Heartland Payment Systems (HPY) 10-Q 8 May 15 2015 Q1 Quarterly report Financial data

Document_and_Entity_Informatio

Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	4-May-15
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	HEARTLAND PAYMENT SYSTEMS INC
Entity Central Index Key	1144354
Current Fiscal Year End Date	-19
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	31-Mar-15
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	FALSE
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		36,599,175

Condensed_Consolidated_Balance

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$44,851	$70,793
Funds held for customers	210,122	176,492
Receivables, net	239,252	234,104
Investments	110	106
Inventory	11,272	12,048
Prepaid expenses	23,886	22,658
Current tax assets	16,888	15,082
Current deferred tax assets, net	7,019	9,308
Total current assets	553,400	540,591
Capitalized customer acquisition costs, net	75,096	73,107
Property and equipment, net	164,792	154,303
Goodwill	475,580	425,712
Intangible assets, net	204,256	192,553
Deposits and other assets, net	1,837	1,507
Total assets	1,474,961	1,387,773
Current liabilities:
Due to sponsor banks	46,777	31,165
Accounts payable	53,664	58,460
Customer fund deposits	210,122	176,492
Processing liabilities	108,649	119,398
Current portion of accrued buyout liability	16,159	15,023
Current portion of borrowings	41,781	36,792
Current portion of unearned revenue	39,016	46,601
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	46,834	41,517
Total current liabilities	563,002	525,448
Deferred tax liabilities, net	56,499	45,804
Reserve for unrecognized tax benefits	7,706	7,315
Long-term borrowings	547,435	523,122
Long-term portion of accrued buyout liability	30,323	32,970
Long-term portion of unearned revenue	2,366	2,354
Total liabilities	1,207,331	1,137,013
Commitments and contingencies	0	0
Equity
Common stock, $0.001 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized, 36,562,755 and 36,344,921 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014	37	36
Additional paid-in capital	259,144	255,921
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	-66	-130
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)	8,515	-5,067
Total equity	267,630	250,760
Total liabilities and equity	$1,474,961	$1,387,773

Condensed_Consolidated_Balance1

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets Parentheticals (Unaudited) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Equity
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$0.00	$0.00
Common stock, shares authorized	100,000,000	100,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	36,562,755	36,344,921
Common stock, shares outstanding	36,562,755	36,344,921

Condensed_Consolidated_Stateme

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Total revenues	$602,459	$523,283
Costs of services:
Interchange	359,340	318,096
Dues, assessments and fees	52,775	49,668
Processing and servicing	77,737	68,609
Customer acquisition costs	14,048	10,250
Depreciation and amortization	10,673	5,812
Total costs of services	514,573	452,435
General and administrative	58,124	44,486
Total expenses	572,697	496,921
Income from operations	29,762	26,362
Other income (expense):
Interest income	25	32
Interest expense	-3,647	-1,050
Other, net	26	-132
Total other expense	-3,596	-1,150
Income before income taxes	26,166	25,212
Provision for income taxes	8,928	10,300
Net income	17,238	14,912
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	-828
Net income attributable to Heartland	$17,238	$15,740
Earnings per common share:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$0.47	$0.43
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$0.46	$0.42
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	36,432	36,731
Diluted (in shares)	37,110	37,735
Dividends declared per share (in dollars per share)	$0.10	$0.09

Condensed_Consolidated_Stateme1

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (unaudited) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Net income	$17,238	$14,912
Other comprehensive income:
Unrealized gains on investments, net of income tax of $12 and $9	32	12
Unrealized gains on derivative financial instruments, net of income tax of $19 and $28	32	47
Comprehensive income	17,302	14,971
Less: Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	-828
Comprehensive income attributable to Heartland	$17,302	$15,799

Condensed_Consolidated_Stateme2

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Parentheticals) (unaudited) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Unrealized gains (losses) on investments, tax	$12	$9
Unrealized losses on derivative financial instruments, tax	$19	$28

Condensed_Consolidated_Stateme3

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Equity (unaudited) (USD $)	Total	Common Stock	Additional Paid-In Capital	Accumulated Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income	Retained Earnings (Accumulated Deficit)	Treasury Stock	Noncontrolling Interests
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified
Stockholders' equity, beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2013	$266,663	$37	$245,055	($88)	$35,960	($20,489)	$6,188
Common stock, shares outstanding, beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2013		36,951,000
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity
Issuance of common stock - options exercised, shares		21,000
Issuance of common stock - options exercised, amount	246	0	246
Issuance of common stock- RSU's vested, shares		161,000
Issuance of common stock- RSU's vested, amount	-4,125		-4,125
Excess tax benefit on employee share-based compensation	2,174		2,174
Repurchase of common stock, shares		-696,000
Repurchase of common stock, amount	-28,668	0				-28,668
Share-based compensation	3,838		3,838
Other comprehensive income	59			59
Dividends on common stock	-3,102				-3,102
Net income (loss) for the period	14,912				15,740		-828
Stockholders' equity, ending balance at Mar. 31, 2014	251,997	37	247,188	-29	48,598	-49,157	5,360
Common stock, shares outstanding, ending balance at Mar. 31, 2014		36,437,000
Stockholders' equity, beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2014	250,760	36	255,921	-130	-5,067	0	0
Common stock, shares outstanding, beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2014	36,344,921	36,345,000
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity
Issuance of common stock - options exercised, shares		51,000
Issuance of common stock - options exercised, amount	768	0	768
Issuance of common stock- RSU's vested, shares		167,000
Issuance of common stock- RSU's vested, amount	-5,674	1	-5,675
Excess tax benefit on employee share-based compensation	3,481		3,481
Share-based compensation	4,649		4,649
Other comprehensive income	64			64
Dividends on common stock	-3,656				-3,656
Net income (loss) for the period	17,238				17,238
Stockholders' equity, ending balance at Mar. 31, 2015	$267,630	$37	$259,144	($66)	$8,515	$0	$0
Common stock, shares outstanding, ending balance at Mar. 31, 2015	36,562,755	36,563,000

Condensed_Consolidated_Stateme4

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (unaudited) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income	$17,238	$14,912
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Amortization of capitalized customer acquisition costs	14,155	11,985
Other depreciation and amortization	14,652	9,864
Addition to loss reserves	869	866
Provision for doubtful receivables	655	337
Deferred taxes	7,019	4,205
Share-based compensation	4,649	3,838
Write off of fixed assets and other	431	225
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Increase in receivables	-3,606	-1,959
Decrease in inventory	926	163
Payment of signing bonuses, net	-10,041	-8,055
Increase in capitalized customer acquisition costs	-6,103	-5,531
Decrease in current tax assets	1,627	5,737
Increase in prepaid expenses, deposits and other assets	-1,088	-1,314
Excess tax benefits on employee share-based compensation	-3,481	-2,174
Increase in reserve for unrecognized tax benefits	391	390
Increase in due to sponsor banks	15,612	30,335
Decrease in accounts payable	-5,535	-6,871
Decrease in unearned revenue	-10,148	-9,390
Decrease in accrued expenses and other liabilities	-4,107	-3,681
Decrease in processing liabilities	-11,653	-30,597
Payouts of accrued buyout liability	-7,507	-1,875
Increase in accrued buyout liability	5,996	3,796
Net cash provided by operating activities	20,951	15,206
Cash flows from investing activities
Decrease (increase) in funds held for customers	12,645	-28,160
(Decrease) increase in customer fund deposits	-12,645	28,182
Acquisitions of businesses, net of cash acquired	-60,890	-3,250
Capital expenditures	-15,909	-12,846
Net cash used in investing activities	-76,799	-16,074
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from borrowings	86,000	30,000
Principal payments on borrowings	-56,687	0
Proceeds from exercise of stock options	768	246
Excess tax benefits on employee share-based compensation	3,481	2,174
Repurchases of common stock	0	-27,237
Dividends paid on common stock	-3,656	-3,102
Net cash provided by financing activities	29,906	2,081
Net (decrease) increase in cash	-25,942	1,213
Cash at beginning of year	70,793	71,932
Cash at end of period	44,851	73,145
Supplemental cash flow information
Interest	3,216	788
Income taxes	($151)	($33)

Organization_and_Operations

Organization and Operations	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Organization and Operations	Organization and Operations
	Basis of Financial Statement Presentation— The accompanying consolidated financial statements include those of Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (the "Company," “we,” “us,” or “our”) and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Heartland Payroll Solutions, Inc., Heartland Payment Solutions, Inc., Heartland Acquisition LLC, TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. (“TouchNet”) as of September 4, 2014 and Heartland Commerce, Inc. The condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. All intercompany balances and transactions with the Company's subsidiaries have been eliminated upon consolidation.
	The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited. In the opinion of the Company's management, the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the Company's financial position at March 31, 2015, its results of operations, changes in equity and cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014. Results of operations reported for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2015. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. The December 31, 2014 Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet was derived from the audited 2014 consolidated financial statements.
	Out of Period Adjustments—In the second quarter of 2014, the Company recorded out-of-period adjustments decreasing its revenue and increasing bad debt expense (included in Processing and Servicing in its Consolidated Statements of Income) by $1.4 million and $0.9 million, respectively. These adjustments related to immaterial errors that originated in the prior year in the Company's Heartland School Solutions business. These adjustments included revenue which was incorrectly recorded in prior periods and a reassessment of the collectability of certain customer accounts receivable. These out-of-period adjustments reduced earnings before income taxes and net income in the year ended December 31, 2014 by $2.3 million and $1.4 million, respectively, and reduced diluted earnings per share by $0.04. The Company considered existing guidance in evaluating whether a restatement of prior financial statements was required as a result of these misstatements. The guidance requires corrections of errors to be recorded by restatement of prior periods, if material. The Company quantitatively and qualitatively assessed the materiality of the errors and concluded that the errors were not material to its earnings for the year ended December 31, 2014, and accordingly, no restatement of prior period financial statements was warranted.
	Business Description—The Company’s primary business is to provide payment processing services to merchants throughout the United States. This involves providing end-to-end electronic payment processing services to merchants by facilitating the exchange of information and funds between them and cardholders' financial institutions. To accomplish this, the Company undertakes merchant set-up and training, transaction authorization and electronic draft capture, clearing and settlement, merchant accounting, merchant assistance and support, and risk management. The Company also provides additional services, including those provided through subsidiaries, such as:
	•	Integrated commerce solutions, payment processing, higher education loan services and open and closed-loop payment solutions to higher-education institutions through Campus Solutions,
	•	School nutrition, point-of-sale solutions ("POS"), and associated payment solutions, including online prepayment solutions, to kindergarten through 12th grade ("K-12") schools through Heartland School Solutions,
	•	Full-service payroll processing and related tax filing services, through Heartland Payroll Solutions,
	•	Others including (1) prepaid and stored-value card solutions through Micropayments, (2) POS solutions and other adjacent business service applications through Heartland Commerce, and (3) marketing solutions including loyalty and gift cards which the Company provides through Heartland Marketing Solutions.
	Over 70% of the Company's revenue is derived from processing and settling bankcard transactions, primarily related to the Visa and MasterCard networks, for its merchant customers. Because the Company is not a ''member bank'' as defined by Visa and MasterCard, in order to process and settle these bankcard transactions for its merchants, the Company has entered into sponsorship agreements with member banks. Visa and MasterCard rules restrict the Company from performing funds settlement or accessing merchant settlement funds and require that these funds be in the possession of the member bank until the merchant is funded. A sponsorship agreement with a member bank permits the Company to route Visa and MasterCard bankcard transactions under the member bank's control and identification numbers to clear credit and signature debit bankcard transactions through Visa and MasterCard. A sponsorship agreement also enables the Company to settle funds between cardholders and merchants by delivering funding files to the member bank, which in turn transfers settlement funds to the merchants' bank accounts. These restrictions place the settlement assets and obligations under the control of the member bank.
	The sponsorship agreements with the member banks require, among other things, that the Company abide by the bylaws and regulations of the Visa and MasterCard networks, and certain sponsor banks require a cash balance in a deposit account. If the Company were to breach a sponsorship agreement and under certain other circumstances, the sponsor banks may terminate the agreement and, under the terms of the agreement, the Company would have 180 days to identify an alternative sponsor bank. The Company is generally dependent on its sponsor banks, Visa and MasterCard for notification of any compliance breaches. As of March 31, 2015, the Company has not been notified of any such issues by its sponsor banks, Visa or MasterCard.
	As of March 31, 2015, the Company is party to three bank sponsorship agreements.
	•	On February 8, 2012, the Company entered into a sponsorship agreement with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. ("WFB"). The WFB sponsorship agreement will be in effect until February 8, 2016 and will automatically renew for successive three-year periods unless either party provides six months written notice of non-renewal to the other party. Processing for small and mid-sized merchants (referred to as "Small and Midsized Enterprises," or “SME merchants”) under the WFB sponsorship commenced in August 2012, when that activity was transferred from its previous sponsor, KeyBank, National Association.
	•	In November 2009, the Company entered into a sponsorship agreement with The Bancorp Bank ("TBB") to sponsor processing for the Company's Network Services merchants and, as of October 2013, certain of the Company's SME merchants. The agreement with TBB expires in February 2016 and will automatically renew for successive one-year periods unless either party provides six months written notice of non-renewal to the other party.
	•	On March 24, 2011, the Company entered into a sponsorship agreement with Barclays Bank Delaware to sponsor processing for certain of the Company's large national merchants. The agreement with Barclays Bank Delaware expires in March 2016 and will automatically renew for successive one-year periods unless either party provides six months written notice of non-renewal to the other party.
	The following is a breakout of the Company’s total Visa and MasterCard settled card processing volume for the month ending March 31, 2015 by percentage processed under its individual bank sponsorship agreements:
		% of	Mar-15
	Sponsor Bank	Bankcard Processing
		Volume
	Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.	71%
	The Bancorp Bank	20%
	Barclays Bank Delaware	9%
	The Company also provides card transaction processing for DFS Services, LLC ("Discover") and is designated as an
	acquirer by Discover. The agreement with Discover allows the Company to acquire, process and fund transactions directly
	through Discover's network without the need of a bank sponsor. The Company processes Discover transactions similarly to
	how it processes Visa and MasterCard transactions. The Company must comply with Discover acquirer operating regulations
	and uses its sponsor banks to assist in funding its merchants' Discover transactions.
	Under a prior sales and servicing program agreement with American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
	("American Express") the Company: (a) provided solicitation services by signing new-to-American Express merchants directly
	with American Express; (b) provided transactional support services on behalf of American Express to the Company's American
	Express accepting merchants; and (c) provided processing, settlement, customer support and reporting to merchants, similar to
	the services provided for the merchants' Visa, MasterCard and Discover transactions. In May 2014, the Company began offering a new American Express Card Acceptance Program (referred to as "OptBlue") to new merchants. The Company converted a majority of its existing merchants who were processing under the prior sales and servicing agreement with American Express to OptBlue during the third quarter of 2014.  As a participant in OptBlue the Company acquires, contracts, and establishes pricing, as well as provides customer service, to merchants, similar to the transaction processing services the Company provides through Discover, Visa and MasterCard.

Summary_of_Significant_Account

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
	Use of Estimates— The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Estimates include, among other things, the accrued buyout liability, capitalized customer acquisition costs, goodwill and intangible asset impairment review, revenue recognition for multiple element arrangements, loss reserves, certain accounts payable and accrued expenses and certain tax assets and liabilities as well as the related valuation allowances, if any. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
	Cash and Cash Equivalents—At March 31, 2015, cash included approximately $13.7 million of processing-related cash in transit and collateral, compared to approximately $17.8 million of processing-related cash in transit and collateral at December 31, 2014. Processing-related cash in transit and collateral includes merchant deposits, collateral deposits, and funds in transit relating to timing differences for the Company's non-card payment processing businesses.
	Receivables—The Company's primary receivables are from its bankcard processing merchants. In addition to receivables for transaction fees the Company charges its merchants for processing transactions, these receivables include amounts resulting from the Company's practice of advancing interchange fees to most of its SME merchants during the month and collecting those fees at the beginning of the following month. The Company does not advance interchange fees to its Network Services merchants. Network Services merchants are invoiced monthly, on payment terms of 30 days net from date of invoicing. Receivables from merchants also include receivables from the sale of POS terminal equipment.
	The timing for presentment of transaction funding files to the bankcard networks results in the Company's sponsor banks receiving settlement cash one day before payment is made to merchants, thereby increasing funding obligations to its SME merchants, which are carried in processing liabilities. The Company funds interchange advances/receivables to SME merchants first from this settlement cash received from bankcard networks, then from the Company's available cash or by incurring a liability to its sponsor banks. At March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the Company did not use any of its available cash to fund merchant advances. The amount due to sponsor banks for funding merchant advances was $45.4 million at March 31, 2015 and $29.9 million at December 31, 2014. The liability to sponsor banks is repaid at the beginning of the following month out of the fees the Company collects from its merchants.
	Receivables also include amounts due from Discover and American Express for merchant bankcard transactions. These amounts are recovered the next business day following the date of processing the transaction.
	Receivables also include amounts resulting from the sale, installation, training and repair of payment system hardware and software for Campus Solutions, Heartland School Solutions and Other (which includes receivables from Micropayments, Heartland Commerce and Heartland Marketing Solutions). These receivables are mostly invoiced on terms of 30 days net from date of invoicing.
	Receivables are stated net of allowance for doubtful accounts. The Company estimates its allowance based on experience with its merchants, customers, and sales force and its judgment as to the likelihood of their ultimate payment. The Company also considers collection experience and makes estimates regarding collectability based on trends in the aging. Historically, the Company has not experienced significant charge offs for its merchant and customer receivables, other than the out-of-period adjustment recorded in the second quarter of 2014 (see Note 1, Organization and Operations for further details).
	Investments and Funds Held for Customers—Investments, including those carried on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as Funds held for customers, consist primarily of bond funds, tax-exempt bonds, certificates of deposit and equity investments. Funds held for customers also include overnight bank deposits. The majority of investments carried in Funds held for customers are available-for-sale and recorded at fair value based on quoted market prices. Certificates of deposit are classified as held to maturity and recorded at cost. In the event of a sale, cost is determined on a specific identification basis. At March 31, 2015, Funds held for customers included cash and cash equivalents of $182.6 million and investments available for sale of $27.5 million.
	The asset funds held for customers and the liability customer fund deposits include: (1) amounts collected from customers prior to funding their payroll liabilities, as well as related tax and fiduciary liabilities for those customers, and (2) amounts collected by Campus Solutions in its capacity as loan servicer, which will be remitted to the customer/owner of the student loans the following month.
	Capitalized Customer Acquisition Costs, net— Capitalized customer acquisition costs consist of (1) up-front signing bonus payments made to Relationship Managers and sales managers (who constitute the Company's sales force and are referred to as "salespersons") for the establishment of new merchant relationships, and (2) a deferred acquisition cost representing the estimated cost of buying out the residual commissions of vested salespersons. Capitalized customer acquisition costs represent incremental, direct customer acquisition costs that are recoverable through gross margins associated with merchant contracts. The capitalized customer acquisition costs are amortized using a method which approximates a proportional revenue approach over the initial three-year term of the merchant contract.
	The up-front signing bonus paid for new SME bankcard, payroll and loyalty marketing accounts is based on the estimated gross margin for the first year of the merchant contract. The signing bonus, amount capitalized, and related amortization are adjusted after the first year to reflect the actual gross margin generated by the merchant contract during that year. The deferred customer acquisition cost asset is accrued over the first year of SME bankcard, payroll and loyalty marketing merchant processing, consistent with the build-up in the accrued buyout liability, as described below.
	Management evaluates the capitalized customer acquisition costs for impairment on an annual basis by comparing, on a pooled basis by vintage month of origination, the expected future net cash flows from underlying merchant relationships to the carrying amount of the capitalized customer acquisition costs. If the estimated future net cash flows are lower than the recorded carrying amount, indicating an impairment of the value of the capitalized customer acquisition costs, the impairment loss will be charged to operations. The Company believes that no impairment has occurred as of March 31, 2015.
	Unearned revenue— Unearned revenue of $41.4 million and $49.0 million at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively, is primarily related to the Company's Heartland School Solutions, Campus Solutions, Heartland Payroll Solutions and Heartland Commerce businesses. Unearned revenue is derived primarily from the sale and subscription of e-commerce solutions and integration to host computer systems as well as from support and maintenance contracts and professional services. Unearned revenue represents contractual obligations of the Company to provide software, services and support to customers in the future.
	Processing Liabilities— Processing liabilities result primarily from the Company's card processing activities. Processing liabilities primarily reflect funds in transit associated with differences arising between the amounts the Company's sponsor banks receive from the bankcard networks and the amounts funded to the Company's merchants. Such differences arise from timing differences, interchange expense, merchant advances, merchant reserves and chargeback processing. These differences result in payables or receivables. If the settlement received from the bankcard networks precedes the funding obligation to the merchant, the Company records a processing liability. Conversely, if funding to the merchant precedes the settlement from the bankcard networks, the Company records a receivable from the bankcard network. The amounts are generally collected or paid the following business day.
	Chargebacks arise due to disputes between a cardholder and a merchant resulting from the cardholder's dissatisfaction with merchandise quality or the merchant's service, and the disputes may not always be resolved in the merchant's favor. In some of these cases, the transaction is ''charged back'' to the merchant and the purchase price is refunded to the cardholder by the credit card-issuing institution. If the merchant is unable to fund the refund, the Company is liable for the full amount of the transaction. The Company's obligation to stand ready to perform is minimal. The Company maintains a deposit or the pledge of a letter of credit from certain merchants as an offset to potential contingent liabilities that are the responsibility of such merchants. The Company evaluates its ultimate risk and records an estimate of potential loss for chargebacks based upon an assessment of actual historical loss rates compared to recent bankcard processing volume levels. The Company believes that the liability recorded as loss reserves approximates fair value.
	Accrued Buyout Liability— The Company's Relationship Managers and sales managers are paid residual commissions based on the gross margin generated by monthly SME merchant processing activity. The Company has the right, but not the obligation, to buy out some or all of these commissions, and intends to do so periodically. Such purchases of the commissions are at a fixed multiple of the last twelve months' commissions. Because of the Company's intent and ability to execute purchases of the residual commissions, and the mutual understanding between the Company and the Relationship Managers and sales managers, the Company has accounted for this deferred compensation arrangement pursuant to the substantive nature of the plan. The Company therefore records the amount that it would have to pay (the ''settlement cost'') to buy out non-servicing related commissions in their entirety from vested Relationship Managers and sales managers, and an accrual, based on their progress towards vesting, for those unvested Relationship Managers and sales managers who are expected to vest in the future. As noted above, as the liability increases over the first year of a SME merchant contract, the Company also records a related deferred acquisition cost asset for currently vested Relationship Managers and sales managers. The accrued buyout liability associated with unvested Relationship Managers and sales managers is not included in the deferred acquisition cost asset since future services are required in order to vest. Subsequent changes in the estimated accrued buyout liability due to merchant attrition, same-store sales growth or contraction and changes in gross margin are included in the same income statement caption as customer acquisition costs expense.
	Relationship Managers and sales managers earn portfolio equity on their newly installed payroll and loyalty marketing merchant accounts based on the residual commissions they earn on those accounts. The accrued buyout liability and deferred acquisition cost asset are accrued in the same manner as the SME merchant portfolio equity.
	The accrued buyout liability is based on merchants under contract at the balance sheet date, the gross margin generated by those merchants over the prior twelve months, and the contractual buyout multiple. The liability related to a new merchant is therefore zero when the merchant is installed, and increases over the twelve months following the installation date. The same procedure is applied to unvested commissions over the expected vesting period, but is further adjusted to reflect the Company's estimate that 31% of unvested Relationship Managers and sales managers become vested, which represents the Company's historical vesting rate.
	The classification of the accrued buyout liability between current and non-current liabilities on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets is based upon the Company's estimate of the amount of the accrued buyout liability that it reasonably expects to pay over the next twelve months. This estimate is developed by calculating the cumulative annual average percentage that total historical buyout payments represent of the accrued buyout liability. That percentage is applied to the period-end accrued buyout liability to determine the current portion.
	Revenue—The Company classifies its revenues into five categories: (i) Payment Processing, (ii) Heartland School Solutions, (iii) Heartland Payroll Solutions, (iv) Campus Solutions and (v) Other. The Company recognizes revenue when (1) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; (2) delivery has occurred or services have been performed; (3) the price is fixed or determinable; and (4) collectability is reasonably assured. The Company also evaluates its contractual arrangements for indications that multiple element arrangements may exist, including instances where more-than-incidental software deliverables are included. The following revenue recognition policies define the manner in which the Company accounts for sales transactions by revenue category.
	Payment Processing revenue primarily consists of discount, per-transaction and periodic (primarily monthly) fees from the processing of Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover transactions for SME merchants and per-transaction fees for the authorization and settlement of transactions for Network Services merchants. Also included in this category are American Express servicing fees, merchant service fees, fees for processing chargebacks and termination fees on terminated contracts. Interchange fees, which are the Company’s most significant expense, are set by the card networks and paid to the card issuing banks. For the majority of SME card processing revenue, the Company does not offset processing revenues and interchange fees because its business practice is to advance the interchange fees to most SME merchants when settling their daily transactions (thus paying the full amount of the transaction to the merchant), and then to collect the full discount fees from merchants on the first business day of the next month. The Company has merchant portability, credit risk, and the ultimate responsibility to the merchant and, as such, revenue is reported at the time of settlement on a gross basis. Payment processing services are transaction based and priced either as a fixed fee per transaction or as a percentage of the transaction value. The fees are charged for the processing services provided and do not include the gross sales price paid by the ultimate buyer to the merchant. For SME merchants to whom the Company does not advance interchange, it records card processing revenues net of interchange fees. As Network Services does not advance interchange fees to its merchants, the Company records its card processing revenues net of interchange fees. The Company records Payment Processing revenue at the time services are provided and at the time of shipment as it relates to deployment of POS devices.
	Heartland Payroll Solutions revenue includes fees charged for payroll processing services, including check printing, direct deposit, related federal, state and local tax deposits and providing accounting documentation, and interest income earned on funds held for customers. Revenues are recorded at the time service is provided.
	Heartland School Solutions revenue includes fees from sales and maintenance of cafeteria POS solutions and associated payment solutions, including online prepayment solutions, back office management and hardware and technical support.
	Campus Solutions revenue includes fees associated with providing integrated commerce solutions to support administrative services for higher education, as well as student loan payment processing, delinquency and default services, refund management, tuition payment plans, electronic billing and payment, tax document services and business outsourcing. Campus Solutions revenue also includes fees from the sale and maintenance of open- and closed-loop payment hardware and software solutions for college or university campuses to process small value electronic transactions.
	Heartland Commerce revenue includes sales of POS systems and the associated payment processing and adjacent business service applications.
	Campus Solutions, Heartland School Solutions and Heartland Commerce have arrangements that contain multiple elements, such as hardware, software products, including perpetual licenses and Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) services, maintenance, and professional installation and training services. The Company allocates revenue to each element based on the selling price hierarchy. The selling price for a deliverable is based on vendor specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) of selling price, if available, or estimated selling price (“ESP”) if VSOE of selling price is not available. The Company establishes ESP based on management judgment, considering internal factors such as margin objectives, pricing practices and controls, customer segment pricing strategies and the product life cycle. In arrangements with multiple elements, the Company determines allocation of the transaction price at inception of the arrangement based on the relative selling price of each unit of accounting.
	In multiple element arrangements where more-than-incidental software deliverables are included, the Company has applied the residual method to determine the amount of software license revenues to be recognized. Under the residual method, if fair value exists for undelivered elements in a multiple-element arrangement, such fair value of the undelivered elements is deferred with the remaining portion of the arrangement consideration recognized upon delivery of the software license or services arrangement. The Company allocates the fair value of each element of a software related multiple-element arrangement based upon its fair value as determined by VSOE, with any remaining amount allocated to the software license. If evidence of the fair value cannot be established for the undelivered elements of a software arrangement, then the entire amount of revenue under the arrangement is deferred until these elements have been delivered or objective evidence can be established.
	Other revenues include Micropayments fees from selling hardware and software for unattended online wireless credit card based payment systems, and unattended value top up systems for off-line closed-loop smart (chip) card based payment systems. Also included in this category are Heartland Marketing Solutions fees from selling mobile and card-based marketing services, gift cards and rewards services as well as fees from selling, renting and deploying POS devices. Revenues are recorded at the time of shipment or at the time services are provided.
	Loss Contingencies and Legal Expenses—The Company records a liability for loss contingencies when the liability is probable and the amount is reasonably estimable. Legal fees associated with loss contingencies are recorded when the legal fees are incurred.
	The Company records recoveries from its insurance providers when cash is received from the provider.
	Other Income (Expense)— Other income (expense) consists of interest income on cash and investments, the interest cost on the Company's borrowings, gains or losses on the disposal of assets, write downs of capitalized information technology development projects and other non-operating income or expense items.
	Income Taxes—The Company accounts for income taxes by recognizing deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements or tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statements and the tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates. The impact on deferred assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in the period that the rate change is enacted. Valuation allowances are recorded when it is determined that it is more likely than not that a deferred tax asset will not be realized.
	The provision for income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 and the resulting effective tax rates were as follows:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015				2014
		(In thousands)
	Provision for income taxes	$	8,928			$	10,300
	Effective tax rate	34.1		%		40.9		%
	The decrease in the effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2015, as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2014, reflects the partial recognition of deferred tax benefits from past accumulated losses of Leaf due to the generation of future taxable income resulting from the acquisition of Dinerware. The structure of this acquisition along with the corresponding preliminary purchase price allocation resulted in the recording of deferred tax liabilities on definite lived intangibles that will provide a source of future taxable income.
	The Company's tax provision for interim periods is determined using an estimate of its annual effective tax rate, adjusted for discrete items, if any, that are taken into account in the relevant period. Each quarter the Company updates its estimate of the annual effective tax rate, and if the Company's estimated tax rate changes, it makes a cumulative adjustment in that period.
	The Company regularly evaluates its tax positions for additional unrecognized tax benefits and associated interest and penalties, if applicable. There are many factors that are considered when evaluating these tax positions including: interpretation of tax laws, recent tax litigation on a position, past audit or examination history, and subjective estimates and assumptions, which have been deemed reasonable by management. However, if management's estimates are not representative of actual outcomes, the Company's results could be materially impacted. The Company does not expect any material changes to unrecognized tax benefits in the next twelve months. At March 31, 2015, the reserve for unrecognized tax benefits related to uncertain tax positions was $7.7 million, of which $5.2 million would, if recognized, impact the effective tax rate. At December 31, 2014, the reserve for unrecognized tax benefits related to uncertain tax positions was $7.3 million, of which $4.9 million would, if recognized, impact the effective tax rate.
	Share–Based Compensation— The Company expenses employee share-based compensation under the fair value method. Share-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date, based on the fair value of the award, and is recognized as expense over the requisite service period. The Company's Board of Directors has approved grants of performance-based Restricted Share Units ("PRSU") with grant-specific vesting and performance target terms. The methods and assumptions used in the determination of the fair value of stock-based awards and measurement of performance targets are consistent with those described in the Company’s December 31, 2014 Form 10-K. Stock-based compensation costs recognized were $4.6 million and $3.8 million, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014.
	Earnings per Share— Basic earnings per share was computed by dividing net income by weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share was computed based on the weighted average outstanding common shares plus equivalent shares assuming exercise of stock options and vesting of Restricted Share Units, where dilutive.
	Common Stock Repurchases— On May 8, 2013, the Company's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $75 million of the Company's outstanding common stock. During the three months ended March 31, 2014, the Company had repurchased 695,555 shares for $28.7 million at an average cost of approximately $41.22 per share. Total repurchases under this authorization were 1,882,417 shares for $74.9 million at an average of approximately $39.81 per share. Repurchases under this authorization were completed during the second quarter of 2014. These repurchases were made through the open market in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. On May 8, 2014, the Company's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $75 million of the Company's outstanding common stock. As of March 31, 2015, the Company has not repurchased any shares under the May 8, 2014 authorization.
	The Company intends to fund any repurchases with cash flow from operations, existing cash on the balance sheet, and other sources, including the Company's 2014 Revolving Credit Facility (as defined in Note 10 herein). The manner, timing and amount of repurchases, if any, will be determined by management and will depend on a variety of factors, including price, corporate and regulatory requirements, market conditions and other corporation liquidity requirements. The repurchase program may be modified or discontinued at any time.
	Derivative Financial Instruments— The Company utilizes derivative instruments to manage interest rate risk on certain borrowings under its Credit Agreement (as defined in Note 10 herein). The Company recognizes the fair value of derivative financial instruments in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets in investments, or accrued expenses and other liabilities. Changes in fair value of derivative instruments are recognized immediately in earnings unless the derivative is designated and qualifies as a hedge of future cash flows. For derivatives that qualify as hedges of future cash flows, the effective portion of changes in fair value is recorded in other comprehensive income and reclassified into interest expense in the same periods during which the hedged item affects earnings. Any ineffectiveness of cash flow hedges would be recognized in other income (expense) in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income during the period of change.
	The Company has entered into fixed-pay amortizing interest rate swaps as a hedge of future cash flows on certain variable rate debt outstanding under its credit facility. These interest rate swaps convert the related notional amount of variable rate debt to fixed rate. The following table summarizes the components of the interest rate swaps.
			March 31, 2015				31-Dec-14
			(in thousands)
	Notional value		$	11,250			$	15,000
	Fair value (a)		(75		)		(126		)
	Deferred tax benefit		35				54
	(a) Recorded as a liability in accrued expenses and other liabilities
	Noncontrolling Interests— Prior to August 6, 2014, the Company owned 66.67% of the outstanding capital stock of Leaf Holdings, Inc. ("Leaf"). Noncontrolling shareholders' share of after-tax net loss of Leaf is included in Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income for the three months ended March 31, 2014. On August 6, 2014, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement with the noncontrolling shareholders of Leaf under which it acquired all shares of Leaf common stock held by the noncontrolling shareholders. As a result of this transaction, Leaf became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company and there is no noncontrolling interest on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014.
	Subsequent Events—The Company evaluated subsequent events through the issuance date with respect to the condensed consolidated financial statements as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2015.
	New Accounting Pronouncements— From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) or other standards setting bodies that the Company adopts as of the specified effective date.
	In May 2014, the FASB issued guidance on revenue from contracts with customers, which requires an entity to recognize revenue from the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The guidance addresses in particular contracts with more than one performance obligation as well as the accounting for some costs to obtain or fulfill a contract with a customer and provides for additional disclosures with respect to revenues and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. Entities can transition to the standard either retrospectively or as a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption. On April 29, 2015, the FASB proposed deferring the effective date by one year to December 15, 2017 for annual reporting periods beginning after that date. The FASB also proposed permitting early adoption of the standard, but not before the original effective date of the reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company has not yet selected a transition method and is currently assessing the impact the adoption of this guidance will have on the Company's consolidated financial statements and disclosures.
	In August 2014, the FASB issued guidance on presentation of going concern financial statements which provides guidance about management's responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity's ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures. The amendments in this guidance are expected to reduce diversity in the timing and content of footnote disclosures. The amendments in this guidance are effective for the annual period ending after December 15, 2016, and for annual periods and interim periods thereafter. Early application is permitted. The effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements is still being evaluated.
	In January 2015, the FASB issued guidance on simplifying income statement presentation by eliminating the concept of extraordinary items. This guidance eliminates from generally accepted accounting principles in the United States the concept of extraordinary items. The amendments in this guidance are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2015. The effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements is still being evaluated.
	In April 2015, the FASB issued guidance on debt issuance costs, which requires that all costs incurred to issue debt be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying value of the associated debt liability, consistent with the presentation of a debt discount. The standard also indicates that debt issuance costs do not meet the definition of an asset because they provide no future economic benefit. This is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted for financial statements that have not been previously issued. The new guidance should be applied on a retrospective basis. The effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements is still being evaluated.
	In April 2015, the FASB issued guidance that defines specific criteria entities must apply to determine if a cloud computing arrangement includes an in-substance software license. The new guidance clarifies that software licenses included in a cloud computing software should be accounted for in the same manner as other software licenses. This amendment is effective for annual reporting periods, including interim periods within those periods, beginning after December 15, 2015. Early adoption is permitted. The effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements is still being evaluated.

Acquisitions

Acquisitions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Business Combinations [Abstract]
Acquisitions	Acquisitions
	Campus Solutions
	TouchNet Information Systems, Inc.
	On September 4, 2014, the Company completed the acquisition of TouchNet for a cash payment of $375 million, less a net working capital deficit, for all outstanding common shares. The purchase was funded primarily through a new five-year $375 million term loan. See Note 10, Credit Facilities for further details.
	The transaction was accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. Beginning September 4, 2014, TouchNet's results of operations are included in the Company's results of operations. The fair values of the TouchNet assets acquired and liabilities assumed were estimated as of their acquisition date. The excess of the purchase price over the net assets and liabilities, approximately $221.6 million, was recorded as goodwill, which is deductible for income tax reporting. The fair values are preliminary, based on estimates, and may be adjusted as the Company analyzes what was known and knowable at the acquisition, including the finalization of valuations.  Acquisition-related costs of approximately $2.2 million for advisory, legal and regulatory costs incurred in connection with the TouchNet acquisition have been expensed in general and administrative expenses.
	The following table summarizes the preliminary purchase price allocation (in thousands):
		Cash and cash equivalents	$	34,576
		Receivables, net	12,243
		Inventory	66
		Prepaid expenses	601
		Property and equipment, net	3,360
		Intangible assets, net	144,400
		Goodwill	221,575
		Total assets acquired	416,821
		Accounts payable	2,236
		Accrued expenses and other liabilities	2,896
		Current portion of unearned revenue	24,014
		Current tax liability	13,914
		Long-term portion of unearned revenue	2,037
		Net assets acquired	$	371,724
	The weighted average amortization life for the 2014 acquired finite lived intangible assets related to the acquisition of TouchNet are as follows:
		Weighted average amortization life
			(In years)
		Customer relationships	20
		Software	15
		Non-compete agreements	5
		Trademark	5
		Overall	18
	The following pro forma information shows the results of the Company's operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 as if the TouchNet acquisition had occurred on January 1, 2013. The pro forma information is presented for information purposes only and is not necessarily indicative of what would have occurred if the acquisition had been made as of that date. The pro forma information is also not intended to be a projection of future results due to the integration of the acquired business.
		Three months ended March 31, 2014
		(in thousands, except share data)
	Total revenues	$	541,273
	Net income attributable to Heartland	$	17,503
	Basic earnings per share	$	0.48
	Diluted earnings per share	$	0.46
	Heartland School Solutions
	MCS Software Corporation
	On April 1, 2014, the Company purchased the net assets of MCS Software Corporation ("MCS Software") for a $17.3 million cash payment. The purchase price was financed under the 2013 Credit Facility and from operating cash flows.
	The transaction was accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. Beginning April 1, 2014, MCS Software's results of operations are included in the Company's results of operations. The allocation of the total purchase price was as follows: $11.2 million to goodwill, $6.4 million to intangible assets and $0.3 million to net tangible liabilities. The fair values of the MCS Software's assets acquired and liabilities assumed were estimated as of their acquisition date. Pro forma results of operations have not been presented because the effect of this acquisition was not material. Goodwill is expected to be deductible for income tax reporting.
	The weighted average amortization life for the 2014 acquired finite lived intangible assets related to the acquisition of MCS Software are as follows:
		Weighted average amortization life
			(In years)
		Customer relationships	14
		Non-compete agreement	5
		Software	5
		Overall	11
	Heartland Payroll Solutions
	Payroll 1, Inc.
	On February 27, 2015, the Company purchased the stock of Payroll 1, Inc. ("Payroll 1") for a $30.0 million cash payment, plus net working capital. The purchase price was financed under the Company's 2014 Revolving Credit Facility.
	The transaction was accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. Beginning February 27, 2015, Payroll 1's results of operations were included in the Company's results of operations. The allocation of the total purchase price was as follows: $21.9 million to goodwill, $12.5 million to intangible assets and $3.6 million to net tangible liabilities. The fair values are preliminary, based on estimates, and may be adjusted as the Company analyzes what was known and knowable at the acquisition, including the finalization of valuations. Pro forma results of operations have not been presented because the effect of this acquisition was not material. Goodwill is not expected to be deductible for income tax reporting.
	The weighted average amortization life for the 2015 acquired finite lived intangible assets related to the acquisition of Payroll 1 is as follows:
		Weighted-average amortization life
			(In years)
		Customer relationships	13
		Software	6
		Non-compete agreement	5
		Overall	11
	Heartland Commerce
	Dinerware, LLC
	On February 11, 2015, the Company purchased the stock of Dinerware, LLC ("Dinerware") for a $15.0 million cash payment, plus net working capital. The purchase price was financed from a combination of operating cash and financing under the 2014 Revolving Credit Facility.
	The transaction was accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. Beginning on February 11, 2015, Dinerware's results of operations are included in the Company's results of operations. The allocation of the total purchase price was as follows: $13.1 million to goodwill, $2.6 million to intangible assets, and $0.5 million to net tangible liabilities. The fair values are preliminary, based on estimates, and may be adjusted as the Company analyzes what was known and knowable at the acquisition, including the finalization of valuations. Pro forma results of operations have not been presented because the effect of this acquisition was not material. Goodwill is not expected to be deductible for income tax reporting.
	The weighted average amortization life for the 2015 acquired finite lived intangible assets related to the acquisition of Dinerware is as follows:
		Weighted-average amortization life
			(In years)
	Customer relationships	17
	Software	5
	Trademark	5
	Non-compete agreement	3
	Overall	13
pcAmerica, LLC
On January 30, 2015, the Company purchased the assets of pcAmerica, LLC ("pcAmerica") for a $15.0 million cash payment. The cash purchase price was financed from a combination of operating cash and financing under the 2014 Revolving Credit Facility.
The transaction was accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. Beginning on January 30, 2015, pcAmerica's results of operations are included in the Company's results of operations. The allocation of the total purchase price was as follows: $14.8 million to goodwill, $1.5 million to intangible assets, and $1.3 million to net tangible liabilities. The fair values are preliminary, based on estimates, and may be adjusted as the Company analyzes what was known and knowable at the acquisition, including the finalization of valuations. Pro forma results of operations have not been presented because the effect of this acquisition was not material. Goodwill is expected to be deductible for income tax reporting.
The weighted average amortization life for the 2015 acquired finite lived intangible assets related to the acquisition of pcAmerica is as follows:
	Weighted-average amortization life
		(In years)
	Customer relationships	20
	Software	5
	Non-compete agreement	5
	Trademark	5
	Overall	13
Xpient Solutions, LLC
On October 31, 2014, the Company acquired the net assets of Xpient Solutions, LLC (“Xpient”) for a cash payment of $30.0 million, plus net working capital. The purchase price was funded from a combination of operating cash and financing under the 2014 Revolving Credit Facility.
The transaction was accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. Beginning October 31, 2014, Xpient's results of operations are included in the Company's results of operations. The allocation of the total purchase price was as follows: $20.4 million to goodwill, $9.5 million to intangible assets and $4.1 million to net tangible assets. The fair values of the Xpient's assets acquired and liabilities assumed were estimated as of their acquisition date. The fair values are preliminary, based on estimates, and may be adjusted as the Company analyzes what was known and knowable at the acquisition, including the finalization of valuations. Pro forma results of operations have not been presented because the effect of this acquisition was not material. Goodwill is expected to be deductible for income tax reporting.
The weighted average amortization life for the 2014 acquired finite lived intangible assets related to the acquisition of Xpient are as follows:
	Weighted average amortization life
		(In years)
	Customer relationships	21
	Software	10
	Trademark	5
	Non-compete agreement	3
	Overall	14
Liquor Point of Sale
On February 14, 2014, the Company purchased the assets of Merchant Software Corporation (referred to as
"Liquor POS") for a $3.3 million cash payment. The cash purchase price was financed from operating cash flows.
The transaction was accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. Beginning on February 15, 2014, Liquor POS's results of operations are included in the Company's results of operations. The allocation of the total purchase price was as follows: $2.2 million to goodwill, $1.2 million to intangible assets, and $0.1 million to net tangible liabilities. Pro forma results of operations have not been presented because the effect of this acquisition was not material. Goodwill is expected to be deductible for income tax reporting.
The weighted average amortization life for the 2014 acquired finite lived intangible assets related to the acquisition of Liquor POS is as follows:
	Weighted-average amortization life
		(In years)
	Customer relationships	10
	Software	7
	Non-compete agreement	5
	Patents	5
	Overall	9

Receivables

Receivables	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Receivables [Abstract]
Receivables	Receivables
	A summary of receivables by major class was as follows at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014:
		March 31,			December 31,
		2015			2014
		(In thousands)
	Accounts receivable from merchants and customers	$	207,758		$	200,912
	Accounts receivable from bankcard networks	28,334			31,279
	Accounts receivable from others	4,500			3,465
		240,592			235,656
	Less allowance for doubtful accounts	(1,340		)	(1,552		)
	Total receivables, net	$	239,252		$	234,104
	Included in accounts receivable from others are amounts due from employees (predominately salespersons), which were $2.4 million and $1.6 million at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. Accounts receivable related to bankcard networks are primarily amounts due from Discover and American Express for bankcard transactions.
	A summary of the activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015			2014
		(In thousands)
	Beginning balance	$	1,552		$	1,032
	Additions to allowance	714			337
	Charges against allowance	(926		)	(212		)
	Ending balance	$	1,340		$	1,157

Funds_Held_for_Customers_and_I

Funds Held for Customers and Investments	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Funds Held for Payroll Customers and Investments [Abstract]
Funds Held for Customers and Investments	Funds Held for Customers and Investments
	A summary of Funds held for customers and investments, including the amortized cost, gross unrealized gains (losses) and estimated fair value for investments available-for-sale by major security type and class of security were as follows at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014:
		Cost		Gross		Gross			Estimated
				Unrealized		Unrealized			Fair Value
				Gains		Losses
		(In thousands)
	March 31, 2015
	Funds Held for Customers
	Conservative income bond fund - available for sale	$	13,012	$	—	$	(16	)	$	12,996
	Fixed income - municipal bonds - available for sale	14,559		4		(32		)	14,531
	Cash held for customers	182,595		—		—			182,595
	Total Funds held for customers	$	210,166	$	4	$	(48	)	$	210,122
		Cost		Gross		Gross			Estimated
				Unrealized		Unrealized			Fair Value
				Gains		Losses
		(In thousands)
	December 31, 2014
	Funds Held for Customers
	Conservative income bond fund - available for sale	$	13,012	$	—	$	(16	)	$	12,996
	Fixed income - municipal bonds - available for sale	14,688		2		(51		)	14,639
	Cash held for customers	148,857		—		—			148,857
	Total Funds held for customers	$	176,557	$	2	$	(67	)	$	176,492

Capitalized_Customer_Acquisiti

Capitalized Customer Acquisition Costs, Net	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Capitalized Customer Acquisition Costs, Net [Abstract]
Capitalized Customer Acquisition Costs, Net	Capitalized Customer Acquisition Costs, Net
	A summary of net capitalized customer acquisition costs as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 was as follows:
		March 31,			December 31,
		2015			2014
		(In thousands)
	Capitalized signing bonuses	$	101,726		$	98,879
	Less accumulated amortization	(48,369		)	(47,238		)
		53,357			51,641
	Capitalized customer deferred acquisition costs	56,153			54,583
	Less accumulated amortization	(34,414		)	(33,117		)
		21,739			21,466
	Capitalized customer acquisition costs, net	$	75,096		$	73,107
	A summary of the activity in capitalized customer acquisition costs, net for the three month periods ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015			2014
		(In thousands)
	Balance at beginning of period	$	73,107		$	61,027
	Plus additions to:
	Capitalized signing bonuses, net	10,041			8,055
	Capitalized customer deferred acquisition costs	6,103			5,531
		16,144			13,586
	Less amortization expense on:
	Capitalized signing bonuses, net	(8,325		)	(7,130		)
	Capitalized customer deferred acquisition costs	(5,830		)	(4,855		)
		(14,155		)	(11,985		)
	Balance at end of period	$	75,096		$	62,628
	Net signing bonus adjustments from estimated amounts to actual were $(1.1) million and $(1.0) million for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Net signing bonus adjustments are netted against additions in the table above. Negative signing bonus adjustments occur when the actual gross margin generated by the merchant contract during the first year is less than the estimated gross margin for that year, resulting in the overpayment of the up-front signing bonus and would be recovered from the relevant salesperson. Positive signing bonus adjustments result from the prior underpayment of signing bonuses and would be paid to the relevant salesperson.
	Fully amortized signing bonuses of $7.2 million and $6.4 million, respectively, were written off during the three month periods ended March 31, 2015 and 2014. In addition, fully amortized customer deferred acquisition costs of $4.5 million and $3.5 million, respectively, were written off during the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014.
	The Company believes that no impairment of capitalized customer acquisition costs has occurred as of March 31, 2015.

Intangible_Assets_and_Goodwill

Intangible Assets and Goodwill	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Intangible Assets and Goodwill	Intangible Assets and Goodwill
	Intangible Assets — Intangible assets consisted of the following as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014:
		March 31, 2015										Amortization Life and Method
		Gross				Accumulated			Net Asset
		Assets				Amortization
		(In thousands)
	Finite Lived Assets:
	Customer relationships	$	171,983			$	25,029		$	146,954		6 to 21 years—proportional cash flow
	Merchant portfolios	4,214				3,264			950			7 years—proportional cash flow
	Software	62,421				14,505			47,916			3 to 15 years—straight line
	Non-compete agreements	6,183				3,119			3,064			3 to 5 years—straight line
	Other	6,076				704			5,372			5 to 9 years—straight line
		$	250,877			$	46,621		$	204,256
		December 31, 2014										Amortization Life and Method
		Gross				Accumulated			Net Asset
		Assets				Amortization
		(In thousands)
	Finite Lived Assets:
	Customer relationships	$	159,925			$	22,011		$	137,914		6 to 21 years—proportional cash flow
	Merchant portfolios	4,214				3,161			1,053			7 years—proportional cash flow
	Software	58,377				13,300			45,077			1 to 15 years—straight line
	Non-compete agreements	5,947				2,830			3,117			5 years—straight line
	Other	5,800				408			5,392			5 to 9 years—straight line
		$	234,263			$	41,710		$	192,553
	Amortization expense related to the intangible assets was $4.9 million and $2.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The estimated amortization expense related to intangible assets in twelve month increments is as follows:
	For the Twelve Months Ended March 31,
		(In thousands)
	2015	$	19,660
	2016	18,522
	2017	16,984
	2018	15,368
	2019	13,644
	Thereafter	120,078
		$	204,256
	Goodwill — The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by segment for the three months ended March 31, 2015
	and 2014 were as follows:
			Payment Processing				Campus Solutions			Heartland School Solutions			Heartland Payroll Solutions		Leaf			Other		Total
	Balance at January 1, 2014		$	43,701			$	35,789		$	53,350		$	31,018	$	20,619		$	6,501	$	190,978
		Goodwill acquired during the period	—				—			—			—		—			2,247		2,247
		Other	—				—			—			—		(2,080		)	—		(2,080		)
	Balance at March 31, 2014		43,701				35,789			53,350			31,018		18,539			8,748		191,145
	Balance at January 1, 2015		43,701				257,337			64,522			31,018		—			29,134		425,712
		Goodwill acquired during the period	—				—			—			21,915		—			27,927		49,842
		Other (a)	—				26			—			—		—			—		26
	Balance at March 31, 2015		$	43,701			$	257,363		$	64,522		$	52,933	$	—		$	57,061	$	475,580
	(a) Reflects adjustments to allocations of purchase price.
	The percentage of total reportable segments' assets comprised of goodwill as of March 31, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:
			Percent of Goodwill to Reportable Segments' Total Assets
			March 31, 2015		March 31, 2014
		Payment Processing	7.90%		8.20%
		Campus Solutions	53.90%		49.10%
		Heartland School Solutions	79.00%		70.30%
		Heartland Payroll Solutions	20.20%		16.20%
		Leaf	—%		51.10%
		Other	58.20%		40.80%
	In the fourth quarter of 2014, the Company considered the overlapping cloud-based POS systems in development at recently acquired Heartland Commerce businesses (see — Note 3, Acquisitions) and decided that it would stop POS development efforts at Leaf, a previous Heartland Commerce solutions business. This decision caused a significant adverse change in the extent or manner in which the long-lived asset group of Leaf would be used, including Prosper, an internally developed POS software technology. Due to these changes in circumstances, the implied fair value of the Leaf reporting unit was determined to be significantly below its carrying value. This led to a Goodwill Impairment charge for the full balance of Leaf Goodwill as of December 31, 2014. In the fourth quarter of 2014, the Company recorded pre-tax Goodwill and Asset Impairment charges of $18.5 million and $18.9 million, respectively.

Processing_Liabilities

Processing Liabilities	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Processing Liabilities and Loss Reserves [Abstract]
Processing Liabilities	Processing Liabilities
	Processing liabilities result primarily from the Company's card processing activities and include merchant deposits maintained to offset potential liabilities arising from merchant chargebacks. A summary of processing liabilities and loss reserves was as follows at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014:
		March 31, 2015			December 31, 2014
		(In thousands)
	Merchant bankcard processing	$	101,035		$	109,361
	Merchant deposits	5,766			6,655
	Loss reserves	1,848			3,382
		$	108,649		$	119,398
	The Company's merchants have the liability for any charges properly reversed by the cardholder through a mechanism known as a chargeback. If the merchant is unable to pay this amount, the Company will be liable to the card brand networks for the reversed charges. The Company has determined that the fair value of its obligation to stand ready to perform is minimal. The Company requires personal guarantees and merchant deposits from certain merchants to minimize its obligation.
	The card brand networks generally allow chargebacks within four months after the later of (1) the date the transaction is processed, or (2) the delivery of the product or service to the cardholder. As the majority of the Company's SME merchant transactions involve the delivery of the product or service at the time of the transaction, a reasonable basis for determining an estimate of the Company's exposure to chargebacks is the last four months' processing volume on the SME portfolio, which was $28.1 billion and $27.8 billion for the four months ended March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. However, for the four months ended March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the Company was presented with $15.8 million and $16.0 million, respectively, in chargebacks by issuing banks. In the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company incurred merchant losses of $1.1 million and $0.6 million, respectively, or 0.53 basis points and 0.35 basis points, respectively, on total SME card processing volumes processed of $20.8 billion and $18.0 billion, respectively. These losses are included in processing and servicing costs in the Company's Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.
	The loss recorded by the Company for chargebacks associated with any individual merchant is typically small, due both to the relatively small size and the processing profile of the Company's SME merchants. However, from time to time the Company will encounter instances of merchant fraud, and the resulting chargeback losses may be considerably more significant to the Company. The Company has established a contingent reserve for estimated currently existing credit and fraud losses on its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, amounting to $1.8 million and $3.4 million at March 31, 2015 and at December 31, 2014, respectively. This reserve is determined by performing an analysis of the Company's historical loss experience applied to current processing volume and exposures.
	A summary of the activity in the loss reserve for the three month periods ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015			2014
		(In thousands)
	Beginning balance	$	3,382		$	1,505
	Additions to reserve	869			866
	Charges against reserve (a)	(2,403		)	(699		)
	Ending balance	$	1,848		$	1,672
	(a)	Included in these amounts are Heartland Payroll Solutions segment recoveries of $29,000 and losses $77,000, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014.

Accrued_Buyout_Liability

Accrued Buyout Liability	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Accrued Buyout Liability [Abstract]
Accrued Buyout Liability	Accrued Buyout Liability
	A summary of the accrued buyout liability was as follows as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014:
		March 31,			December 31,
		2015			2014
		(In thousands)
	Vested Relationship Managers and sales managers	$	44,813		$	46,301
	Unvested Relationship Managers and sales managers	1,669			1,692
		46,482			47,993
	Less current portion	(16,159		)	(15,023		)
	Long-term portion of accrued buyout liability	$	30,323		$	32,970
	In calculating the accrued buyout liability for unvested Relationship Managers and sales managers, the Company has assumed that 31% of the unvested Relationship Managers and sales managers will vest in the future, which represents the Company’s historical vesting rate. A 5% increase to 36% in the expected vesting rate would have increased the accrued buyout liability for unvested Relationship Managers and sales managers by $0.2 million at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively.
	A summary of the activity in the accrued buyout liability for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015			2014
		(In thousands)
	Beginning balance	$	47,993		$	39,379
	Increase in settlement obligation, net	5,996			3,796
	Buyouts	(7,507		)	(1,875		)
	Ending balance	$	46,482		$	41,300

Credit_Facilities

Credit Facilities	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Credit Facilities	Credit Facilities
	On September 4, 2014, the Company entered into an amended and restated senior secured credit facility (the "2014 Credit Agreement") with Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent, and certain lenders who are a party to the 2014 Credit Agreement. This 2014 Credit Agreement replaced the Company's October 2013 Credit Agreement (the "2013 Credit Agreement”). Credit extended under the 2014 Credit Agreement is guaranteed by the Company's subsidiaries and is secured by substantially all of the Company's assets and the assets of the Company's subsidiaries.
	The 2014 Credit Agreement provides for a revolving credit facility in the aggregate amount of up to $400 million (the “2014 Revolving Credit Facility”) and a term loan in an initial principal amount of $375 million (the “2014 Term Credit Facility”). The 2014 Revolving Credit Facility includes up to $35 million that may be used for the issuance of letters of credit and up to $35 million that is available for swing line loans. All principal and interest not previously paid on the 2014 Revolving Credit Facility will mature and be due and payable on September 4, 2019. The 2014 Term Credit Facility amortizes on a quarterly basis as follows, with the remaining principal balance due on September 4, 2019: (i) 5% of the initial 2014 Term Credit Facility to be payable in each of the first three years, (ii) 7.5% of the initial 2014 Term Credit Facility to be payable in the fourth year and (iii) 10% of the initial 2014 Term Credit Facility to be payable in the fifth year. The 2014 Term Credit Facility is also subject to mandatory prepayment from the net cash proceeds of certain asset dispositions, casualty or condemnation events, issuance of indebtedness and extraordinary receipts. Subject to the terms and conditions of the 2014 Credit Agreement, without the consent of the then existing lenders (but subject to the receipt of commitments), the 2014 Revolving Credit Facility may be increased and new incremental term loans may be issued in an aggregate principal amount of up to $150 million for all such increases under the 2014 Revolving Credit Facility and new term loans, subject to certain minimum threshold amounts.
	On September 4, 2014, the Company borrowed $375 million under the 2014 Term Credit Facility and used that amount to fund the TouchNet Acquisition (See Note 3, Acquisitions). At March 31, 2015, the Company had $365.6 million outstanding under the 2014 Term Credit Facility.
	The 2014 Credit Agreement contains covenants which include: maintenance of certain leverage and fixed charge coverage ratios; limitations on the Company's indebtedness, liens on the Company's properties and assets, investments in and loans to other business units, the Company's ability to enter into business combinations and asset sales; and certain other financial and non-financial covenants. These covenants also apply to certain Company subsidiaries. The Company was in compliance with these covenants as of March 31, 2015. The Company had $223.5 million and $189.5 million outstanding under its 2014 Revolving Credit Facility at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively.
	Under the terms of the 2014 Credit Agreement, the Company may borrow, at its option, at interest rates equal to one, two, three or six month adjusted LIBOR rates, or equal to the greater of the prime rate, the federal funds rate plus 0.50% and the adjusted LIBOR rate plus 1%, in each case plus a margin determined by the Company's current leverage ratio.
	The weighted average interest rate at March 31, 2015 was 2.3%. Total fees and direct costs paid for the Company's credit facilities as of March 31, 2015 were $5.8 million, including $3.5 million paid on September 4, 2014. These costs are being amortized to interest expense over the life of the Credit Agreement.

Commitments_and_Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Commitments and Contingencies	Commitments and Contingencies
	Litigation—The Company is involved in ordinary course legal proceedings, which include all claims, lawsuits, investigations and proceedings, including unasserted claims, which are probable of being asserted, arising in the ordinary course of business and otherwise not described below. The Company has considered all such ordinary course legal proceedings in formulating its disclosures and assessments. In the opinion of the Company, based on consultations with outside counsel, material losses in addition to amounts previously accrued are not considered reasonably possible in connection with these ordinary course legal proceedings.
	Contingencies—The Company collects and stores sensitive data about its merchant customers and bankcard holders. If the Company’s network security is breached or sensitive merchant or cardholder data is misappropriated, the Company could be exposed to assessments, fines or litigation costs that could be material.
	Leases—The Company leases various office spaces and certain equipment under operating leases with remaining terms ranging up to 12 years. The majority of the office space lease agreements contain renewal options and generally require the Company to pay certain operating expenses.
	Future minimum lease payments for all non-cancelable leases as of March 31, 2015 were as follows:
	For the Twelve Months Ended March 31,	Operating Leases (a)
		(In thousands)
	2016	$	15,800
	2017	12,368
	2018	9,952
	2019	8,899
	2020	6,366
	Thereafter	27,227
	Total future minimum lease payments	$	80,612
	(a) There were no material capital leases at March 31, 2015.
	Rent expense for leased facilities and equipment was $5.9 million and $2.6 million, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014.
	Commitments—Certain officers of the Company have entered into employee confidential information and non-competition agreements under which they are entitled to severance pay equal to their base salary and medical benefits for one year or two years depending on the officer and a pro-rated bonus in the event they are terminated by the Company other than for cause. The Company paid $0.6 million under one of these agreements in the three months ended March 31, 2014.
	The following table reflects the Company’s other significant contractual obligations, including leases from above, as of March 31, 2015:
			Payments Due by Period
	Contractual Obligations		Total		Less than		1 to 3		3 to 5		More than 5
					1 year		Years		years		years
			(In thousands)
	Processing providers (a)		$	3,823	$	3,823	$	—	$	—	$	—
	Telecommunications providers (b)		8,857		3,825		5,032		—		—
	Facility and equipment leases		80,612		15,800		22,320		15,265		27,227
	2014 Term Credit Facility		365,625		18,750		44,531		302,344		—
	2014 Revolving Credit Facility (c)		223,500		—		—		223,500		—
	Capital Lease Obligation		91		42		49		—		—
			$	682,508	$	42,240	$	71,932	$	541,109	$	27,227
	(a)	The Company has agreements with several third-party processors to provide to us on a non-exclusive basis payment processing and transmittal, transaction authorization and data capture services, and access to various reporting tools. The Company's agreements with third-party processors require it to submit a minimum monthly number of transactions or volume for processing. If the Company submits a number of transactions or volume that is lower than the minimum, it is required to pay the third-party processors the fees that they would have received if the Company had submitted the required minimum number or volume of transactions.
	(b)	The Company has agreements in place with several large telecommunications companies that provide data center services, wide area network connectivity, and voice services that are used by both the Company call center and card payment processing platforms. These providers require both dollar and term commitments for the services they provide. If the Company does not meet the minimum terms, then there is a requirement to pay the remaining commitments.
	(c)	Interest rates on the 2014 Revolving Credit Facility are variable in nature; however, the Company is party to fixed-pay amortizing interest rate swaps having a remaining notional amount of $11.3 million. If interest rates were to remain at the March 31, 2015 level, the Company would make interest payments of $0.2 million this year including net settlements on the fixed-pay amortizing interest rate swaps. The 2014 Revolving Credit Facility is available on a revolving basis until September 4, 2019. While the Company is not contractually obligated to pay $23.0 million of the outstanding balance of the 2014 Revolving Credit Facility, the Company includes this amount in the Current portion of borrowings on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet since the Company intends to pay this amount in April 2015.

Segments

Segments	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Segments	Segments
	The Company bases its business segments on how it monitors and manages the performance of its operations as determined by the Company's chief operating decision maker or decision making group. The Company's operating segments are strategic business units that offer different products and services. They are managed separately because each business requires different marketing strategies, personnel skill sets and technology.
	The Company has the following six reportable segments: (1) Payment Processing, which provides card payment processing and related services to the Company's SME merchants and Network Services Merchants, (2) Campus Solutions, which provides payment processing, integrated commerce solutions, loan services and open- and closed-loop payment solutions to institutions of higher education, (3) Heartland School Solutions, which provides school nutrition and POS solutions and associated payment solutions to K-12 schools, (4) Heartland Payroll Solutions, which provides payroll processing and related tax filing services, (5) Leaf, which includes the operating losses for Leaf as well as the goodwill and POS asset impairment charges recorded in the fourth quarter of 2014, (see Note 7, Intangible Assets and Goodwill for further details) and (6) Other. The Other segment consists of (a) prepaid and stored-value card solutions provided by Micropayments, (b) loyalty and gift card marketing solutions including loyalty and gift cards provided by Heartland Marketing Solutions, and (c) POS solutions and other adjacent business service applications provided by Heartland Commerce. The individual components of the Other segment do not meet the defined thresholds for being individually reportable segments under applicable accounting guidance.
	SME merchants and Network Services merchants are aggregated for financial reporting purposes in the Payment Processing Segment, as they both provide processing services related to bankcard transactions, exhibit similar economic characteristics, and share the same systems to provide services. Campus Solutions includes TouchNet and ECSI for financial reporting purposes because they provide similar commerce solutions, exhibit similar economic characteristics, and provide services to a similar higher education customer base, including some client overlap.
	The Company allocates revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities to segments only where directly attributable. The unallocated corporate administration amounts consist primarily of costs attributed to finance, corporate administration, human resources and corporate services. Reconciling items include eliminations of intercompany investments and receivables.
	The accounting policies of the operating segments are the same as described in the summary of significant accounting policies. The Company believes the terms and conditions of transactions between the segments are comparable to those which could have been obtained in transactions with unaffiliated parties.
	At March 31, 2015 and 2014, 67% and 72%, respectively, of Heartland Payroll Solutions segment's total assets were funds that the Company holds as a fiduciary in its payroll processing services activities primarily for payment to taxing authorities. At March 31, 2015 and 2014, 7% and 23%, respectively, of the Campus Solutions segment's total assets represent funds held for the Company's loan servicing customers related to payment processing services provided for federal student loan billing and processing that are payable to higher education institutions and other businesses. See Note 7, Intangible Assets and Goodwill for goodwill as a percentage of the reportable segments' total assets.
	A summary of the Company’s segments as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:
		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2015			2014
	Revenues	(In thousands)
	Payment Processing	$	524,612		$	475,011
	Campus Solutions	33,062			13,318
	Heartland School Solutions	15,083			14,501
	Heartland Payroll Solutions	17,196			14,217
	Other	12,506			6,236
	Total revenues	$	602,459		$	523,283
	Depreciation and amortization
	Payment Processing	$	8,169		$	7,116
	Campus Solutions	3,301			626
	Heartland School Solutions	1,102			508
	Heartland Payroll Solutions	910			846
	Other	1,031			651
	Unallocated corporate administration amounts	139			117
	Total depreciation and amortization	$	14,652		$	9,864
	Income (loss) from operations
	Payment Processing	$	25,368		$	25,981
	Campus Solutions	8,238			2,921
	Heartland School Solutions	6,113			3,426
	Heartland Payroll Solutions	2,447			3,866
	Leaf	(3,522		)	(2,704		)
	Other	(508		)	336
	Unallocated corporate administration amounts	(8,374		)	(7,464		)
	Total income from operations	$	29,762		$	26,362
	Interest expense
	Payment Processing	$	1,366		$	1,050
	Campus Solutions	1,936			—
	Heartland Payroll Solutions	58			—
	Other	287			—
	Total interest expense	$	3,647		$	1,050
	Net income
	Payment Processing	$	14,734		$	15,056
	Campus Solutions	3,950			2,372
	Heartland School Solutions	4,027			2,107
	Heartland Payroll Solutions	1,505			2,343
	Leaf	(928		)	(2,625		)
	Other	(533		)	74
	Unallocated corporate administration amounts	(5,517		)	(4,415		)
	Total net income	$	17,238		$	14,912
	Assets
	Payment Processing	$	553,807		$	533,331
	Campus Solutions	477,545			72,916
	Heartland School Solutions	81,724			75,908
	Heartland Payroll Solutions	262,630			191,423
	Leaf (a)	1,132			36,249
	Other	98,123			21,457
	Total assets	$	1,474,961		$	931,284
	(a) See Note 7, Intangible Assets and Goodwill for a discussion of Goodwill and Asset Impairments.

Earnings_Per_Share

Earnings Per Share	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Earnings Per Share	Earnings Per Share
	The Company presents earnings per share data following the established standards for the computation and presentation of basic and diluted earnings per share data. Under these standards, the dilutive effect of stock options is excluded from the calculation of basic earnings per share but included in diluted earnings per share. The following is a reconciliation of the amounts used to calculate basic and diluted earnings per share:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015		2014
		(In thousands, except per share)
	Basic:
	Net income attributable to Heartland	$	17,238	$	15,740
	Weighted average common stock outstanding	36,432		36,731
	Earnings per share	$	0.47	$	0.43
	Diluted:
	Net income attributable to Heartland	$	17,238	$	15,740
	Basic weighted average common stock outstanding	36,432		36,731
	Effect of dilutive instruments:
	Stock options and restricted stock units	678		1,004
	Diluted weighted average shares outstanding	37,110		37,735
	Earnings per share	$	0.46	$	0.42

Fair_Value_of_Financial_Instru

Fair Value of Financial Instruments	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Abstract]
Fair Value of Financial Instruments	Fair Value of Financial Instruments
	The Company applies a fair value framework in order to measure and disclose its financial assets and liabilities, which include fixed income equity securities, interest swap derivatives and certain other financial instruments. The Company determines fair value based on quoted prices when available or through the use of alternative approaches when market quotes are not readily accessible or available.
	The Company’s framework for measuring fair value provides a three-level hierarchy, which prioritizes the factors (inputs) used to calculate the fair value of assets and liabilities as follows:
	•	Level 1 inputs are unadjusted quoted prices, such as a New York Stock Exchange closing price, in active markets for identical assets. Level 1 is the highest priority in the hierarchy.
	•	Level 2 inputs may include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, as well as other significant inputs that are observable at commonly quoted intervals, such as interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and yield curves.
	•	Level 3 inputs are unobservable and are based on the Company's assumptions due to little, if any, observable market information. Level 3 is the lowest priority in the hierarchy.
	For the three months ended March 31, 2015, there have been no transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 categories. The following tables provide the assets and liabilities carried at fair value measured on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2015 and at December 31, 2014:
	31-Mar-15			Fair Value Measurement Category
		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	Assets:	(In thousands)
	Investments available for sale:
	Conservative income bond fund (a)	$	12,996	$	12,996	$	—	$	—
	Fixed income bonds (a)	14,531		14,531		—		—
	Total assets	$	27,527	$	27,527	$	—	$	—
	Liabilities:
	Interest rate swaps	$	75	$	—	$	75	$	—
	Total liabilities	$	75	$	—	$	75	$	—
	31-Dec-14			Fair Value Measurement Category
		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	Assets:	(In thousands)
	Investments available for sale:
	Conservative income bond fund (a)	$	12,996	$	12,996	$	—	$	—
	Fixed income bonds (a)	14,639		14,639		—		—
	Total assets	$	27,635	$	27,635	$	—	$	—
	Liabilities:
	Interest rate swaps	$	126	$	—	$	126	$	—
	Total liabilities	$	126	$	—	$	126	$	—
	(a) amounts included in Funds held for customers on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet
	The following tables provide the assets and liabilities carried at fair value measured on a non-recurring basis as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014
	31-Mar-15			Fair Value Measurement Category
		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	Liabilities:	(In thousands)
	2014 Term Credit Facility	$	365,625	$	—	$	365,625	$	—
	2014 Revolving Credit Facility	223,500		—		223,500		—
	Capital Lease Obligation	91		—		—		91
	Total liabilities	$	589,216	$	—	$	589,125	$	91
	31-Dec-14			Fair Value Measurement Category
		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	Liabilities:	(In thousands)
	2014 Term Credit Facility	$	370,312	$	—	$	370,312	$	—
	2014 Revolving Credit Facility	189,500		—		189,500		—
	Capital Lease Obligation	102		—		—		102
	Total liabilities	$	559,914	$	—	$	559,812	$	102
	The Company's liabilities include interest rate swaps that are measured at fair value using observable market inputs including the Company's credit risk and its counterparties' credit risks. Based on these inputs, the interest rate swaps are classified within Level 2 of the valuation hierarchy. Based on the Company's continued ability to enter into these swaps, the Company considers the markets for its fair value instruments to be active. The Company's liabilities as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 also include borrowings under its credit facilities and the carrying value of these liabilities approximates fair value.
	The Company's financial instruments also include cash and cash equivalents and cash held for customers and their carrying values approximate fair value as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 because they bear interest at market rates and have maturities of less than 90 days from the time of purchase.

Summary_of_Significant_Account1

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Cash and Cash Equivalents	Cash and Cash Equivalents—At March 31, 2015, cash included approximately $13.7 million of processing-related cash in transit and collateral, compared to approximately $17.8 million of processing-related cash in transit and collateral at December 31, 2014. Processing-related cash in transit and collateral includes merchant deposits, collateral deposits, and funds in transit relating to timing differences for the Company's non-card payment processing businesses.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates— The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Estimates include, among other things, the accrued buyout liability, capitalized customer acquisition costs, goodwill and intangible asset impairment review, revenue recognition for multiple element arrangements, loss reserves, certain accounts payable and accrued expenses and certain tax assets and liabilities as well as the related valuation allowances, if any. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Receivables	Receivables—The Company's primary receivables are from its bankcard processing merchants. In addition to receivables for transaction fees the Company charges its merchants for processing transactions, these receivables include amounts resulting from the Company's practice of advancing interchange fees to most of its SME merchants during the month and collecting those fees at the beginning of the following month. The Company does not advance interchange fees to its Network Services merchants. Network Services merchants are invoiced monthly, on payment terms of 30 days net from date of invoicing. Receivables from merchants also include receivables from the sale of POS terminal equipment.
	The timing for presentment of transaction funding files to the bankcard networks results in the Company's sponsor banks receiving settlement cash one day before payment is made to merchants, thereby increasing funding obligations to its SME merchants, which are carried in processing liabilities. The Company funds interchange advances/receivables to SME merchants first from this settlement cash received from bankcard networks, then from the Company's available cash or by incurring a liability to its sponsor banks. At March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the Company did not use any of its available cash to fund merchant advances. The amount due to sponsor banks for funding merchant advances was $45.4 million at March 31, 2015 and $29.9 million at December 31, 2014. The liability to sponsor banks is repaid at the beginning of the following month out of the fees the Company collects from its merchants.
	Receivables also include amounts due from Discover and American Express for merchant bankcard transactions. These amounts are recovered the next business day following the date of processing the transaction.
	Receivables also include amounts resulting from the sale, installation, training and repair of payment system hardware and software for Campus Solutions, Heartland School Solutions and Other (which includes receivables from Micropayments, Heartland Commerce and Heartland Marketing Solutions). These receivables are mostly invoiced on terms of 30 days net from date of invoicing.
	Receivables are stated net of allowance for doubtful accounts. The Company estimates its allowance based on experience with its merchants, customers, and sales force and its judgment as to the likelihood of their ultimate payment. The Company also considers collection experience and makes estimates regarding collectability based on trends in the aging. Historically, the Company has not experienced significant charge offs for its merchant and customer receivables, other than the out-of-period adjustment recorded in the second quarter of 2014 (see Note 1, Organization and Operations for further details).
Investments and Funds Held for Payroll Customers	Investments and Funds Held for Customers—Investments, including those carried on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as Funds held for customers, consist primarily of bond funds, tax-exempt bonds, certificates of deposit and equity investments. Funds held for customers also include overnight bank deposits. The majority of investments carried in Funds held for customers are available-for-sale and recorded at fair value based on quoted market prices. Certificates of deposit are classified as held to maturity and recorded at cost. In the event of a sale, cost is determined on a specific identification basis. At March 31, 2015, Funds held for customers included cash and cash equivalents of $182.6 million and investments available for sale of $27.5 million.
	The asset funds held for customers and the liability customer fund deposits include: (1) amounts collected from customers prior to funding their payroll liabilities, as well as related tax and fiduciary liabilities for those customers, and (2) amounts collected by Campus Solutions in its capacity as loan servicer, which will be remitted to the customer/owner of the student loans the following month.
Capitalized Customer Acquisition Costs, net	Capitalized Customer Acquisition Costs, net— Capitalized customer acquisition costs consist of (1) up-front signing bonus payments made to Relationship Managers and sales managers (who constitute the Company's sales force and are referred to as "salespersons") for the establishment of new merchant relationships, and (2) a deferred acquisition cost representing the estimated cost of buying out the residual commissions of vested salespersons. Capitalized customer acquisition costs represent incremental, direct customer acquisition costs that are recoverable through gross margins associated with merchant contracts. The capitalized customer acquisition costs are amortized using a method which approximates a proportional revenue approach over the initial three-year term of the merchant contract.
	The up-front signing bonus paid for new SME bankcard, payroll and loyalty marketing accounts is based on the estimated gross margin for the first year of the merchant contract. The signing bonus, amount capitalized, and related amortization are adjusted after the first year to reflect the actual gross margin generated by the merchant contract during that year. The deferred customer acquisition cost asset is accrued over the first year of SME bankcard, payroll and loyalty marketing merchant processing, consistent with the build-up in the accrued buyout liability, as described below.
	Management evaluates the capitalized customer acquisition costs for impairment on an annual basis by comparing, on a pooled basis by vintage month of origination, the expected future net cash flows from underlying merchant relationships to the carrying amount of the capitalized customer acquisition costs. If the estimated future net cash flows are lower than the recorded carrying amount, indicating an impairment of the value of the capitalized customer acquisition costs, the impairment loss will be charged to operations. The Company believes that no impairment has occurred as of March 31, 2015.
Unearned revenue	Unearned revenue— Unearned revenue of $41.4 million and $49.0 million at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively, is primarily related to the Company's Heartland School Solutions, Campus Solutions, Heartland Payroll Solutions and Heartland Commerce businesses. Unearned revenue is derived primarily from the sale and subscription of e-commerce solutions and integration to host computer systems as well as from support and maintenance contracts and professional services. Unearned revenue represents contractual obligations of the Company to provide software, services and support to customers in the future.
Processing Liabilities	Processing Liabilities— Processing liabilities result primarily from the Company's card processing activities. Processing liabilities primarily reflect funds in transit associated with differences arising between the amounts the Company's sponsor banks receive from the bankcard networks and the amounts funded to the Company's merchants. Such differences arise from timing differences, interchange expense, merchant advances, merchant reserves and chargeback processing. These differences result in payables or receivables. If the settlement received from the bankcard networks precedes the funding obligation to the merchant, the Company records a processing liability. Conversely, if funding to the merchant precedes the settlement from the bankcard networks, the Company records a receivable from the bankcard network. The amounts are generally collected or paid the following business day.
	Chargebacks arise due to disputes between a cardholder and a merchant resulting from the cardholder's dissatisfaction with merchandise quality or the merchant's service, and the disputes may not always be resolved in the merchant's favor. In some of these cases, the transaction is ''charged back'' to the merchant and the purchase price is refunded to the cardholder by the credit card-issuing institution. If the merchant is unable to fund the refund, the Company is liable for the full amount of the transaction. The Company's obligation to stand ready to perform is minimal. The Company maintains a deposit or the pledge of a letter of credit from certain merchants as an offset to potential contingent liabilities that are the responsibility of such merchants. The Company evaluates its ultimate risk and records an estimate of potential loss for chargebacks based upon an assessment of actual historical loss rates compared to recent bankcard processing volume levels. The Company believes that the liability recorded as loss reserves approximates fair value.
Accrued Buyout Liability	Accrued Buyout Liability— The Company's Relationship Managers and sales managers are paid residual commissions based on the gross margin generated by monthly SME merchant processing activity. The Company has the right, but not the obligation, to buy out some or all of these commissions, and intends to do so periodically. Such purchases of the commissions are at a fixed multiple of the last twelve months' commissions. Because of the Company's intent and ability to execute purchases of the residual commissions, and the mutual understanding between the Company and the Relationship Managers and sales managers, the Company has accounted for this deferred compensation arrangement pursuant to the substantive nature of the plan. The Company therefore records the amount that it would have to pay (the ''settlement cost'') to buy out non-servicing related commissions in their entirety from vested Relationship Managers and sales managers, and an accrual, based on their progress towards vesting, for those unvested Relationship Managers and sales managers who are expected to vest in the future. As noted above, as the liability increases over the first year of a SME merchant contract, the Company also records a related deferred acquisition cost asset for currently vested Relationship Managers and sales managers. The accrued buyout liability associated with unvested Relationship Managers and sales managers is not included in the deferred acquisition cost asset since future services are required in order to vest. Subsequent changes in the estimated accrued buyout liability due to merchant attrition, same-store sales growth or contraction and changes in gross margin are included in the same income statement caption as customer acquisition costs expense.
	Relationship Managers and sales managers earn portfolio equity on their newly installed payroll and loyalty marketing merchant accounts based on the residual commissions they earn on those accounts. The accrued buyout liability and deferred acquisition cost asset are accrued in the same manner as the SME merchant portfolio equity.
	The accrued buyout liability is based on merchants under contract at the balance sheet date, the gross margin generated by those merchants over the prior twelve months, and the contractual buyout multiple. The liability related to a new merchant is therefore zero when the merchant is installed, and increases over the twelve months following the installation date. The same procedure is applied to unvested commissions over the expected vesting period, but is further adjusted to reflect the Company's estimate that 31% of unvested Relationship Managers and sales managers become vested, which represents the Company's historical vesting rate.
	The classification of the accrued buyout liability between current and non-current liabilities on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets is based upon the Company's estimate of the amount of the accrued buyout liability that it reasonably expects to pay over the next twelve months. This estimate is developed by calculating the cumulative annual average percentage that total historical buyout payments represent of the accrued buyout liability. That percentage is applied to the period-end accrued buyout liability to determine the current portion.
Revenue	Revenue—The Company classifies its revenues into five categories: (i) Payment Processing, (ii) Heartland School Solutions, (iii) Heartland Payroll Solutions, (iv) Campus Solutions and (v) Other. The Company recognizes revenue when (1) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; (2) delivery has occurred or services have been performed; (3) the price is fixed or determinable; and (4) collectability is reasonably assured. The Company also evaluates its contractual arrangements for indications that multiple element arrangements may exist, including instances where more-than-incidental software deliverables are included. The following revenue recognition policies define the manner in which the Company accounts for sales transactions by revenue category.
	Payment Processing revenue primarily consists of discount, per-transaction and periodic (primarily monthly) fees from the processing of Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover transactions for SME merchants and per-transaction fees for the authorization and settlement of transactions for Network Services merchants. Also included in this category are American Express servicing fees, merchant service fees, fees for processing chargebacks and termination fees on terminated contracts. Interchange fees, which are the Company’s most significant expense, are set by the card networks and paid to the card issuing banks. For the majority of SME card processing revenue, the Company does not offset processing revenues and interchange fees because its business practice is to advance the interchange fees to most SME merchants when settling their daily transactions (thus paying the full amount of the transaction to the merchant), and then to collect the full discount fees from merchants on the first business day of the next month. The Company has merchant portability, credit risk, and the ultimate responsibility to the merchant and, as such, revenue is reported at the time of settlement on a gross basis. Payment processing services are transaction based and priced either as a fixed fee per transaction or as a percentage of the transaction value. The fees are charged for the processing services provided and do not include the gross sales price paid by the ultimate buyer to the merchant. For SME merchants to whom the Company does not advance interchange, it records card processing revenues net of interchange fees. As Network Services does not advance interchange fees to its merchants, the Company records its card processing revenues net of interchange fees. The Company records Payment Processing revenue at the time services are provided and at the time of shipment as it relates to deployment of POS devices.
	Heartland Payroll Solutions revenue includes fees charged for payroll processing services, including check printing, direct deposit, related federal, state and local tax deposits and providing accounting documentation, and interest income earned on funds held for customers. Revenues are recorded at the time service is provided.
	Heartland School Solutions revenue includes fees from sales and maintenance of cafeteria POS solutions and associated payment solutions, including online prepayment solutions, back office management and hardware and technical support.
	Campus Solutions revenue includes fees associated with providing integrated commerce solutions to support administrative services for higher education, as well as student loan payment processing, delinquency and default services, refund management, tuition payment plans, electronic billing and payment, tax document services and business outsourcing. Campus Solutions revenue also includes fees from the sale and maintenance of open- and closed-loop payment hardware and software solutions for college or university campuses to process small value electronic transactions.
	Heartland Commerce revenue includes sales of POS systems and the associated payment processing and adjacent business service applications.
	Campus Solutions, Heartland School Solutions and Heartland Commerce have arrangements that contain multiple elements, such as hardware, software products, including perpetual licenses and Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) services, maintenance, and professional installation and training services. The Company allocates revenue to each element based on the selling price hierarchy. The selling price for a deliverable is based on vendor specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) of selling price, if available, or estimated selling price (“ESP”) if VSOE of selling price is not available. The Company establishes ESP based on management judgment, considering internal factors such as margin objectives, pricing practices and controls, customer segment pricing strategies and the product life cycle. In arrangements with multiple elements, the Company determines allocation of the transaction price at inception of the arrangement based on the relative selling price of each unit of accounting.
	In multiple element arrangements where more-than-incidental software deliverables are included, the Company has applied the residual method to determine the amount of software license revenues to be recognized. Under the residual method, if fair value exists for undelivered elements in a multiple-element arrangement, such fair value of the undelivered elements is deferred with the remaining portion of the arrangement consideration recognized upon delivery of the software license or services arrangement. The Company allocates the fair value of each element of a software related multiple-element arrangement based upon its fair value as determined by VSOE, with any remaining amount allocated to the software license. If evidence of the fair value cannot be established for the undelivered elements of a software arrangement, then the entire amount of revenue under the arrangement is deferred until these elements have been delivered or objective evidence can be established.
	Other revenues include Micropayments fees from selling hardware and software for unattended online wireless credit card based payment systems, and unattended value top up systems for off-line closed-loop smart (chip) card based payment systems. Also included in this category are Heartland Marketing Solutions fees from selling mobile and card-based marketing services, gift cards and rewards services as well as fees from selling, renting and deploying POS devices. Revenues are recorded at the time of shipment or at the time services are provided.
Loss Contingencies and Legal Expenses	Loss Contingencies and Legal Expenses—The Company records a liability for loss contingencies when the liability is probable and the amount is reasonably estimable. Legal fees associated with loss contingencies are recorded when the legal fees are incurred.
	The Company records recoveries from its insurance providers when cash is received from the provider.
Other Income (Expense)	Other Income (Expense)— Other income (expense) consists of interest income on cash and investments, the interest cost on the Company's borrowings, gains or losses on the disposal of assets, write downs of capitalized information technology development projects and other non-operating income or expense items.
Income Taxes	The Company's tax provision for interim periods is determined using an estimate of its annual effective tax rate, adjusted for discrete items, if any, that are taken into account in the relevant period. Each quarter the Company updates its estimate of the annual effective tax rate, and if the Company's estimated tax rate changes, it makes a cumulative adjustment in that period.
	The Company regularly evaluates its tax positions for additional unrecognized tax benefits and associated interest and penalties, if applicable. There are many factors that are considered when evaluating these tax positions including: interpretation of tax laws, recent tax litigation on a position, past audit or examination history, and subjective estimates and assumptions, which have been deemed reasonable by management. However, if management's estimates are not representative of actual outcomes, the Company's results could be materially impacted.
	Income Taxes—The Company accounts for income taxes by recognizing deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements or tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statements and the tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates. The impact on deferred assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in the period that the rate change is enacted. Valuation allowances are recorded when it is determined that it is more likely than not that a deferred tax asset will not be realized.
Share-Based Compensation	Share–Based Compensation— The Company expenses employee share-based compensation under the fair value method. Share-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date, based on the fair value of the award, and is recognized as expense over the requisite service period. The Company's Board of Directors has approved grants of performance-based Restricted Share Units ("PRSU") with grant-specific vesting and performance target terms. The methods and assumptions used in the determination of the fair value of stock-based awards and measurement of performance targets are consistent with those described in the Company’s December 31, 2014 Form 10-K.
Earnings per Share	Earnings per Share— Basic earnings per share was computed by dividing net income by weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share was computed based on the weighted average outstanding common shares plus equivalent shares assuming exercise of stock options and vesting of Restricted Share Units, where dilutive.
Common Stock Repurchases	The Company intends to fund any repurchases with cash flow from operations, existing cash on the balance sheet, and other sources, including the Company's 2014 Revolving Credit Facility (as defined in Note 10 herein). The manner, timing and amount of repurchases, if any, will be determined by management and will depend on a variety of factors, including price, corporate and regulatory requirements, market conditions and other corporation liquidity requirements. The repurchase program may be modified or discontinued at any time.
Derivative Financial Instruments	Derivative Financial Instruments— The Company utilizes derivative instruments to manage interest rate risk on certain borrowings under its Credit Agreement (as defined in Note 10 herein). The Company recognizes the fair value of derivative financial instruments in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets in investments, or accrued expenses and other liabilities. Changes in fair value of derivative instruments are recognized immediately in earnings unless the derivative is designated and qualifies as a hedge of future cash flows. For derivatives that qualify as hedges of future cash flows, the effective portion of changes in fair value is recorded in other comprehensive income and reclassified into interest expense in the same periods during which the hedged item affects earnings. Any ineffectiveness of cash flow hedges would be recognized in other income (expense) in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income during the period of change.
	The Company has entered into fixed-pay amortizing interest rate swaps as a hedge of future cash flows on certain variable rate debt outstanding under its credit facility. These interest rate swaps convert the related notional amount of variable rate debt to fixed rate.
Noncontrolling Interests	Noncontrolling Interests— Prior to August 6, 2014, the Company owned 66.67% of the outstanding capital stock of Leaf Holdings, Inc. ("Leaf"). Noncontrolling shareholders' share of after-tax net loss of Leaf is included in Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income for the three months ended March 31, 2014.
Subsequent Events	Subsequent Events—The Company evaluated subsequent events through the issuance date with respect to the condensed consolidated financial statements as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2015.
New Accounting Pronouncements	New Accounting Pronouncements— From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) or other standards setting bodies that the Company adopts as of the specified effective date.
	In May 2014, the FASB issued guidance on revenue from contracts with customers, which requires an entity to recognize revenue from the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The guidance addresses in particular contracts with more than one performance obligation as well as the accounting for some costs to obtain or fulfill a contract with a customer and provides for additional disclosures with respect to revenues and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. Entities can transition to the standard either retrospectively or as a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption. On April 29, 2015, the FASB proposed deferring the effective date by one year to December 15, 2017 for annual reporting periods beginning after that date. The FASB also proposed permitting early adoption of the standard, but not before the original effective date of the reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company has not yet selected a transition method and is currently assessing the impact the adoption of this guidance will have on the Company's consolidated financial statements and disclosures.
	In August 2014, the FASB issued guidance on presentation of going concern financial statements which provides guidance about management's responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity's ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures. The amendments in this guidance are expected to reduce diversity in the timing and content of footnote disclosures. The amendments in this guidance are effective for the annual period ending after December 15, 2016, and for annual periods and interim periods thereafter. Early application is permitted. The effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements is still being evaluated.
	In January 2015, the FASB issued guidance on simplifying income statement presentation by eliminating the concept of extraordinary items. This guidance eliminates from generally accepted accounting principles in the United States the concept of extraordinary items. The amendments in this guidance are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2015. The effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements is still being evaluated.
	In April 2015, the FASB issued guidance on debt issuance costs, which requires that all costs incurred to issue debt be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying value of the associated debt liability, consistent with the presentation of a debt discount. The standard also indicates that debt issuance costs do not meet the definition of an asset because they provide no future economic benefit. This is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted for financial statements that have not been previously issued. The new guidance should be applied on a retrospective basis. The effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements is still being evaluated.
	In April 2015, the FASB issued guidance that defines specific criteria entities must apply to determine if a cloud computing arrangement includes an in-substance software license. The new guidance clarifies that software licenses included in a cloud computing software should be accounted for in the same manner as other software licenses. This amendment is effective for annual reporting periods, including interim periods within those periods, beginning after December 15, 2015. Early adoption is permitted. The effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements is still being evaluated.

Organization_and_Operations_Ta

Organization and Operations (Tables) (Visa And MasterCard [Member])	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Visa And MasterCard [Member]
Bankcard Processing Volume [Line Items]
Bankcard Processing Volume	The following is a breakout of the Company’s total Visa and MasterCard settled card processing volume for the month ending March 31, 2015 by percentage processed under its individual bank sponsorship agreements:
		% of	Mar-15
	Sponsor Bank	Bankcard Processing
		Volume
	Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.	71%
	The Bancorp Bank	20%
	Barclays Bank Delaware	9%

Summary_of_Significant_Account2

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate	The provision for income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 and the resulting effective tax rates were as follows:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015				2014
		(In thousands)
	Provision for income taxes	$	8,928			$	10,300
	Effective tax rate	34.1		%		40.9		%
Summary of Interest Rate Swaps	The following table summarizes the components of the interest rate swaps.
			March 31, 2015				31-Dec-14
			(in thousands)
	Notional value		$	11,250			$	15,000
	Fair value (a)		(75		)		(126		)
	Deferred tax benefit		35				54
	(a) Recorded as a liability in accrued expenses and other liabilities

Acquisitions_Tables

Acquisitions (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information
		Three months ended March 31, 2014
		(in thousands, except share data)
	Total revenues	$	541,273
	Net income attributable to Heartland	$	17,503
	Basic earnings per share	$	0.48
	Diluted earnings per share	$	0.46
TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Schedule of Recognized Identified Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed
	The following table summarizes the preliminary purchase price allocation (in thousands):
		Cash and cash equivalents	$	34,576
		Receivables, net	12,243
		Inventory	66
		Prepaid expenses	601
		Property and equipment, net	3,360
		Intangible assets, net	144,400
		Goodwill	221,575
		Total assets acquired	416,821
		Accounts payable	2,236
		Accrued expenses and other liabilities	2,896
		Current portion of unearned revenue	24,014
		Current tax liability	13,914
		Long-term portion of unearned revenue	2,037
		Net assets acquired	$	371,724
Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Amortization Life
	The weighted average amortization life for the 2014 acquired finite lived intangible assets related to the acquisition of TouchNet are as follows:
		Weighted average amortization life
			(In years)
		Customer relationships	20
		Software	15
		Non-compete agreements	5
		Trademark	5
		Overall	18
MCS Software [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets Acquired as Part of Business Combination
	The weighted average amortization life for the 2014 acquired finite lived intangible assets related to the acquisition of MCS Software are as follows:
		Weighted average amortization life
			(In years)
		Customer relationships	14
		Non-compete agreement	5
		Software	5
		Overall	11
Payroll 1 [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets Acquired as Part of Business Combination
	The weighted average amortization life for the 2015 acquired finite lived intangible assets related to the acquisition of Payroll 1 is as follows:
		Weighted-average amortization life
			(In years)
		Customer relationships	13
		Software	6
		Non-compete agreement	5
		Overall	11
Dinerware [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets Acquired as Part of Business Combination
	The weighted average amortization life for the 2015 acquired finite lived intangible assets related to the acquisition of Dinerware is as follows:
		Weighted-average amortization life
			(In years)
		Customer relationships	17
		Software	5
		Trademark	5
		Non-compete agreement	3
		Overall	13
pcAmerica [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets Acquired as Part of Business Combination
	The weighted average amortization life for the 2015 acquired finite lived intangible assets related to the acquisition of pcAmerica is as follows:
		Weighted-average amortization life
			(In years)
		Customer relationships	20
		Software	5
		Non-compete agreement	5
		Trademark	5
		Overall	13
Xpient [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets Acquired as Part of Business Combination
	The weighted average amortization life for the 2014 acquired finite lived intangible assets related to the acquisition of Xpient are as follows:
		Weighted average amortization life
			(In years)
		Customer relationships	21
		Software	10
		Trademark	5
		Non-compete agreement	3
		Overall	14
Liquor Point of Sale [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Amortization Life
	The weighted average amortization life for the 2014 acquired finite lived intangible assets related to the acquisition of Liquor POS is as follows:
		Weighted-average amortization life
			(In years)
		Customer relationships	10
		Software	7
		Non-compete agreement	5
		Patents	5
		Overall	9

Receivables_Tables

Receivables (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Receivables [Abstract]
Schedule of Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable	A summary of receivables by major class was as follows at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014:
		March 31,			December 31,
		2015			2014
		(In thousands)
	Accounts receivable from merchants and customers	$	207,758		$	200,912
	Accounts receivable from bankcard networks	28,334			31,279
	Accounts receivable from others	4,500			3,465
		240,592			235,656
	Less allowance for doubtful accounts	(1,340		)	(1,552		)
	Total receivables, net	$	239,252		$	234,104
Summary of Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Receivables	A summary of the activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015			2014
		(In thousands)
	Beginning balance	$	1,552		$	1,032
	Additions to allowance	714			337
	Charges against allowance	(926		)	(212		)
	Ending balance	$	1,340		$	1,157

Funds_Held_for_Customers_and_I1

Funds Held for Customers and Investments (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Funds Held for Payroll Customers and Investments [Abstract]
Funds Held for Payroll Customers and Investments	A summary of Funds held for customers and investments, including the amortized cost, gross unrealized gains (losses) and estimated fair value for investments available-for-sale by major security type and class of security were as follows at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014:
		Cost		Gross		Gross			Estimated
				Unrealized		Unrealized			Fair Value
				Gains		Losses
		(In thousands)
	March 31, 2015
	Funds Held for Customers
	Conservative income bond fund - available for sale	$	13,012	$	—	$	(16	)	$	12,996
	Fixed income - municipal bonds - available for sale	14,559		4		(32		)	14,531
	Cash held for customers	182,595		—		—			182,595
	Total Funds held for customers	$	210,166	$	4	$	(48	)	$	210,122
		Cost		Gross		Gross			Estimated
				Unrealized		Unrealized			Fair Value
				Gains		Losses
		(In thousands)
	December 31, 2014
	Funds Held for Customers
	Conservative income bond fund - available for sale	$	13,012	$	—	$	(16	)	$	12,996
	Fixed income - municipal bonds - available for sale	14,688		2		(51		)	14,639
	Cash held for customers	148,857		—		—			148,857
	Total Funds held for customers	$	176,557	$	2	$	(67	)	$	176,492
	Expected maturities of the Fixed income -municipal bonds at March 31, 2015 are as follows:
		Total		Less Than 1 Year		1 To 5 Years			5 To 10 Years
		(In thousands)
	March 31, 2015
	Funds Held for Customers:
	Fixed income - municipal bonds - available for sale cost	$	14,559	$	1,348	$	13,211		$	—
	Fixed income - municipal bonds - available for sale estimated fair value	$	14,531	$	1,349	$	13,182		$	—
Schedule of Expected Maturities for Fixed Income-Municipal Bonds	Expected maturities of the Fixed income -municipal bonds at March 31, 2015 are as follows:
		Total		Less Than 1 Year		1 To 5 Years			5 To 10 Years
		(In thousands)
	March 31, 2015
	Funds Held for Customers:
	Fixed income - municipal bonds - available for sale cost	$	14,559	$	1,348	$	13,211		$	—
	Fixed income - municipal bonds - available for sale estimated fair value	$	14,531	$	1,349	$	13,182		$	—

Capitalized_Customer_Acquisiti1

Capitalized Customer Acquisition Costs, Net (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Capitalized Customer Acquisition Costs, Net [Abstract]
Capitalized Customer Acquisition Costs Net	A summary of net capitalized customer acquisition costs as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 was as follows:
		March 31,			December 31,
		2015			2014
		(In thousands)
	Capitalized signing bonuses	$	101,726		$	98,879
	Less accumulated amortization	(48,369		)	(47,238		)
		53,357			51,641
	Capitalized customer deferred acquisition costs	56,153			54,583
	Less accumulated amortization	(34,414		)	(33,117		)
		21,739			21,466
	Capitalized customer acquisition costs, net	$	75,096		$	73,107
Capitalized Customer Acquisition Activity	A summary of the activity in capitalized customer acquisition costs, net for the three month periods ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015			2014
		(In thousands)
	Balance at beginning of period	$	73,107		$	61,027
	Plus additions to:
	Capitalized signing bonuses, net	10,041			8,055
	Capitalized customer deferred acquisition costs	6,103			5,531
		16,144			13,586
	Less amortization expense on:
	Capitalized signing bonuses, net	(8,325		)	(7,130		)
	Capitalized customer deferred acquisition costs	(5,830		)	(4,855		)
		(14,155		)	(11,985		)
	Balance at end of period	$	75,096		$	62,628

Intangible_Assets_and_Goodwill1

Intangible Assets and Goodwill (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets by Major Class	Intangible Assets — Intangible assets consisted of the following as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014:
		March 31, 2015										Amortization Life and Method
		Gross				Accumulated			Net Asset
		Assets				Amortization
		(In thousands)
	Finite Lived Assets:
	Customer relationships	$	171,983			$	25,029		$	146,954		6 to 21 years—proportional cash flow
	Merchant portfolios	4,214				3,264			950			7 years—proportional cash flow
	Software	62,421				14,505			47,916			3 to 15 years—straight line
	Non-compete agreements	6,183				3,119			3,064			3 to 5 years—straight line
	Other	6,076				704			5,372			5 to 9 years—straight line
		$	250,877			$	46,621		$	204,256
		December 31, 2014										Amortization Life and Method
		Gross				Accumulated			Net Asset
		Assets				Amortization
		(In thousands)
	Finite Lived Assets:
	Customer relationships	$	159,925			$	22,011		$	137,914		6 to 21 years—proportional cash flow
	Merchant portfolios	4,214				3,161			1,053			7 years—proportional cash flow
	Software	58,377				13,300			45,077			1 to 15 years—straight line
	Non-compete agreements	5,947				2,830			3,117			5 years—straight line
	Other	5,800				408			5,392			5 to 9 years—straight line
		$	234,263			$	41,710		$	192,553
Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Future Amortization Expense	The estimated amortization expense related to intangible assets in twelve month increments is as follows:
	For the Twelve Months Ended March 31,
		(In thousands)
	2015	$	19,660
	2016	18,522
	2017	16,984
	2018	15,368
	2019	13,644
	Thereafter	120,078
		$	204,256
Schedule of Goodwill
	Goodwill — The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by segment for the three months ended March 31, 2015
	and 2014 were as follows:
			Payment Processing				Campus Solutions			Heartland School Solutions			Heartland Payroll Solutions		Leaf			Other		Total
	Balance at January 1, 2014		$	43,701			$	35,789		$	53,350		$	31,018	$	20,619		$	6,501	$	190,978
		Goodwill acquired during the period	—				—			—			—		—			2,247		2,247
		Other	—				—			—			—		(2,080		)	—		(2,080		)
	Balance at March 31, 2014		43,701				35,789			53,350			31,018		18,539			8,748		191,145
	Balance at January 1, 2015		43,701				257,337			64,522			31,018		—			29,134		425,712
		Goodwill acquired during the period	—				—			—			21,915		—			27,927		49,842
		Other (a)	—				26			—			—		—			—		26
	Balance at March 31, 2015		$	43,701			$	257,363		$	64,522		$	52,933	$	—		$	57,061	$	475,580
	(a) Reflects adjustments to allocations of purchase price.
	The percentage of total reportable segments' assets comprised of goodwill as of March 31, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:
			Percent of Goodwill to Reportable Segments' Total Assets
			March 31, 2015		March 31, 2014
		Payment Processing	7.90%		8.20%
		Campus Solutions	53.90%		49.10%
		Heartland School Solutions	79.00%		70.30%
		Heartland Payroll Solutions	20.20%		16.20%
		Leaf	—%		51.10%
		Other	58.20%		40.80%
Schedule of Segment Reporting Information, Goodwill
	The percentage of total reportable segments' assets comprised of goodwill as of March 31, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:
			Percent of Goodwill to Reportable Segments' Total Assets
			March 31, 2015		March 31, 2014
		Payment Processing	7.90%		8.20%
		Campus Solutions	53.90%		49.10%
		Heartland School Solutions	79.00%		70.30%
		Heartland Payroll Solutions	20.20%		16.20%
		Leaf	—%		51.10%
		Other	58.20%		40.80%

Processing_Liabilities_Tables

Processing Liabilities (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Processing Liabilities and Loss Reserves [Abstract]
Summary Of Processing Liabilities And Loss Reserves	A summary of processing liabilities and loss reserves was as follows at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014:
		March 31, 2015			December 31, 2014
		(In thousands)
	Merchant bankcard processing	$	101,035		$	109,361
	Merchant deposits	5,766			6,655
	Loss reserves	1,848			3,382
		$	108,649		$	119,398
Schedule Of Credit And Fraud Loss Reserve	A summary of the activity in the loss reserve for the three month periods ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015			2014
		(In thousands)
	Beginning balance	$	3,382		$	1,505
	Additions to reserve	869			866
	Charges against reserve (a)	(2,403		)	(699		)
	Ending balance	$	1,848		$	1,672
	(a)	Included in these amounts are Heartland Payroll Solutions segment recoveries of $29,000 and losses $77,000, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014.

Accrued_Buyout_Liability_Table

Accrued Buyout Liability (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Accrued Buyout Liability [Abstract]
Summary of Accrued Buyout Liability	A summary of the accrued buyout liability was as follows as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014:
		March 31,			December 31,
		2015			2014
		(In thousands)
	Vested Relationship Managers and sales managers	$	44,813		$	46,301
	Unvested Relationship Managers and sales managers	1,669			1,692
		46,482			47,993
	Less current portion	(16,159		)	(15,023		)
	Long-term portion of accrued buyout liability	$	30,323		$	32,970
Summary of Activity in Accrued Buyout Liability	A summary of the activity in the accrued buyout liability for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015			2014
		(In thousands)
	Beginning balance	$	47,993		$	39,379
	Increase in settlement obligation, net	5,996			3,796
	Buyouts	(7,507		)	(1,875		)
	Ending balance	$	46,482		$	41,300

Commitments_and_Contingencies_

Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of Future Minimum Rental Payments for Operating Leases	Future minimum lease payments for all non-cancelable leases as of March 31, 2015 were as follows:
	For the Twelve Months Ended March 31,	Operating Leases (a)
		(In thousands)
	2016	$	15,800
	2017	12,368
	2018	9,952
	2019	8,899
	2020	6,366
	Thereafter	27,227
	Total future minimum lease payments	$	80,612
	(a) There were no material capital leases at March 31, 2015.
Schedule Of Contractual Obligations	The following table reflects the Company’s other significant contractual obligations, including leases from above, as of March 31, 2015:
			Payments Due by Period
	Contractual Obligations		Total		Less than		1 to 3		3 to 5		More than 5
					1 year		Years		years		years
			(In thousands)
	Processing providers (a)		$	3,823	$	3,823	$	—	$	—	$	—
	Telecommunications providers (b)		8,857		3,825		5,032		—		—
	Facility and equipment leases		80,612		15,800		22,320		15,265		27,227
	2014 Term Credit Facility		365,625		18,750		44,531		302,344		—
	2014 Revolving Credit Facility (c)		223,500		—		—		223,500		—
	Capital Lease Obligation		91		42		49		—		—
			$	682,508	$	42,240	$	71,932	$	541,109	$	27,227
	(a)	The Company has agreements with several third-party processors to provide to us on a non-exclusive basis payment processing and transmittal, transaction authorization and data capture services, and access to various reporting tools. The Company's agreements with third-party processors require it to submit a minimum monthly number of transactions or volume for processing. If the Company submits a number of transactions or volume that is lower than the minimum, it is required to pay the third-party processors the fees that they would have received if the Company had submitted the required minimum number or volume of transactions.
	(b)	The Company has agreements in place with several large telecommunications companies that provide data center services, wide area network connectivity, and voice services that are used by both the Company call center and card payment processing platforms. These providers require both dollar and term commitments for the services they provide. If the Company does not meet the minimum terms, then there is a requirement to pay the remaining commitments.
	(c)	Interest rates on the 2014 Revolving Credit Facility are variable in nature; however, the Company is party to fixed-pay amortizing interest rate swaps having a remaining notional amount of $11.3 million. If interest rates were to remain at the March 31, 2015 level, the Company would make interest payments of $0.2 million this year including net settlements on the fixed-pay amortizing interest rate swaps. The 2014 Revolving Credit Facility is available on a revolving basis until September 4, 2019. While the Company is not contractually obligated to pay $23.0 million of the outstanding balance of the 2014 Revolving Credit Facility, the Company includes this amount in the Current portion of borrowings on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet since the Company intends to pay this amount in April 2015.

Segments_Tables

Segments (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Schedule of Segment Reporting Information, by Segment	A summary of the Company’s segments as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:
		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2015			2014
	Revenues	(In thousands)
	Payment Processing	$	524,612		$	475,011
	Campus Solutions	33,062			13,318
	Heartland School Solutions	15,083			14,501
	Heartland Payroll Solutions	17,196			14,217
	Other	12,506			6,236
	Total revenues	$	602,459		$	523,283
	Depreciation and amortization
	Payment Processing	$	8,169		$	7,116
	Campus Solutions	3,301			626
	Heartland School Solutions	1,102			508
	Heartland Payroll Solutions	910			846
	Other	1,031			651
	Unallocated corporate administration amounts	139			117
	Total depreciation and amortization	$	14,652		$	9,864
	Income (loss) from operations
	Payment Processing	$	25,368		$	25,981
	Campus Solutions	8,238			2,921
	Heartland School Solutions	6,113			3,426
	Heartland Payroll Solutions	2,447			3,866
	Leaf	(3,522		)	(2,704		)
	Other	(508		)	336
	Unallocated corporate administration amounts	(8,374		)	(7,464		)
	Total income from operations	$	29,762		$	26,362
	Interest expense
	Payment Processing	$	1,366		$	1,050
	Campus Solutions	1,936			—
	Heartland Payroll Solutions	58			—
	Other	287			—
	Total interest expense	$	3,647		$	1,050
	Net income
	Payment Processing	$	14,734		$	15,056
	Campus Solutions	3,950			2,372
	Heartland School Solutions	4,027			2,107
	Heartland Payroll Solutions	1,505			2,343
	Leaf	(928		)	(2,625		)
	Other	(533		)	74
	Unallocated corporate administration amounts	(5,517		)	(4,415		)
	Total net income	$	17,238		$	14,912
	Assets
	Payment Processing	$	553,807		$	533,331
	Campus Solutions	477,545			72,916
	Heartland School Solutions	81,724			75,908
	Heartland Payroll Solutions	262,630			191,423
	Leaf (a)	1,132			36,249
	Other	98,123			21,457
	Total assets	$	1,474,961		$	931,284
	(a) See Note 7, Intangible Assets and Goodwill for a discussion of Goodwill and Asset Impairments.

Earnings_Per_Share_Tables

Earnings Per Share (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Schedule of Calculation of Numerator and Denominator in Earnings Per Share	The following is a reconciliation of the amounts used to calculate basic and diluted earnings per share:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015		2014
		(In thousands, except per share)
	Basic:
	Net income attributable to Heartland	$	17,238	$	15,740
	Weighted average common stock outstanding	36,432		36,731
	Earnings per share	$	0.47	$	0.43
	Diluted:
	Net income attributable to Heartland	$	17,238	$	15,740
	Basic weighted average common stock outstanding	36,432		36,731
	Effect of dilutive instruments:
	Stock options and restricted stock units	678		1,004
	Diluted weighted average shares outstanding	37,110		37,735
	Earnings per share	$	0.46	$	0.42

Fair_Value_of_Financial_Instru1

Fair Value of Financial Instruments (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Abstract]
Schedule of Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis	The following tables provide the assets and liabilities carried at fair value measured on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2015 and at December 31, 2014:
	31-Mar-15			Fair Value Measurement Category
		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	Assets:	(In thousands)
	Investments available for sale:
	Conservative income bond fund (a)	$	12,996	$	12,996	$	—	$	—
	Fixed income bonds (a)	14,531		14,531		—		—
	Total assets	$	27,527	$	27,527	$	—	$	—
	Liabilities:
	Interest rate swaps	$	75	$	—	$	75	$	—
	Total liabilities	$	75	$	—	$	75	$	—
	31-Dec-14			Fair Value Measurement Category
		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	Assets:	(In thousands)
	Investments available for sale:
	Conservative income bond fund (a)	$	12,996	$	12,996	$	—	$	—
	Fixed income bonds (a)	14,639		14,639		—		—
	Total assets	$	27,635	$	27,635	$	—	$	—
	Liabilities:
	Interest rate swaps	$	126	$	—	$	126	$	—
	Total liabilities	$	126	$	—	$	126	$	—
	(a) amounts included in Funds held for customers on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet
Fair Value Measurements, Nonrecurring	The following tables provide the assets and liabilities carried at fair value measured on a non-recurring basis as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014
	31-Mar-15			Fair Value Measurement Category
		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	Liabilities:	(In thousands)
	2014 Term Credit Facility	$	365,625	$	—	$	365,625	$	—
	2014 Revolving Credit Facility	223,500		—		223,500		—
	Capital Lease Obligation	91		—		—		91
	Total liabilities	$	589,216	$	—	$	589,125	$	91
	31-Dec-14			Fair Value Measurement Category
		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	Liabilities:	(In thousands)
	2014 Term Credit Facility	$	370,312	$	—	$	370,312	$	—
	2014 Revolving Credit Facility	189,500		—		189,500		—
	Capital Lease Obligation	102		—		—		102
	Total liabilities	$	559,914	$	—	$	559,812	$	102

Organization_and_Operations_Ba

Organization and Operations (Bankcard Processing Volume) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Aug. 05, 2014
	bank_sponsorship_agreement
Organization and Operations
Revenue	$602,459,000	$523,283,000
Earnings before income taxes	26,166,000	25,212,000
Net income	17,238,000	14,912,000
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$0.46	$0.42
Days to identify alternative bank sponsor following terminated agreement	180 days
Number of bank sponsorship agreements	3		3
Wells Fargo Bank [Member]
Organization and Operations
Automatic renewal period, sponsor bank agreement	3 years
The Bancorp Bank [Member]
Organization and Operations
Automatic renewal period, sponsor bank agreement	1 year
Written notice of non-renewal	6 months
Barclays Bank Delaware [Member]
Organization and Operations
Automatic renewal period, sponsor bank agreement	1 year
Written notice of non-renewal	6 months
Visa And MasterCard [Member] | Wells Fargo Bank [Member]
Organization and Operations
Sponsor banks, bankcard processing volume percentage			71.00%
Visa And MasterCard [Member] | The Bancorp Bank [Member]
Organization and Operations
Sponsor banks, bankcard processing volume percentage			20.00%
Visa And MasterCard [Member] | Barclays Bank Delaware [Member]
Organization and Operations
Sponsor banks, bankcard processing volume percentage			9.00%
Visa And MasterCard [Member] | Merchant Bankcard Processing [Member]
Organization and Operations
Sales revenue, minimum percentage	70.00%
Heartland School Solutions [Member]
Organization and Operations
Revenue	15,083,000	14,501,000
Out-of-period adjustment [Member] | Heartland School Solutions [Member]
Organization and Operations
Revenue				1,400,000
Bad debt expense				900,000
Earnings before income taxes				2,300,000
Net income				$1,400,000
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)				$0.04
Leaf Acquisition, LLC [Member]
Organization and Operations
Parent's ownership percentage					66.67%

Summary_of_Significant_Account3

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014	Aug. 05, 2014
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Debt Securities, Amortized Cost Basis	$210,166,000		$176,557,000
Processing-related cash in transit and collateral	13,700,000		17,800,000
Invoicing terms	30 days
Due to sponsor banks	46,777,000		31,165,000
Funds held for payroll customers	210,122,000		176,492,000
Amortization of capitalized customer acquisition costs, period	3 years
Impairment of capitalized customer acquisition costs	0
Deferred revenue	41,400,000		49,000,000
Buy out of Relationship Managers and sales managers commissions, fixed multiple period	12 months
Determination of accrued buyout liability, gross margin for prior period	12 months
New SME merchant accrued buyout liability	0
Period accrued buyout liability increases for new SME merchants	12 months
Estimated vesting percentage, Relationship Managers and sales managers	31.00%
Reserve for unrecognized tax benefits	7,706,000		7,315,000
Unrecognized tax benefits that would impact effective tax rate	5,200,000		4,900,000
Stock-based compensation	4,649,000	3,838,000
Leaf Acquisition, LLC [Member]
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Parent's ownership percentage (less than-2015)				66.67%
Cash and cash equivalents [Member]
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Funds held for payroll customers	182,600,000
Investments available for sale [Member]
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Funds held for payroll customers	27,500,000
Funding advances [Member]
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Due to sponsor banks	$45,400,000		$29,900,000

Summary_of_Significant_Account4

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Effective Income Tax Rate) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Provision for income taxes	$8,928	$10,300
Effective tax rate	34.10%	40.90%

Summary_of_Significant_Account5

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Common Stock Repurchases) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Apr. 28, 2014	8-May-13	8-May-14	Dec. 31, 2014
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Cost of shares repurchased	$0	$27,237,000
May 8, 2013 Program [Member]
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Stock repurchase program, amount authorized				75,000,000
May 8, 2014 Program [Member]
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Stock repurchase program, amount authorized					75,000,000
Interest Rate Swap [Member]
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Notional value	11,250,000					15,000,000
Fair value	-75,000					-126,000
Deferred tax benefit	35,000					54,000
Common Stock
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Shares repurchased		695,555	1,882,417
Cost of shares repurchased		$28,668,000	$74,943,000
Average cost per share (in dollars per share)		$41.22	$39.81

Acquisitions_Narrative_Details

Acquisitions (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended
	Sep. 04, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014	Apr. 01, 2014	Feb. 27, 2015	Feb. 11, 2015	Jan. 30, 2015	Oct. 31, 2014	Feb. 14, 2014	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2013
Business Combination, Purchase Price Allocation [Abstract]
Goodwill		$191,145,000	$425,712,000							$475,580,000	$190,978,000
TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cost of acquired entity, cash payment	375,000,000
Business combination, acquisition related costs			2,200,000
Business Combination, Purchase Price Allocation [Abstract]
Cash and cash equivalents	34,576,000
Receivables, net	12,243,000
Inventory	66,000
Prepaid expenses	601,000
Property and equipment, net	3,360,000
Intangible assets, net	144,400,000
Goodwill	221,575,000
Total assets acquired	416,821,000
Accounts payable	2,236,000
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	2,896,000
Current portion of unearned revenue	24,014,000
Current tax liability	13,914,000
Long-term portion of unearned revenue	2,037,000
Net assets acquired	371,724,000
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information [Abstract]
Total revenues		541,273,000
Net income attributable to Heartland		17,503,000
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)		$0.48
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)		$0.46
TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. [Member] | Term Credit Facility [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt instrument, term	5 years
Maximum borrowing capacity	375,000,000
MCS Software [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cost of acquired entity, cash payment				17,300,000
Business combination, net tangible assets (liabilities)				-300,000
Business Combination, Purchase Price Allocation [Abstract]
Intangible assets, net				6,400,000
Goodwill				11,200,000
Payroll 1 [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cost of acquired entity, cash payment					30,000,000
Business combination, net tangible assets (liabilities)					-3,600,000
Business Combination, Purchase Price Allocation [Abstract]
Intangible assets, net					12,500,000
Goodwill					21,900,000
Dinerware [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cost of acquired entity, cash payment						15,000,000
Business combination, net tangible assets (liabilities)						-500,000
Business Combination, Purchase Price Allocation [Abstract]
Intangible assets, net						2,600,000
Goodwill						13,100,000
pcAmerica [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cost of acquired entity, cash payment							15,000,000
Business combination, net tangible assets (liabilities)							-1,300,000
Business Combination, Purchase Price Allocation [Abstract]
Intangible assets, net							1,500,000
Goodwill							14,800,000
Xpient [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cost of acquired entity, cash payment								30,000,000
Business combination, net tangible assets (liabilities)								4,100,000
Business Combination, Purchase Price Allocation [Abstract]
Intangible assets, net								9,500,000
Goodwill								20,400,000
Liquor Point of Sale [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cost of acquired entity, cash payment									3,300,000
Business combination, net tangible assets (liabilities)									-100,000
Business Combination, Purchase Price Allocation [Abstract]
Intangible assets, net									1,200,000
Goodwill									$2,200,000

Acquisitions_Weighted_Average_

Acquisitions (Weighted Average Amortization Lives) (Details)	0 Months Ended
	Sep. 04, 2014	Apr. 01, 2014	Feb. 27, 2015	Feb. 11, 2015	Jan. 30, 2015	Oct. 31, 2014	Feb. 14, 2014
TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets	18 years
TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. [Member] | Customer Relationships [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets	20 years
TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. [Member] | Software [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets	15 years
TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. [Member] | Trademarks [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets	5 years
TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. [Member] | Noncompete Agreements [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets	5 years
MCS Software [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets		11 years
MCS Software [Member] | Customer Relationships [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets		14 years
MCS Software [Member] | Software [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets		5 years
MCS Software [Member] | Noncompete Agreements [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets		5 years
Payroll 1 [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets			11 years
Payroll 1 [Member] | Customer Relationships [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets			13 years
Payroll 1 [Member] | Software [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets			6 years
Payroll 1 [Member] | Noncompete Agreements [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets			5 years
Dinerware [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets				13 years
Dinerware [Member] | Customer Relationships [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets				17 years
Dinerware [Member] | Software [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets				5 years
Dinerware [Member] | Trademarks [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets				5 years
Dinerware [Member] | Noncompete Agreements [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets				3 years
pcAmerica [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets					13 years
pcAmerica [Member] | Customer Relationships [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets					20 years
pcAmerica [Member] | Software [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets					5 years
pcAmerica [Member] | Trademarks [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets					5 years
pcAmerica [Member] | Noncompete Agreements [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets					5 years
Xpient [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets						14 years
Xpient [Member] | Customer Relationships [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets						10 years
Xpient [Member] | Software [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets						21 years
Xpient [Member] | Trademarks [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets						5 years
Xpient [Member] | Noncompete Agreements [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets						3 years
Liquor Point of Sale [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets							9 years
Liquor Point of Sale [Member] | Customer Relationships [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets							10 years
Liquor Point of Sale [Member] | Software [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets							7 years
Liquor Point of Sale [Member] | Noncompete Agreements [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets							5 years
Liquor Point of Sale [Member] | Patents [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization life, finite-lived intangible assets							5 years

Receivables_Schedule_of_Accoun

Receivables (Schedule of Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable) (Details) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total receivables, gross	$240,592,000	$235,656,000
Less allowance for doubtful accounts	-1,340,000	-1,552,000
Total receivables, net	239,252,000	234,104,000
Due from employees	2,400,000	1,600,000
Accounts receivable from merchants [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total receivables, gross	207,758,000	200,912,000
Receivables from bankcard networks [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total receivables, gross	28,334,000	31,279,000
Accounts receivable from others [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total receivables, gross	$4,500,000	$3,465,000

Receivables_Summary_of_Allowan

Receivables (Summary of Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Receivables) (Details) (Allowance for Doubtful Accounts [Member], USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts [Member]
Movement in Valuation Allowances and Reserves [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	$1,552	$1,032
Additions to allowance	714	337
Charges against allowance	-926	-212
Ending balance	$1,340	$1,157

Funds_Held_for_Customers_and_I2

Funds Held for Customers and Investments (Funds Held for Payroll Customers and Investments) (Details) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Funds Held for Payroll Customers:
Cost	$210,166	$176,557
Gross Unrealized Gains	4	2
Gross Unrealized Losses	-48	-67
Estimated Fair Value	210,122	176,492
Conservative income bond fund [Member]
Funds Held for Payroll Customers:
Cost	13,012	13,012
Gross Unrealized Gains	0	0
Gross Unrealized Losses	-16	-16
Estimated Fair Value	12,996	12,996
Fixed income - municipal bonds [Member]
Funds Held for Payroll Customers:
Cost	14,559	14,688
Gross Unrealized Gains	4	2
Gross Unrealized Losses	-32	-51
Estimated Fair Value	14,531	14,639
Cash [Member]
Funds Held for Payroll Customers:
Cost	182,595	148,857
Gross Unrealized Gains	0	0
Gross Unrealized Losses	0	0
Estimated Fair Value	$182,595	$148,857

Funds_Held_for_Customers_and_I3

Funds Held for Customers and Investments (Expected Maturity) (Details) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Fixed-income - Municipal Bonds, Expected Maturities [Abstract]
Cost	$210,166	$176,557
Estimated Fair Value	210,122	176,492
Fixed income - municipal bonds [Member]
Fixed-income - Municipal Bonds, Expected Maturities [Abstract]
Cost	14,559
Fixed income - municipal bonds - available for sale cost, Less Than 1 Year	1,348
Fixed income - municipal bonds - available for sale cost, 1 to 5 Years	13,211
Fixed income - municipal bonds - available for sale cost, 5 to 10 Years	0
Estimated Fair Value	14,531
Fixed income - municipal bonds - available for sale estimated fair value, Less Than 1 Year	1,349
Fixed income - municipal bonds - available for sale estimated fair value, 1 to 5 Years	13,182
Fixed income - municipal bonds - available for sale estimated fair value, 5 to 10 Years	$0

Capitalized_Customer_Acquisiti2

Capitalized Customer Acquisition Costs, Net (Capitalized Customer Acquisition Costs Net) (Details) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Capitalized Customer Acquisition Costs, Net [Abstract]
Capitalized signing bonuses	$101,726	$98,879
Less accumulated amortization	-48,369	-47,238
Capitalized signing bonuses, net	53,357	51,641
Capitalized customer deferred acquisition costs	56,153	54,583
Less accumulated amortization	-34,414	-33,117
Capitalized customer deferred acquisition costs, net	21,739	21,466
Capitalized customer acquisition costs, net	$75,096	$73,107	$62,628	$61,027

Capitalized_Customer_Acquisiti3

Capitalized Customer Acquisition Costs, Net (Capitalized Customer Acquisition Activity) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Capitalized Customer Acquisition Costs, Net [Roll Forward]
Balance at beginning of period	$73,107,000	$61,027,000
Capitalized signing bonuses, net	10,041,000	8,055,000
Capitalized customer deferred acquisition costs	6,103,000	5,531,000
Capitalized customer acquisition costs, additions	16,144,000	13,586,000
Capitalized signing bonuses, net	-8,325,000	-7,130,000
Capitalized customer deferred acquisition costs	-5,830,000	-4,855,000
Capitalized customer acquisition costs, amortization expense	-14,155,000	-11,985,000
Balance at end of period	75,096,000	62,628,000
Signing bonus adjustments from estimated amounts to actual	-1,100,000	-1,000,000
Write-off of fully amortized signing bonuses	7,200,000	6,400,000
Write-off of fully amortized customer deferred acquisition costs	4,500,000	3,500,000
Impairment of capitalized customer acquisition costs	$0

Intangible_Assets_and_Goodwill2

Intangible Assets and Goodwill (Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets by Major Class) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014
Finite Lived Assets:
Gross Assets	$250,877,000		$234,263,000
Accumulated Amortization	46,621,000		41,710,000
Net Asset	204,256,000		192,553,000
Finite-lived intangible assets, amortization expense	4,900,000	2,300,000
Goodwill, impairment charges			18,500,000
Intangible assets, impairment charges			18,900,000
Customer Relationships [Member]
Finite Lived Assets:
Gross Assets	171,983,000		159,925,000
Accumulated Amortization	25,029,000		22,011,000
Net Asset	146,954,000		137,914,000
Customer Relationships [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Finite Lived Assets:
Amortization life and method, useful life	6 years		6 years
Customer Relationships [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Finite Lived Assets:
Amortization life and method, useful life	21 years		21 years
Merchant Portfolios [Member]
Finite Lived Assets:
Gross Assets	4,214,000		4,214,000
Accumulated Amortization	3,264,000		3,161,000
Net Asset	950,000		1,053,000
Merchant Portfolios [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Finite Lived Assets:
Amortization life and method, useful life	7 years		7 years
Software [Member]
Finite Lived Assets:
Gross Assets	62,421,000		58,377,000
Accumulated Amortization	14,505,000		13,300,000
Net Asset	47,916,000		45,077,000
Software [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Finite Lived Assets:
Amortization life and method, useful life	3 years		1 year
Software [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Finite Lived Assets:
Amortization life and method, useful life	15 years		15 years
Noncompete Agreements [Member]
Finite Lived Assets:
Gross Assets	6,183,000		5,947,000
Accumulated Amortization	3,119,000		2,830,000
Net Asset	3,064,000		3,117,000
Noncompete Agreements [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Finite Lived Assets:
Amortization life and method, useful life	3 years
Noncompete Agreements [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Finite Lived Assets:
Amortization life and method, useful life	5 years		5 years
Other [Member]
Finite Lived Assets:
Gross Assets	6,076,000		5,800,000
Accumulated Amortization	704,000		408,000
Net Asset	$5,372,000		$5,392,000
Other [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Finite Lived Assets:
Amortization life and method, useful life	5 years		5 years
Other [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Finite Lived Assets:
Amortization life and method, useful life	9 years		9 years

Intangible_Assets_and_Goodwill3

Intangible Assets and Goodwill (Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Future Amortization Expense) (Details) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Future Amortization Expense [Abstract]
2015	$19,660
2016	18,522
2017	16,984
2018	15,368
2019	13,644
Thereafter	120,078
Net Asset	$204,256	$192,553

Intangible_Assets_and_Goodwill4

Intangible Assets and Goodwill (Schedule of Goodwill) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	$425,712	$190,978
Goodwill acquired during the period	49,842	2,247
Other	26	-2,080
Ending balance	475,580	191,145
Payment Processing [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	43,701	43,701
Goodwill acquired during the period	0	0
Other	0	0
Ending balance	43,701	43,701
Campus Solutions [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	257,337	35,789
Goodwill acquired during the period	0	0
Other	26	0
Ending balance	257,363	35,789
Heartland School Solutions [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	64,522	53,350
Goodwill acquired during the period	0	0
Other	0	0
Ending balance	64,522	53,350
Heartland Payroll Solutions [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	31,018	31,018
Goodwill acquired during the period	21,915	0
Other	0	0
Ending balance	52,933	31,018
Leaf [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	0	20,619
Goodwill acquired during the period	0	0
Other	0	-2,080
Ending balance	0	18,539
Other [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	29,134	6,501
Goodwill acquired during the period	27,927	2,247
Other	0	0
Ending balance	$57,061	$8,748

Intangible_Assets_and_Goodwill5

Intangible Assets and Goodwill (Goodwill by Segment) (Details)	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Payment Processing [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Portion of total assets that are goodwill	7.90%	8.20%
Campus Solutions [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Portion of total assets that are goodwill	53.90%	49.10%
Heartland School Solutions [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Portion of total assets that are goodwill	79.00%	70.30%
Heartland Payroll Solutions [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Portion of total assets that are goodwill	20.20%	16.20%
Leaf [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Portion of total assets that are goodwill	0.00%	51.10%
Other [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Portion of total assets that are goodwill	58.20%	40.80%

Processing_Liabilities_Details

Processing Liabilities (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		4 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Processing Liabilities and Loss Reserves [Line Items]
Processing liabilities and loss reserves	$108,649,000		$108,649,000	$119,398,000
SME [Member]
Processing Liabilities and Loss Reserves [Line Items]
Chargebacks, card brand networks, period	4 months
Processing volume	20,800,000,000	18,000,000,000	28,100,000,000	27,800,000,000
Bank chargebacks			15,800,000	16,000,000
Merchant credit losses	1,100,000	600,000
Merchant losses - basis points	0.53%	0.35%
Merchant Bankcard Processing [Member]
Processing Liabilities and Loss Reserves [Line Items]
Processing liabilities and loss reserves	101,035,000		101,035,000	109,361,000
Merchant Deposits [Member]
Processing Liabilities and Loss Reserves [Line Items]
Processing liabilities and loss reserves	5,766,000		5,766,000	6,655,000
Loss Reserves [Member]
Processing Liabilities and Loss Reserves [Line Items]
Processing liabilities and loss reserves	$1,848,000		$1,848,000	$3,382,000

Processing_Liabilities_Schedul

Processing Liabilities (Schedule Of Credit And Fraud Loss Reserve) (Details) (Loss Reserves [Member], USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Movement in Valuation Allowances and Reserves [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	$3,382	$1,505
Additions to reserve	869	866
Charges against reserve	-2,403	-699
Ending balance	1,848	1,672
Payroll [Member]
Valuation and Qualifying Accounts Disclosure [Line Items]
Loss reserve, recoveries	29
Movement in Valuation Allowances and Reserves [Roll Forward]
Charges against reserve		($77)

Accrued_Buyout_Liability_Summa

Accrued Buyout Liability (Summary of Accrued Buyout Liability) (Details) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Accrued Buyout Liability [Line Items]
Accrued Buyout Liability Total	$46,482,000	$47,993,000	$41,300,000	$39,379,000
Less current portion	-16,159,000	-15,023,000
Long-term portion of accrued buyout liability	30,323,000	32,970,000
Estimated vesting percentage, Relationship Managers and sales managers	31.00%
Hypothetical increase to vesting percentage, Relationship Managers and sales managers	5.00%
Hypothetical vesting percentage, Relationship Managers and sales managers	36.00%
Hypothetical increase to accrued buyout liability	200,000	200,000
Accrued Buyout Liability [Member]
Accrued Buyout Liability [Line Items]
Accrued Buyout Liability Total	46,482,000	47,993,000
Less current portion	-16,159,000	-15,023,000
Long-term portion of accrued buyout liability	30,323,000	32,970,000
Accrued Buyout Liability [Member] | Vested Relationship Managers and sales managers [Member]
Accrued Buyout Liability [Line Items]
Accrued Buyout Liability Total	44,813,000	46,301,000
Accrued Buyout Liability [Member] | Unvested Relationship Managers and sales managers [Member]
Accrued Buyout Liability [Line Items]
Accrued Buyout Liability Total	$1,669,000	$1,692,000

Accrued_Buyout_Liability_Summa1

Accrued Buyout Liability (Summary of Activity in Accrued Buyout Liability) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Accrued Buyout Liability [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	$47,993	$39,379
Increase in settlement obligation, net	5,996	3,796
Buyouts	-7,507	-1,875
Ending balance	$46,482	$41,300

Credit_Facilities_Schedule_of_

Credit Facilities (Schedule of Maturities of Long-term Debt) (Details) (USD $)	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	7 Months Ended
	Sep. 04, 2014	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Line of Credit Facility
Long-term debt, outstanding				$365,600,000
Credit agreement, description of variable rate periods		interest rates equal to one, two, three or six month adjusted LIBOR rates
Credit agreement, weighted average interest rate		2.30%	2.30%
Debt fees and direct costs	3,500,000		5,800,000
Federal Funds Rate [Member]
Line of Credit Facility
Credit agreement, basis spread on variable rate		0.50%
LIBOR [Member]
Line of Credit Facility
Credit agreement, description of variable rate periods		LIBOR
Credit agreement, basis spread on variable rate		1.00%
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Line of Credit Facility
Credit agreement, amount outstanding		223,500,000	223,500,000	189,500,000
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member]
Line of Credit Facility
Credit agreement, amount outstanding		223,500,000	223,500,000	189,500,000
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member]
Line of Credit Facility
Credit agreement, amount outstanding		223,500,000	223,500,000	189,500,000
Term Credit Facility [Member] | Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member]
Line of Credit Facility
Credit agreement, amount outstanding		365,625,000	365,625,000	370,312,000
Term Credit Facility [Member] | Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member]
Line of Credit Facility
Credit agreement, amount outstanding		365,625,000	365,625,000	370,312,000
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Line of Credit Facility
Maximum borrowing capacity	400,000,000	150,000,000	150,000,000
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Letter of Credit [Member]
Line of Credit Facility
Maximum borrowing capacity	35,000,000
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Swing Line Loans [Member]
Line of Credit Facility
Maximum borrowing capacity	35,000,000
Term Credit Facility [Member] | Repayment Period One [Member]
Line of Credit Facility
Debt instrument, principal repayment percentage	5.00%
Debt instrument, term	3 years
Term Credit Facility [Member] | Repayment Period Two [Member]
Line of Credit Facility
Debt instrument, principal repayment percentage	7.50%
Term Credit Facility [Member] | Repayment Period Three [Member]
Line of Credit Facility
Debt instrument, principal repayment percentage	10.00%
TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. [Member] | Term Credit Facility [Member]
Line of Credit Facility
Maximum borrowing capacity	$375,000,000
Debt instrument, term	5 years

Commitments_and_Contingencies_1

Commitments and Contingencies (Schedule of Future Minimum Rental Payments for Operating Leases) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
	capital_lease
Operating Leases, Future Minimum Payments Due, Fiscal Year Maturity [Abstract]
2016	$15,800,000
2017	12,368,000
2018	9,952,000
2019	8,899,000
2020	6,366,000
Thereafter	27,227,000
Total future minimum lease payments	80,612,000
Leases, Operating [Abstract]
Number of capital leases	0
Rent expense, leased facilities and expense	$5,900,000	$2,600,000
Maximum [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Term of operating lease agreement	12 years

Commitments_and_Contingencies_2

Commitments and Contingencies (Schedule of Contractual Obligations) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Contractual Obligation Commitments [Line Items]
Severance pay	$600,000
Other significant contractual obligations:
Total		682,508,000
Less than 1 year		42,240,000
1 to 3 Years		71,932,000
3 to 5 years		541,109,000
More than 5 years		27,227,000
Principal Amount Outstanding on Loans Securitized or Asset-backed Financing Arrangement		23,000,000
Interest Rate Swap [Member]
Contractual Obligation Commitments [Line Items]
Derivative, notional amount		11,250,000	15,000,000
Processing Providers [Member]
Other significant contractual obligations:
Total		3,823,000
Less than 1 year		3,823,000
1 to 3 Years		0
3 to 5 years		0
More than 5 years		0
Telecommunications Providers [Member]
Other significant contractual obligations:
Total		8,857,000
Less than 1 year		3,825,000
1 to 3 Years		5,032,000
3 to 5 years		0
More than 5 years		0
Facility and equipment leases [Member]
Other significant contractual obligations:
Total		80,612,000
Less than 1 year		15,800,000
1 to 3 Years		22,320,000
3 to 5 years		15,265,000
More than 5 years		27,227,000
Term Credit Facility [Member]
Other significant contractual obligations:
Total		365,625,000
Less than 1 year		18,750,000
1 to 3 Years		44,531,000
3 to 5 years		302,344,000
More than 5 years		0
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Other significant contractual obligations:
Total		223,500,000
Less than 1 year		0
1 to 3 Years		0
3 to 5 years		223,500,000
More than 5 years		0
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Interest Payments Including Net Settlements On Interest Rate Swaps [Member]
Other significant contractual obligations:
Less than 1 year		200,000
Capital Lease Obligations [Member]
Other significant contractual obligations:
Total		91,000
Less than 1 year		42,000
1 to 3 Years		49,000
3 to 5 years		0
More than 5 years		0
Minimum [Member]
Contractual Obligation Commitments [Line Items]
Severance pay, term		1 year
Maximum [Member]
Contractual Obligation Commitments [Line Items]
Severance pay, term		2 years

Segments_Schedule_of_Segment_R

Segments (Schedule of Segment Reporting Information, by Segment) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014
	segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of reportable segments	6
Revenues	$602,459	$523,283
Depreciation and amortization	14,652	9,864
Income (loss) from operations	29,762	26,362
Interest expense	3,647	1,050
Net income	17,238	14,912
Total assets	1,474,961	931,284	1,387,773
Payment Processing [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	524,612	475,011
Depreciation and amortization	8,169	7,116
Income (loss) from operations	25,368	25,981
Interest expense	1,366	1,050
Net income	14,734	15,056
Total assets	553,807	533,331
Campus Solutions [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Restricted funds, percent of total assets	7.00%	23.00%
Revenues	33,062	13,318
Depreciation and amortization	3,301	626
Income (loss) from operations	8,238	2,921
Interest expense	1,936	0
Net income	3,950	2,372
Total assets	477,545	72,916
Heartland School Solutions [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	15,083	14,501
Depreciation and amortization	1,102	508
Income (loss) from operations	6,113	3,426
Net income	4,027	2,107
Total assets	81,724	75,908
Heartland Payroll Solutions [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Restricted funds, percent of total assets	67.00%	72.00%
Revenues	17,196	14,217
Depreciation and amortization	910	846
Income (loss) from operations	2,447	3,866
Interest expense	58	0
Net income	1,505	2,343
Total assets	262,630	191,423
Leaf [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Income (loss) from operations	-3,522	-2,704
Net income	-928	-2,625
Total assets	1,132	36,249
Other [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	12,506	6,236
Depreciation and amortization	1,031	651
Income (loss) from operations	-508	336
Interest expense	287	0
Net income	-533	74
Total assets	98,123	21,457
Unallocated corporate administration amounts [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Depreciation and amortization	139	117
Income (loss) from operations	-8,374	-7,464
Net income	($5,517)	($4,415)

Earnings_Per_Share_Schedule_of

Earnings Per Share (Schedule of Calculation of Numerator and Denominator in Earnings Per Share) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Basic:
Net income attributable to Heartland	$17,238	$15,740
Diluted:
Basic weighted average common stock outstanding (in shares)	36,432	36,731
Stock options and restricted share units (in shares)	678	1,004
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding (in shares)	37,110	37,735
Basic (in dollars per share)	$0.47	$0.43
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$0.46	$0.42

Fair_Value_of_Financial_Instru2

Fair Value of Financial Instruments (Schedule of Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Fair value measurement, transfers between Level 1 and Level 2	$0
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Liabilities:
Credit facility	223,500,000	189,500,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member]
Assets:
Total assets	27,527,000	27,635,000
Liabilities:
Total liabilities	75,000	126,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Interest Rate Swap [Member]
Liabilities:
Interest rate swaps	75,000	126,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Conservative income bond fund [Member]
Assets:
Investments available for sale	12,996,000	12,996,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Fixed income - municipal bonds [Member]
Assets:
Investments available for sale	14,531,000	14,639,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Assets:
Total assets	27,527,000	27,635,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Level 1 [Member] | Conservative income bond fund [Member]
Assets:
Investments available for sale	12,996,000	12,996,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Level 1 [Member] | Fixed income - municipal bonds [Member]
Assets:
Investments available for sale	14,531,000	14,639,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Liabilities:
Total liabilities	75,000	126,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Level 2 [Member] | Interest Rate Swap [Member]
Liabilities:
Interest rate swaps	75,000	126,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member]
Liabilities:
Total liabilities	589,216,000	559,914,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member] | Capital Lease Obligations [Member]
Liabilities:
Capital Lease Obligation	91,000	102,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member] | Term Credit Facility [Member]
Liabilities:
Credit facility	365,625,000	370,312,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member] | Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Liabilities:
Credit facility	223,500,000	189,500,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Liabilities:
Total liabilities	589,125,000	559,812,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member] | Level 2 [Member] | Term Credit Facility [Member]
Liabilities:
Credit facility	365,625,000	370,312,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member] | Level 2 [Member] | Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Liabilities:
Credit facility	223,500,000	189,500,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Liabilities:
Total liabilities	91,000	102,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member] | Level 3 [Member] | Capital Lease Obligations [Member]
Liabilities:
Capital Lease Obligation	$91,000	$102,000