Three kinds of numbers
Sourced. Equipment prices, vendor fees, tax rules, and permit costs. Each links to the page it came from, and every article lists its sources with the month they were checked. Prices are the seller’s own listed price on that date, before freight and tax unless stated.
Labelled. When a figure comes from a reseller, a competitor’s comparison page, or a trade publication instead of the vendor, the article says so. Where two sources disagree, both are given.
Ours. Sales, product cost, and fees from machines we operate, marked “From our route.” One machine at one location is an example. It is not a forecast for yours.
If a vendor does not publish a number, the article says “not published.”
Monthly fee comparisons
Platform fee comparisons use one sample month: $500 of sales across 200 purchases. Each platform’s cost is its fixed monthly fee, plus its percentage of sales, plus its per-transaction fee multiplied by 200. The article shows all three parts so you can redo it with your own numbers.
Monthly profit
| Line | How it is calculated |
|---|---|
| Gross sales | Everything the machine took in that month |
| Product | Gross sales × cost-of-goods percentage |
| Card fees | Gross sales × processing rate, plus fixed monthly fees |
| Commission | Gross sales × the rate agreed with the location |
| Other | Fixed monthly costs such as platform fees |
| Financing | The monthly payment, if the machine is financed |
| Net | Gross sales minus the five lines above |
Payback is the machine’s cost divided by monthly operating profit (net before any loan payment). Net is before income tax. Sales tax, the operator’s time, spoilage, theft, and repairs are shown separately when an article includes them.