# All Guides
Source: https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs

Last updated 24 October 2026.

TL;DR

-   Seven sections, the lookup tables and a reading order for the job you do
-   Something going wrong right now? The [front page routes by symptom](https://paymentsandrisk.com/)
-   New to all of it? [The Guide](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/learning-pathways/) is 15 short lessons, about 105 minutes

Every page on the site, grouped. If something is going wrong right now, the [front page routes by symptom](https://paymentsandrisk.com/) instead.

## The seven sections

| Section | What is in it |
| --- | --- |
| [Accepting payments](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/payments/) | How money moves, processor choice, fees, approval rates |
| [Chargebacks and disputes](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/chargebacks/) | Reason codes, deadlines, fighting them, preventing them |
| [Fraud prevention](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/fraud/) | Detection, tools, what to buy and when not to buy |
| [Rules and compliance](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/compliance/) | Network rules, PCI, consumer protection law |
| [Day-to-day operations](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/operations/) | Reconciliation, payouts, holds, running a risk team |
| [Step-by-step playbooks](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/playbooks/) | For the day it is already going wrong |
| [Reference tables](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/reference/) | Codes, thresholds, deadlines, definitions |

## Look something up

| Table | Use it for |
| --- | --- |
| [Chargeback reason codes](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/reference/reason-codes/) | The code on a dispute notice, and what evidence beats it |
| [Decline codes](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/reference/decline-codes/) | Why a payment failed at checkout, and whether to retry |
| [Benchmarks](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/reference/benchmarks/) | Whether your approval, fraud and chargeback numbers are normal |
| [Response deadlines](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/reference/time-frames/) | How many days you get, by network and stage |
| [Business category codes (MCC)](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/reference/mcc-codes/) | Your merchant category code, and why it affects your rates |
| [Glossary](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/reference/glossary/) | Plain-English definitions for every term used here |

## Start where you are

Not a course, just the order these topics make sense in for the job you actually do.

**Running a small business.** [Choosing a processor](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/payments/buying-payments/) then [preventing chargebacks](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/chargebacks/prevention/) then [reducing them fast](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/playbooks/reduce-chargebacks-fast/) when the ratio moves.

Processor fees changed? [Compare the notice, agreement and current bill](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/operations/processor-management/#they-raised-my-fees).

**Running an online store.** [Checkout conversion](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/payments/checkout-conversion/) then [getting more payments approved](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/payments/auth-optimization/) then [3D Secure](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/fraud/prevention/3ds/) once fraud starts costing more than the friction.

**Working in fraud or risk.** [Fraud types](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/fraud/types/) then [risk scoring](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/fraud/prevention/risk-scoring/) then [velocity rules](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/fraud/detection/velocity-rules/) then [fraud metrics](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/fraud/metrics/) to know if any of it worked.

**Running payment operations.** [Settlement and reconciliation](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/payments/settlement/) then [processor management](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/operations/processor-management/) then [chargeback metrics](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/chargebacks/metrics/).

Free POS offer? [Compare equipment, processing and exit costs](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/operations/processor-management/#free-pos-total-cost).

**Buying a tool.** [Chargeback vendors](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/chargebacks/vendors/), [fraud vendors](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/fraud/vendors/landscape/), and [how to evaluate one](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/fraud/vendors/selection-guide/) without being sold to.

## Prefer to learn it in order?

[The Guide](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/learning-pathways/) is 15 short lessons, about 105 minutes, in sequence. Start at [pathway 1](https://paymentsandrisk.com/docs/learning-pathways/getting-started-with-payments/introduction/) if you only do one, because processor choice and fees drive everything else.