Intelligence

A chart of the field — and where you sit on it.

The Sondara Index & the Soundings.

Sondara is an intelligence firm, not a reseller. Every reading we take deepens a proprietary benchmark of the economics of professional practices — and everything we can stand behind, we publish.

The Sondara Index

What the best-run practices actually pay.

A continuously updated benchmark of practice payment economics, by field — built from anonymized, aggregated soundings plus public sources, with a transparent, published methodology. It is how a Sounding tells you not just your number, but your position.

We publish the Index as a flagship only when the data is unimpeachable. Until then, every sounding quietly sharpens it.

Cost of payments as % of revenue — by field
Dental
2.9%
Veterinary
2.6%
Optometry
2.5%
Legal
2.2%
CPA
2.0%
Representative figures · the Sondara Index · published methodology
Soundings

Published readings — real numbers, with the work shown.

A sounding is a verified finding. These are representative of what we surface in practices’ own statements.

Dental group
$14,200/yr
Inflated markup plus unnecessary PCI and statement fees.
Veterinary clinic
$11,400/yr
Non-qualified downgrades and a padded effective rate.
CPA firm
$8,600/yr
Duplicate gateway fees and above-market markup.
Law firm
$9,900/yr
Surcharge mishandling and misclassified trust deposits.
Guides & Tools

Read your own depths.

Guide

How to read your merchant statement in 10 minutes

Effective rate, markup, and the fees worth questioning — in plain language.

Tool

Effective-rate & overpayment calculator

A quick read on whether you’re above your field. Or take a full Sounding →

Framework

When switching processors actually pays

An independent test for whether a change is worth it — before anyone sells you one.

Methodology

The Index is built from anonymized, aggregated sounding data and public sources. We show our work: assumptions, sources, and confidence are visible. No statistic is published without a verifiable lineage — one fabricated number would end an evidence brand, so the accuracy gate is absolute.

Interviewees and clients are always kept anonymous. The corpus is a sensitive, valuable asset, and we treat it like one.

The Sondara Brief

One benchmark, one practical tip, one piece of analysis — occasionally. No selling.