, September 2026

   Step	Line	Amount
   	Total merchant processing fees	$1,257.67
   −minus	Card network & other costs	$508.26
   =equals	Square's processing revenue	$749.41
   −minus	Square's share (30%)	$224.82
   =equals	Reseller's residual (70%)	$524.59

3. Example 2: Rincón Sabroso Grill

   In September, Rincón Sabroso Grill paid $1,122.85 in card fees, and the reseller's residual is $482.36.

   Its fees are close to Guanaco Cantina's, but compare the two bars: the card network & other costs took a different-sized piece.

   So you can't guess a residual from the fees alone. The residual always comes from Square's report, and the other lines are calculated from it.

   Rincón Sabroso Grill · September 2026

   • Costs $433.76
   • Square $206.73
   • Reseller $482.36

   The five lines for Rincón Sabroso Grill, September 2026

   Step	Line	Amount
   	Total merchant processing fees	$1,122.85
   −minus	Card network & other costs	$433.76
   =equals	Square's processing revenue	$689.09
   −minus	Square's share (30%)	$206.73
   =equals	Reseller's residual (70%)	$482.36

4. Example 3: Allegro & Co. Boutique, a smaller shop

   In September, Allegro & Co. Boutique paid $79.68 in card fees, and the reseller's residual is $30.15.

   Smaller shop, same three moves: $30.15 ÷ 70% = $43.07 of Square's processing revenue, Square keeps $12.92, and the card network & other costs are $36.61.

   Look at the gray piece of the bar: it is bigger here than for the two restaurants. That is why the fees alone never tell you the residual.

   Allegro & Co. Boutique · September 2026

   • Costs $36.61
   • Square $12.92
   • Reseller $30.15

   The five lines for Allegro & Co. Boutique, September 2026

   Step	Line	Amount
   	Total merchant processing fees	$79.68
   −minus	Card network & other costs	$36.61
   =equals	Square's processing revenue	$43.07
   −minus	Square's share (30%)	$12.92
   =equals	Reseller's residual (70%)	$30.15

5. When a month is zero or below

   Sometimes a residual comes back at zero or below. That isn't 70% of anything, so there is nothing to work back from, and the card shows no “How your residual adds up” block that month.

   Square doesn't say what the card network & other costs include. So if a month looks wrong, negative ones included, email the OrderOut reseller team with the merchant and the month.

6. See the same lines for your own merchants

   On the Residuals page, choose Explain next to a merchant's residual. Or open the merchant's page and choose Explain this month on its Residuals card. The AI assistant opens that month's card, in that merchant's own figures.

   Don't see the buttons? You need permission to see merchant revenue and residuals. Ask an organization-wide admin in your organization to turn it on.

Worth knowing

• The examples come from OrderOut's demo reseller, Olive Pay, for September 2026. They are not a typical month or an estimate of what a merchant earns.
• Only card payments earn a residual. Cash, other tenders, hardware and software or subscription fees earn nothing.
• The 70/30 split is the same for every reseller. Square keeps 30% of its processing revenue and pays OrderOut 70%, and OrderOut passes all of it to the reseller.
• How the reseller splits its residual with its ISOs and agents is up to the reseller, and is paid outside the portal.
• Sometimes the card shows only the last three lines, with this note: “The card network & other costs can't be calculated this month: the fees we collected are lower than the revenue.” The residual is still Square's figure.
• If a figure looks wrong, email the OrderOut reseller team with the merchant and the month.

Questions resellers ask about this