Processing fees help you recover the costs associated with credit card transactions. Using this feature, you can transparently add charges based on card payments, reducing financial overhead and maintaining clear customer communication. Processing fees apply exclusively to card payments and do not support other payment methods like bank transfers, checks, or point-of-sale (POS) payments.
This article explains how processing fees work, setup requirements, compliance considerations, and specific scenarios you might encounter. After following these instructions, you'll confidently manage and apply processing fees to invoices.
Important: Merchants can apply surcharges where permitted by federal and state laws. However, before charging fees, clear customer notification, such as prominent signage or explicit terms in agreements, is required.
Before you start
What are processing fees?
Depending on the payment method, processing fees may be different. Here are explanations of the different processing fees:
Automatic invoice fees:
Fees are generated:
If a card is added as a payment method and your preferred payment method is set to Auto.
If your preferred payment method is set to Card (regardless of whether you have a card added or not.
Fees are not generated:
If you don't have a card added as a payment method.
Manually generated invoices:
Fees are excluded from invoices when card details are missing or payment methods are not specified during invoice creation.
Fee calculation:
Processing fees are calculated based on the total invoice amount, regardless of the charged card type.
Adding payment details later:
If payment details are added after an invoice is generated but remain unpaid, the system will adjust processing fees based on the new payment method.
Disabling 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 cards.
Billing Lock Date:
If a billing lock date is activated, locked invoices cannot have fees added. Notifications are provided in the Admin Portal and via email when this situation arises.
Partial payments:
Fees depend on the first payment method used:
If the first payment is made with a credit card, fees will be added.
Subsequent payments made with a credit card will not add fees if the first payment used a non-card method.
Alternative payment methods:
Fees do not apply to alternative payment methods like PayPal or Hosted Payment Gateways.
Any existing fees are automatically removed.
Set up processing fees
To set up processing fees, follow these steps:
Go to Settings > Billing Settings > Billing Rules and find the We'll generate processing fees section.
Turn on Automatically to activate automatic fees added to credit card charges. Additional fields will appear for configuring automatic fee settings:
Plan – Select a plan that will be used as the template plan for processing fees. This allows you to specify the payment account with which you would like to have these fees associated. Learn how to add Billing Plans →
Fee – This section allows you to set a fee as a percentage (%) of the invoice charge. Four fields are available: Default, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Each one specifies a certain fee, depending on the type of card that is used for the payment. The Default fee will be used for any other cards or cards without a specified fee percentage.
Once the processing fees are set up:
The fees will apply to all previously created invoices that have not yet been paid.
The fees will automatically apply to all invoice payments processed after the processing fees have been set up.
These fees will also appear in the order summary.
FAQ: Processing Fees
What are processing fees?
What are processing fees?
Processing fees are additional charges applied automatically to credit card payments, helping you cover transaction costs associated with these payment methods.
Can I set different fees for different card types?
Can I set different fees for different card types?
Yes, you can specify different percentages for Visa, Mastercard, and American Express and set a default fee for other card types.
Are processing fees applied to all invoices?
Are processing fees applied to all invoices?
Processing fees apply only to invoices paid with credit cards. They are not added to invoices if no card details are provided or alternative payment methods are used.
What happens to processing fees if an invoice is partially paid?
What happens to processing fees if an invoice is partially paid?
Processing fees depend on the initial payment method. If the first payment is by credit card, fees apply. Subsequent credit card payments will not add fees if the first payment used another method.
What happens if I turn off the processing fees after using them?
What happens if I turn off the processing fees after using them?
Paid invoices: Fees paid via non-card methods will be removed.
Unpaid invoices: No new fees will be added to card payments.
Are there legal considerations for charging processing fees?
Are there legal considerations for charging processing fees?
Yes. Before applying these charges, ensure compliance with federal and state laws and clearly inform customers of processing fees through signage or agreement terms.
How are processing fees handled when a billing lock date is active?
How are processing fees handled when a billing lock date is active?
Additional fees cannot be applied to invoices that are locked due to a billing lock date. If this occurs, you will receive notifications via email and on the Admin Portal.