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What is the industry standard for determining a portfolio market price within an ISO? That is, what is the value of an account? And is the value determined on a monthly gross- or net-income basis? Additionally, we are about to sign an ISA (independent sales agent) agreement, and I would like to know what's standard. We are new to the business.

The industry and the particular organization we are involved with looks appealing, and although we are former "corporate professionals" we come from different industries. Is there a list or reference data sheet that ranks the various ISOs and organizations by transaction volume, dollar volume, quality of training of ISAs, service to merchants, etc.? Is there a definitive document or publication that provides the history, government regulation (dos and don'ts), and winners and losers of the industry? Are most of the players in the industry private or public [SEC-governed] organizations?

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The payment processing industry has been built, in large part, through the efforts of Independent Sales Agents (ISO/MSPs). One of the most important reasons companies choose to advertise with The Green Sheet is to recruit members from this ever-changing, elusive sales force.

Consider the shelf life of The Green Sheet. More than 83% of our readers archive their issues, 90% refer to back issues for their sales presentations, 86% have shared The Green Sheet with a business associate and 97% would recommend GS/GSQ to their colleagues. By any standard, The Green Sheet and GSQ are invaluable resources for the financial services industry.

Who reads these publications? ISOs comprise 72% of Green Sheet and GSQ readers; 8% are industry vendors, and 8% are from financial institutions. Additionally, officials from the top 100 banks in the United States read The Green Sheet and GSQ.

Readers of The Green Sheet and GSQ offer a variety of services, including, but not limited to, Internet services, ATM sales and service, POS equipment, collection services, debit processing and sales, bankcard services, and check guarantee and verification.

The Green Sheet, Inc. always has focused its efforts on the sales professional selling in the marketplace and always has had the timeliest information in the industry. Our publications reach the market nearly 30 times a year, more than twice that of any other publication, and we actually have a point of view rather than adopting the generic infomercial style of totally commercial publications. In short, we reach the right people in the right way!

Our article, "Getting the Best Price when Selling your Portfolio" published in The Green Sheet issue 02:02:01 (Feb. 11, 2002) offers a great deal of information on the valuation of ISO portfolios. This article is available in the online archive PUBLICATIONS/ISSUE ARCHIVE: http://www.greensheet.com/PriorIssues-/020201-/3.htm

Additionally, the FAQ section of our Web site includes several articles on getting started as an ISO in this industry: http://www.greensheet.com/industryfaq.html

While no definitive list of ISOs has been published, we have published several in-depth reports on this robust sales channel. Our GSQ publication is now available online; please register to read our past issues online at http://www.greensheet.com/gsq/

You will want to check out these issues specifically: 2002 Vol. 5, No. 1; 2001 Vol. 4, No. 4; 2000 Vol. 3, No. 1.

The July 2002 GSQ Vol. 5 No. 3 "Feet on the Street" is our most recent report on ISOs. All registered subscribers to The Green Sheet receive the GSQ publication in addition to the 24 issues of The Green Sheet each year. Subscriptions are free to ISOs at http://www.greensheet.com/subscribe.cgi

Good Selling!^SM
The Green Sheet Staff