A new business cannot provide processing statements it has never generated. If you are seeking a merchant account without processing history, explain that plainly, then prepare estimates that someone else can understand and check. Separate what has happened from what you expect to happen.
Some providers ask applicants for estimated monthly processing volume alongside information about their business, products and payment methods. The information requested varies; an estimate is not an approval commitment or a substitute for every document a reviewer might request. Stripe’s merchant account application guide describes those distinctions.
This guide shows how to build a useful sales-assumption worksheet. For the broader process and the roles of the companies involved, start with the NUMUS merchant accounts guide.
Label actuals, commitments and assumptions separately
Put a date and a period on your worksheet: for example, “Prepared September 17; estimates for the first full calendar month after launch.” Record the business’s actual card-processing history as none if that is true.
Keep three evidence categories separate:
| Category | What belongs here | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Actual activity | Completed sales, payments and fulfillment that you can document | Future demand or approval for a different processing arrangement |
| Customer commitments | Genuine orders or signed agreements, with payment and cancellation status identified | Collected card payments when no card payment occurred |
| Planning assumptions | Expected order count, prices, payment mix and launch timing | Historical processing volume |
A waitlist is evidence of interest, not a stack of paid orders. Prior experience running another business is background, not this entity’s processing history. Describe both accurately if they help explain your plan.
If an application field will not accept “new business,” ask how the provider wants that status represented. Do not fabricate previous statements or relabel a spreadsheet of estimates as actual sales.
Define the number before calculating it
For this worksheet, projected gross card volume means the total amount you expect customers to pay by card during the stated month, before refunds, processing charges or other deductions. Confirm the application’s definition before copying that number into its fields.
Keep these amounts separate:
- Card collections and collections through bank transfer, cash or other methods.
- Customer charges and the eventual amount deposited into your bank account.
- Payments collected and revenue recognized in your accounting records.
For example, Chase’s statement guide distinguishes card sales, refunds and funding after deductions. Its labels and calculations describe Chase statements; another provider’s fields may differ. Chase statement support.
Payment timing also need not match the period in which revenue is earned under accrual accounting. Stripe’s revenue-recognition methodology explains this distinction. Ask your accountant about your books; an application worksheet should label collections clearly without pretending to determine accounting treatment.
Build the estimate from individual card charges
Here is a fictional workshop business preparing for its first month. Every number is illustrative. Prices below represent the complete amount charged in this example, with no additional tax or shipping added. For your business, identify whether those amounts are included.
| Offer | Planned card charges | Amount per charge | Projected gross card volume | Assumption to explain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single workshop seat | 48 | $75 | $3,600 | Six sessions with eight individual purchases each |
| Workshop bundle | 12 | $200 | $2,400 | Two bundle purchases associated with each session |
| Card total | 60 | — | $6,000 | Demand is projected, not established |
| Separate bank-transfer invoices | — | — | Excluded | $2,000 of projected non-card collections |
The worksheet’s projected average card charge is $6,000 ÷ 60 = $100. It is a weighted average based on the expected purchase mix, not the simple average of the two listed prices.
Count charges, not products. If one customer buys three items in one payment, that is one charge. If an offer has separately scheduled payments, show the expected charges in their respective months without assuming every scheduled payment will succeed.
The example’s $8,000 in total projected collections includes $2,000 outside cards. Entering $8,000 as card volume would overstate the card estimate. Likewise, the $6,000 card estimate does not predict the bank deposit after deductions.
If you are preparing to start accepting cards, bring your offer and initial assumptions to a NUMUS processing conversation.
Explain the large transactions and delivery timing
Average ticket size can hide meaningful differences. A business averaging $100 might also expect an occasional $600 group purchase. Identify that larger purchase separately, explain what the customer receives, and state whether it is included in the forecast. Do not add it to the total twice.
Add a simple fulfillment row for each offer:
| Offer | When the customer pays | When delivery is planned | What supports the plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workshop seat | At booking | 7–21 days later in this fictional example | Session calendar and instructor availability |
| Bundle | At purchase | Across the specific booked sessions | Written schedule and customer-facing terms |
These intervals describe the example, not an acceptable threshold. Stripe identifies the gap between payment and fulfillment as a consideration in its own credit review. That is a reason to make timing visible, not a universal rule about your eligibility. Stripe credit underwriting process.
Show what changes the estimate
Prepare alternatives using the same method instead of replacing a weak estimate with a more impressive number.
| Fictional demand scenario | $75 charges | $200 charges | Total charges | Gross card volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower demand | 36 | 8 | 44 | $4,300 |
| Working assumption | 48 | 12 | 60 | $6,000 |
| Higher demand | 60 | 18 | 78 | $8,100 |
State what would have to change: more inquiries, a different purchase mix, another instructor or additional inventory. A scenario is a sensitivity check, not a forecast validated by NUMUS or a provider.
For seasonal businesses, show the specific months you expect to differ and why. Do not multiply a launch promotion or holiday peak by twelve and call it a typical year. Distinguish demand uncertainty from capacity: being able to deliver eighty orders does not establish that eighty people will buy.
Complete your one-page assumption record
Attach this record to the calculations and update it when something material changes:
| Worksheet field | Your entry |
|---|---|
| Prepared by; version; date | Who owns the estimate and which version is current |
| Estimate period | Exact month or launch-relative period |
| Actual processing history | None, or the actual available period |
| Offer and full charge amount | What is sold and what the customer pays |
| Expected charge count | Calculation and underlying demand assumption |
| Payment-method split | Card amount separated from non-card collections |
| Larger expected charge | Amount, explanation and whether included |
| Payment-to-delivery timing | Expected schedule by offer |
| Seasonality and capacity | Factors that change the estimate |
| Evidence confidence | Established fact, customer commitment or untested assumption |
| Open question | Field definition or supporting information to clarify |
For the other materials surrounding an application, use the merchant account application checklist. Your worksheet complements those preparations; the reviewing provider determines what it needs.
Bring your offer, assumptions and open questions to NUMUS for an initial conversation. Clear estimates make your plans easier to discuss, but do not establish approval, pricing or funding terms.
Sources are linked beside the relevant explanations. Read our editorial approach.