Predictika · Payments and billing quotes

An AI sales agent's Stripe fee estimate, checked before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares a monthly fee estimate for a business that takes card payments and ACH debits with Stripe, bills subscriptions with Stripe Billing, and may add Terminal readers, Radar, Tax, Sigma and Data Pipeline. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of Stripe's published prices and returns a verdict, every reason, a line-item estimate and the figures it computed.

Scope: Monthly fee estimates at Stripe's published prices for card payments, ACH Direct Debit, Billing, Terminal readers, Radar, Tax Basic and Complete, Sigma and Data Pipeline. See everything this validator covers

This validator models fee estimates built on the prices Stripe publishes on its pricing pages (read October 5, 2026), not just the scenarios shown below.

  • Card and bank payments — 2.9% plus $0.30 on each domestic card payment, with extra percentages for international cards, manually entered cards and currency conversion, 2.7% plus $0.05 for in-person Terminal cards, and ACH Direct Debit at 0.8% capped at $5.00 a payment, plus $15.00 for each dispute.
  • Billing — pay as you go at 0.7% of Billing volume, or a monthly plan priced by volume band (up to $100,000, $250,000, $500,000 or $1,000,000 a month) with a 0.67% overage rate above the band; volume above the published bands goes to a person.
  • Add-ons and hardware — Radar monthly or pay as you go, Tax Basic by API or Tax Complete, Sigma and Data Pipeline on monthly or annual plans, and one-time purchases of Terminal readers; in-person volume needs at least one reader.
  • Consistency — the volumes must add up (international, manually entered and conversion volumes cannot exceed the card volume), a Billing volume needs a Billing plan, and the total the agent states must equal the computed total. Custom pricing goes to a person, because it is negotiated and not published.

Any Stripe fee estimate that touches these rules is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: Connect, Invoicing, Revenue Recognition, Financial Connections, Identity, Managed Payments, payouts, other payment methods and countries, Metronome, refunds, taxes and negotiated or enterprise pricing. Assumptions: several prices are published as “starting at” and may be higher for a given business; percentage fees are computed on monthly totals and rounded to the cent for each line, where Stripe rounds each transaction; ACH payments are modeled as equal amounts; the extra card percentages are added independently; the Billing plan names are not used because the pages read name them differently.

The AI sales agentBuilds the fee estimate from the conversation and says it is ready.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, the line-item estimate and the computed figures.

7 scenarios in 3 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI sales agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI sales agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where rules-based CPQ gets it wrong
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Our assessment of what a typical rules-based CPQ (product rules, price rules and validation rules, as in Salesforce CPQ) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.

    
What the validator caughtTypical rules-based CPQPredictika
Plan prices that depend on a volume bandOnly with care
A monthly plan with a volume cap and an overage rate needs a price rule for each band and a second rule for the overage; it works, but every change in the price page is another rule to maintain.		The plan, its band and the volume are in one request; the fee and any overage are computed together.
Percentage fees with a capOnly with care
A fee of 0.8% capped at $5.00 per payment is a minimum of two formulas. It works, but the break point (a $625 payment) is easy to get wrong.		The capped fee is computed for the payment amount on every call.
Surcharges layered on a base rateOnly with care
International, manually entered and currency-conversion percentages sit on top of the base rate and must never be larger than the card volume they apply to.		Each surcharge volume is compared with the card volume and priced in the same pass.
A stated total that must equal the computed feesOnly with care
A stated figure is a free-entry field; a rule can compare it with a computed total, but the total depends on every line being kept in step with the price pages.		The stated total travels with the estimate and is compared with the computed total on every call.
In-person volume that needs a readerOnly with workarounds
The volume is on one line and the readers on another, so the rule that links them is a cross-line rule that interacts with the others.		Volume, readers and Radar counts are in one request and checked with the rest.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as the quote is saved or a step is completed, so a rep often fixes one error and meets the next.		All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
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Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the estimate; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.

    
1ACH payments need both a count and an amount; the quote has 200 payments of $0 each.
2Card payments need both a volume and a transaction count; the quote has $240,000 across 0 transactions.
3International card volume of $240,001 is more than the total card volume of $240,000.
4Manually entered card volume of $250,000 is more than the total card volume of $240,000.
5Card volume needing currency conversion of $240,001 is more than the total card volume of $240,000.
6The published Billing monthly tiers stop at $1,000,000 of volume; above that Stripe prices a custom tier, so a person should confirm.
7The quote has $180,000 of Billing volume but no Billing plan.
8The quote has a Billing plan but no Billing volume.
9This validator models monthly volumes up to $5,000,000 per product; larger volumes are priced by Stripe sales.
10The quote has $60,000 of in-person card volume but no Terminal reader.
11Tax Basic is priced per transaction and the quote has no taxable transactions.
12Radar pay-as-you-go screens 5,701 transactions but the quote processes only 5,700 card and bank payments.
13Custom pricing (IC+, volume or multi-product discounts) is negotiated with Stripe sales and is not published; a person should confirm it.
14The quote states a first-month total of $13,547.00; the published prices give $13,548.00.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. Card volume and stated total: International card volume above total card volume, and a total that leaves out the Sigma fee

    
The agent's request. Please quote Stripe fees at published prices for an online and in-store outdoor retailer: card payments of $490,000 across 7,000 transactions ($540,000 of it international, $24,000 of it needing currency conversion), 120 ACH direct debits of $900 each, 14 disputes a month, a Billing monthly plan up to $500,000 of volume ($2,950 a month) on $420,000 of Billing volume, Radar on the monthly plan, Tax Complete, Sigma on the annual plan. The quote states a first-month total of $21,145.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • International volume above card volume. International card volume of $540,000 is more than the total card volume of $490,000.
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  • Stated total does not match. The quote states a first-month total of $21,145.00; the published prices give $28,520.00.
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2. Card volume and stated total: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote Stripe fees at published prices for an online and in-store outdoor retailer: card payments of $490,000 across 7,000 transactions ($49,000 of it international, $24,000 of it needing currency conversion), 120 ACH direct debits of $900 each, 14 disputes a month, a Billing monthly plan up to $500,000 of volume ($2,950 a month) on $420,000 of Billing volume, Radar on the monthly plan, Tax Complete, Sigma on the annual plan. The quote states a first-month total of $21,155.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Order summary. Estimated recurring fees of $21,155.00 a month at published prices.
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3. Billing plan and volume: Billing volume of $1.2 million with no Billing plan

    
The agent's request. Please quote Stripe fees at published prices for an online and in-store outdoor retailer: card payments of $1,100,000 across 15,000 transactions ($110,000 of it international, $55,000 of it needing currency conversion), 300 ACH direct debits of $1,200 each, 30 disputes a month, $1,200,000 of Billing volume, Radar on the monthly plan, Tax Complete, Sigma on the annual plan, Data Pipeline on the annual plan. The quote states a first-month total of $40,710.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Billing volume with no Billing plan. The quote has $1,200,000 of Billing volume but no Billing plan.
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4. Billing plan and volume: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote Stripe fees at published prices for an online and in-store outdoor retailer: card payments of $1,100,000 across 15,000 transactions ($110,000 of it international, $55,000 of it needing currency conversion), 300 ACH direct debits of $1,200 each, 30 disputes a month, a Billing monthly plan up to $1,000,000 of volume ($5,750 a month) on $1,200,000 of Billing volume, Radar on the monthly plan, Tax Complete, Sigma on the annual plan, Data Pipeline on the annual plan. The quote states a first-month total of $47,800.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Billing volume above the published tiers. The published Billing monthly tiers stop at $1,000,000 of volume; above that Stripe prices a custom tier, so a person should confirm.
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  • Order summary. Estimated recurring fees of $47,800.00 a month at published prices.
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5. Billing plan and volume: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote Stripe fees at published prices for an online and in-store outdoor retailer: card payments of $1,100,000 across 15,000 transactions ($110,000 of it international, $55,000 of it needing currency conversion), 300 ACH direct debits of $1,200 each, 30 disputes a month, Billing on pay as you go (0.7% of Billing volume) on $1,200,000 of Billing volume, Radar on the monthly plan, Tax Complete, Sigma on the annual plan, Data Pipeline on the annual plan. The quote states a first-month total of $49,110.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Order summary. Estimated recurring fees of $49,110.00 a month at published prices.
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6. Terminal readers and Radar: In-person card volume with no reader, and Radar screening more transactions than are processed

    
The agent's request. Please quote Stripe fees at published prices for an online and in-store outdoor retailer: card payments of $380,000 across 6,200 transactions ($38,000 of it international), 150 ACH direct debits of $500 each, in-person card payments of $95,000 across 2,400 transactions, 9 disputes a month, a Billing monthly plan up to $250,000 of volume ($1,500 a month) on $210,000 of Billing volume, Radar pay as you go screening 9,500 transactions, Tax Basic (API) on 6,200 transactions. The quote states a first-month total of $21,945.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • In-person volume with no reader. The quote has $95,000 of in-person card volume but no Terminal reader.
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  • Radar screens more than is processed. Radar pay-as-you-go screens 9,500 transactions but the quote processes only 8,750 card and bank payments.
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7. Terminal readers and Radar: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote Stripe fees at published prices for an online and in-store outdoor retailer: card payments of $380,000 across 6,200 transactions ($38,000 of it international), 150 ACH direct debits of $500 each, in-person card payments of $95,000 across 2,400 transactions, with 3 Reader S700 or S710 and 1 Reader T600 to buy, 9 disputes a month, a Billing monthly plan up to $250,000 of volume ($1,500 a month) on $210,000 of Billing volume, Radar pay as you go screening 8,750 transactions, Tax Basic (API) on 6,200 transactions. The quote states a first-month total of $23,133.50. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Order summary. Estimated recurring fees of $21,907.50 a month plus $1,226.00 of one-time reader purchases, first-month total of $23,133.50 at published prices.
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI sales agent prepares a monthly fee estimate for a business that takes card payments and ACH debits. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of Stripe's published prices and returns a verdict, every reason, a line-item estimate and the figures it computed.
    2. 
      
  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
    3. 
      
  3. The agent says. Please quote Stripe fees at published prices for an online and in-store outdoor retailer: card payments of $490,000 across 7,000 transactions ($540,000 of it international, $24,000 of it needing currency conversion). The quote states a first-month total of $21,145.00. The rest of the request is on screen.
    4. 
      
  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
    5. 
      
  5. Blocked, with two findings, all in one answer. International card volume of $540,000 is more than the total card volume of $490,000. The quote states a first-month total of $21,145.00; the published prices give $28,520.00.
    6. 
      
  6. The validator returned two blocking findings in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the quote are checked against each other and against the stated total.
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  7. What this shows: for a stated total that must equal the computed fees, a rules-based CPQ is error-prone for this.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the international card volume to $49,000 and the stated first-month total to $21,155.00.
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  10. It calls the validator again.
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  11. This time the validator clears it.
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  12. The validator also returns the line-item quote. It starts with Card payments: 2.9% of $490,000 plus $0.30 on 7,000 transactions and International cards: extra 1.5% of $49,000; the other seven lines are on screen.
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  13. Both earlier findings are cleared, and the validator's total, $21,155.00, matches the quote.
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  14. Two problems caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and a clean $21,155.00 quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer. Now you can try the other scenarios yourself.
    15.