Merchant services contract-analysis and sales-facilitation system, software, components, and methods

A computer implemented method for operating one or more servers to establish a communication with a merchant comprising:

• a) maintaining a merchant services provider database in a memory resource associated with said servers, wherein said merchant services provider database comprises a plurality of entries, each said entry corresponding to one of a plurality of potential merchant services providers and comprising:
• (i) an identification of said corresponding potential merchant services provider,
• (ii) an identification of a representative of said corresponding potential merchant services provider,
• (iii) an identification of a geographic area associated with said corresponding potential merchant services provider, and
• (iv) at least one term of a contract offered by said corresponding potential merchant services provider;
• b) receiving from a merchant application executing on a computing device of said merchant:
• (i) information about a relationship between said merchant and a current merchant services provider, and
• (ii) a location associated with said merchant;
• c) computing a current effective rate from said current merchant services provider relationship information;
• d) generating a candidate list of potential merchant services providers from said merchant services provider database;
• e) providing data to said merchant application to generate a presentation on a display of said merchant computing device, said presentation comprising said candidate list;
• f) receiving from said merchant application a request to establish a communication with a selected potential merchant services provider from said candidate list;
• g) providing data to a merchant services provider application executing on a computing device of said representative of said selected potential merchant services provider to generate a presentation on a display of said representative computing device, said presentation comprising said request to establish said communication with said merchant;
• and
• h) receiving data from said merchant services provider application comprising an acceptance of said request to establish said communication with said merchant.

A merchant services provider contract monitoring service system, wherein said system comprises one or more processors coupled to a non-transient storage media storing instructions for causing one or more processors to:

• a) receiving current relationship data from a merchant application executing on a computing device of a merchant, said data comprising information about a relationship between said merchant and a current merchant services provider;
• b) analyzing said current relationship data received by said merchant application to compute a current effective rate, wherein said current effective rate comprises a ratio of the dollar amount assessed by said current merchant services provider to the dollar amount of transactions submitted for processing;
• c) simulating a potential relationship between said merchant and a potential merchant services provider, said step of simulating said potential relationship comprising computing a potential effective rate from said current relationship data and one or more terms of a contract offered by said potential merchant services provider;
• d) comparing said current effective rate and said potential effective rate;
• and
• e) if said potential effective rate is less than said current effective rate, establishing a communication between said merchant computing device and a representative computing device of a representative of said potential merchant services provider.