Credit card payments often include hidden transaction costs that can reduce your revenue if left untracked. Processing fees in OfficeRnD Flex are handled automatically by adding transparent, rule-based fees to invoices paid by card.
The system recalculates fees whenever members switch payment methods, make partial payments, or add card details after invoicing, ensuring each charge reflects the correct total.
This article will help you understand how processing fees are applied, recalculated, and removed in various billing scenarios so you can confidently interpret invoice behavior and troubleshoot fee discrepancies when they occur.
Before you start
Start with the basics. Read [Flex] Processing Fees for Credit Card Payments – Start Here for an overview of how this feature fits into your billing setup.
Set up processing fees first. Go to
Settings > Billing > Billing Rules, open the Fees tab, and click Activate Processing Fees.Confirm you have an active payment gateway connection. Fees only apply when card payments are processed through an active payment gateway such as Stripe or GoCardless.
Know your legal boundaries. In some regions, surcharges require visible notice or explicit consent in agreements. Always verify local laws before activating processing fees.
Check your billing lock settings. If a billing lock date is active, the system cannot add or update processing fees on locked invoices.
What you can achieve
In OfficeRnD Flex, automatic processing fees are dynamically updated when members change their payment method.
Using automatic processing fees solves the following problems:
An invoice has been generated with a processing fee, but the customer later decides to pay using a non-card method, such as a bank transfer or cash.
An invoice has been generated with a processing fee for a card type A with a configured percentage X, but the customer later pays with a card type B with a configured percentage Y.
An invoice has been generated without a processing fee, but the customer later adds their card details and pays the invoice using them.
How do processing fees work?
When an invoice is created, processing fees are automatically applied based on your configuration and the payment method associated with the invoice.
Processing fees are only applied to invoices paid via credit or debit cards.
If you have an active Stripe integration, you can remove debit card fees. To do that, go to Settings > Billing > Billing Rules, open the Fees tab, and select Remove processing fees for debit cards.
Processing fees are automatically generated through a system-created Billing Plan once an operator specifies the Revenue Account where they should be recorded. This configuration also determines whether fees are taxable or non-taxable, depending on the revenue account's tax settings.
Each invoice can include only one processing fee line item, regardless of the number or type of card payments used. In other words, there is always either a single processing fee line or none.
Default processing fee rules
Processing fees are determined by the Payment Method assigned to an invoice. This payment method can be manually selected or automatically applied based on the Company/Member Payment Method billing setting.
If the invoice has no specific payment method selected (i.e., it is set to empty or Auto), the following logic applies:
If the company/member has no saved cards, no processing fee is applied.
If the company/member has one or more saved cards, the processing fee is calculated based on the first card in their profile.
If the company/member has both a direct debit bank account and one or more cards, no processing fee is generated, as the platform assumes the invoice will be paid via direct debit.
If the invoice Payment Method is set to a credit card, the processing fee is calculated based on the first card saved in the company/member profile.
If a specific card is selected during manual payment, the selected card determines the percentage of the processing fee applied.
Processing fee rules for partial payments
When an invoice is expected to be paid by credit card, a processing fee is added during the invoice creation process.
Key takeaways from this section:
One processing fee per invoice.
Determined by the invoice location and the first card used.
Automatically adjusted or removed depending on the payment mix.
The following rules apply when partial payments, credit notes, or overpayments occur.
Before a credit card payment
If a credit note or an overpayment is applied, the processing fee is recalculated based on the remaining balance.
If both a credit note and an overpayment are applied, the processing fee is recalculated based on the remaining payable amount.
If a partial non-card payment (direct debit, bank transfer, cash, check, or POS) is applied, the processing fee is removed entirely.
If a credit note or overpayment is applied after a non-card payment, the processing fee remains removed.
If a credit card payment follows in one of the above use cases, a new processing fee is added, calculated based on the remaining balance of the invoice.
Mixed and sequential payments
First payment by credit card: The processing fee is generated based on the entire remaining balance (paid + unpaid). A future non-card payment, overpayment, or credit note allocation recalculates the processing fee based on the total of the amount paid by card plus the remaining amount due.
First payment by non-card method: No processing fee is added if none existed previously, or the existing processing fee is removed if one was generated. If a subsequent credit card payment is made, a new processing fee is calculated based on the current Amount Due.
If the invoice is paid in full via two or more credit card transactions, the processing fee remains unchanged and is based on the full invoice amount and the card type of the first payment.
If a non-card payment, credit note, or overpayment is applied after one or more credit card transactions, the original processing fee is recalculated based on the total of the amount paid by card plus the remaining amount due.
In a scenario with mixed payments - non-card and card payments:
If all credit card payments fail, the processing fee is removed, and the payment amount is adjusted to reflect the total without the processing fee.
If only one of multiple credit card payments fails, the originally calculated processing fee amount remains unchanged and should be calculated based on the total amount paid by card plus the remaining amount due.
In all partial payment scenarios, the first credit card payment determines the percentage of the processing fee.
Processing fees for automatically generated invoices
Depending on the payment method, processing fees may be different. In the case of automatically generated invoices, processing fees are not applied to members and companies that don't have a card added as a payment method.
Processing fees are applied to them only if:
A card is added as a payment method, and your preferred payment method is set to Auto.
Your preferred payment method is set to Card (regardless of whether a card has been added or not).
Processing fees for manually generated invoices
For manually generated invoices, fees are excluded from invoices when card details are missing or payment methods are not specified during the invoice creation process.
Order of precedence for location-specific processing fees
You can override the default processing fee settings and define location-specific rates for each card type. Set up location-specific processing fees →
Each invoice has a location, and so do its line items. However, processing fees are determined by the invoice location, not the line items.
The platform checks the invoice location.
It then looks for a location-specific processing fee configuration.
If found, that configuration is applied.
If not, the default processing fee settings are used.
Specific scenarios
Here are some specific scenarios and how processing fees will be applied in them.
Adding payment details later
If payment details are added after an invoice is generated but remains unpaid, the system will adjust processing fees based on the new payment method.
Turning off processing fees
If you turn off the processing fees feature but have used it for a while, previously added fees will be handled as follows:
Paid invoices: Fees paid using non-card methods are removed.
Unpaid invoices: No fees will be added when paying with a card.
Billing lock date impact
If a billing lock date is activated, locked invoices cannot have fees added to them. You will see a warning message in the Admin Portal, and an email notification will be sent to the financial email address configured in your organization.
Alternative payment methods
Fees do not apply to alternative payment methods, such as PayPal or Hosted Payment Gateways.
Any existing fees are automatically removed.
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