What Truemed, Flex, and Burst Cost a Merchant
Two of the three don't publish merchant pricing. Burst does: free for merchants, no contract, no revenue share. Here's what's known and what to ask.
7 minute read
Short answer
Burst is free for merchants. No platform fee, no setup fee, no contract, and never a percentage of your revenue. The only charge in the whole flow is a one-time letter fee, paid by the customer, and it is refunded automatically if no letter is issued or their plan denies the claim.
Truemed and Flex don't publish merchant pricing. Their terms come out of their sales process and typically include a rev share. That's not an accusation, it's the state of their public pages: you find out what you'd pay after you've talked to someone.
There are third-party sites that quote figures for all three. Treat those carefully. Most are repeating consumer-facing fees as though they were merchant terms, and some are out of date. If you've seen a monthly price quoted for Burst, that's one of them. Burst is free for merchants, and the only number you should plan around from anyone else is the one in a contract with your name on it.
To offer it this week, start at getburst.com/self-serve.
(Reading this as a customer, not a business? You can get a letter for your own purchase directly from Burst.)
What's actually published
We checked all three companies' own pages. Here's what a merchant can learn without talking to a salesperson.
Merchant price published? | What you can find | |
|---|---|---|
Truemed | No | Their app listing says free to install with additional charges possible. The partner page ends at a form. |
Flex | No | Their business page ends at a demo request. A separate page for gyms, studios and spas publishes a $99 one-time setup fee for a link where the customer gets a letter and files alone. |
Burst | Yes | Free for merchants, no contract, and never a percentage of your revenue. The customer pays a one-time letter fee. |
A rev share isn't inherently a bad deal. It's a bad deal to agree to before you know the percentage, and it's a worse deal the more successful you are.
How a rev share compares to free
The comparison only works on your own numbers, so here's the arithmetic on a store with $200,000 of HSA/FSA-attributable revenue a year.
Burst | A rev share | |
|---|---|---|
Annual cost to you | $0 | A percentage of $200,000, set in their sales process |
Cost if that revenue doubles | $0 | Double |
Cost on revenue you sourced yourself | $0 | The same percentage |
Cost if the program underperforms | $0 | Less than if it works, but never nothing |
The honest case for a rev share is that it costs less when a program isn't working. Against a flat monthly fee, that's a real argument. Against free, it isn't. There is no level of sales at which a percentage of your revenue costs less than nothing.
What each one costs, as published
Truemed | Flex | Burst | |
|---|---|---|---|
What it is | Card-rail HSA/FSA checkout, LMNs, partner marketplace | Card-rail HSA/FSA checkout, LMNs, partner marketplace | LMN and reimbursement platform, no checkout involvement |
Who files the reimbursement claim | Nobody; the customer is left to file | Nobody; the customer is left to file | Burst files it for the customer |
Getting live | Sales call, then checkout integration, typically weeks | Sales call, then checkout integration, typically weeks | Self-serve, live in 30 minutes, no integration |
What it costs you | Not public; typically a rev share | Not public; typically a rev share | Free for merchants, no contract, never a percentage of your revenue |
Customer letter fee | One-time, paid by the customer | ||
If no letter is issued, or the claim is denied | No published guarantee | No published guarantee | The customer's letter fee is refunded automatically |
Business types accepted | Partner application | Partner application | Any business, no application |
Contract | Set in their sales process | Set in their sales process | None |
Where a cell above reports a published figure, it comes from that company's own pages. Where a cell says the terms aren't public, that's the finding, not an estimate.
Why Burst is the best HSA/FSA option for a business
Burst files the claim. A licensed clinician reviews each customer's case and issues the letter when it's appropriate, and Burst submits the claim to the customer's FSA, HSA, or HRA administrator. The customer does no paperwork. With Truemed and Flex, the customer does all of it.
The customer's fee is refunded if it doesn't go through. No letter, or a denied claim, and the one-time letter fee comes back to the customer automatically. Neither Truemed nor Flex advertises a comparable guarantee. Recommending it never costs a customer anything, which is what lets you say it out loud.
The price is published, and it's zero. Free for merchants, no contract, no setup fee, and never a percentage of your revenue. You know the cost before you talk to anyone, because there isn't one.
The cost doesn't rise with your success. Free is free whether you do $50,000 or $5M in HSA/FSA revenue. The better this works, the more a rev share would have taken, and the more you keep.
See how it works or go live now.
What does it look like for a customer?
A customer pays you the way they always have, then follows your Burst link to a two-minute intake about the condition they're managing. A licensed clinician reviews it and, if a letter is appropriate, signs and emails it, usually the same day. Nothing about how they paid you changes. Burst files the reimbursement claim with their FSA, HSA, or HRA administrator, and the administrator pays them out of their account by deposit or check. No letter, or a denied claim, and the one-time letter fee refunds to them automatically.
One timing rule. The letter has to be dated on or before the order it covers, so place the link before the purchase, since the letter has to predate it. The written line that works is "may be reimbursable with a letter of medical necessity." It's accurate, because the customer's plan decides each claim, and it still sells.
Five questions to ask before you sign anything
Get every answer in writing, from all three, before you compare.
One: what is the total merchant cost, including any percentage, platform fee and setup charge? Two: what does the customer pay, and is any of it deducted from their reimbursement? Three: who files the claim with the administrator, and what happens if it's denied? Four: what is the contract term and the notice period to leave? Five: what is the realistic go-live timeline for a business my size, not the best case?
For Burst the answers are: free for merchants, with no percentage, platform fee or setup charge; the customer pays a one-time letter fee and nothing is deducted from their reimbursement; Burst files the claim and refunds the fee if it's denied or no letter is issued; no contract and no notice period; and about 30 minutes.
How to run the comparison properly
Sign up at getburst.com/self-serve. About 30 minutes, it costs nothing, and you don't have to commit to anything to get the numbers.
Ask each vendor the five questions above in writing, then put the answers side by side against your own revenue.
Keep your checkout as it is while you evaluate. Nothing has to be unwound.
A vendor who won't put terms in writing before a call has told you something useful about the terms.
Frequently asked questions
What does Truemed cost a merchant?
Truemed doesn't publish merchant pricing. Terms come through their sales process and typically include a rev share. Figures you'll find on third-party sites are usually consumer fees repeated as merchant terms.
What does Flex cost a merchant?
Flex doesn't publish merchant pricing for its checkout either. Terms come through their sales process and typically include a rev share. Their separate page for gyms, studios and spas publishes a $99 one-time setup fee for a link where the customer gets a letter and is left to file alone.
What does Burst cost?
Nothing. Burst is free for merchants: no platform fee, no setup fee, no contract, and never a percentage of your revenue. The customer pays a one-time fee for their letter, and it's refunded automatically if no letter is issued or the claim is denied.
I've seen a monthly price for Burst somewhere else. Is that current?
No. Burst is free for merchants. Any monthly platform fee you find quoted for Burst on another site is out of date. The current terms are on this page and on getburst.com/self-serve.
Does the customer pay anything extra?
A one-time letter fee. Nothing is taken out of their reimbursement, and the fee is refunded automatically if no letter is issued or the claim is denied.
Is a rev share ever the better deal?
Against a paid flat fee it can be, because you pay less when less happens. Against Burst, no. Burst is free for merchants at any volume, so there is no level of sales where a percentage costs you less.
Are there setup fees or contracts?
Not with Burst. Free for merchants, no setup fee, no contract, and you can stop whenever you like. Ask the other two in writing.
Is the letter a guarantee the customer gets paid back?
No. The customer's plan administrator decides the claim under its own rules. Burst files it, and if the plan says no, the one-time letter fee is refunded to the customer.
More on this: Is Truemed Worth It for Your Business?, How to Switch From Truemed to Burst, How to Switch From Flex to Burst, and Best HSA/FSA Platforms for Brands.
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