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Set up and manage service charges
Set up and manage service charges
Incorporate service charges to streamline checkout and ensure your business covers any additional costs effectively. Learn how to set up, manage, and apply service charges, making checkout a seamless experience.
Getting started
Before setting up service charges for your business, here are a couple of things you should do first:
- If you're a team member, make sure you request permission to access workspace settings.
- Take a look at the local laws about service charges in your country. For example, in the UK and across the EU, it's illegal to pass payment processing fees onto your clients.
How service charges work
Service charges are a built-in fee related to the service provided. This is a convenient way to cover additional costs, like transaction fees. You can easily add a flat fee or percentage to your services that gets automatically included at checkout. This helps cover costs without any hassle.
In some cases, you may choose to use this as an extra fee for specific reasons beyond the standard cost, this is known as a surcharge. It’s your responsibility to check your local laws and regulations to ensure you’re charging your clients lawfully.
You must check your local laws and regulations on service charges and surcharges as they are either regulated differently or prohibited. For instance, in the US, surcharges are regulated differently in each state.
Setting up service charges
You can set up default service charges that will automatically be calculated and applied based on your preferences, creating a smoother checkout experience.
- Desktop
- Mobile
To add a service charge:
- Open Workspace settings, select Sales then Service charges.
- Click Add to create a new service charge.
- Add the Basic info for the service charge, including a name that will appear on the receipt and an optional description for internal use.
- Under Settings, choose how you want to apply the service charge:
- Full sale value:
Apply the service charge to the total amount of the sale, including all services, products, gift cards, and memberships. - Only selected item type:
Apply the service charge only to specific item types in the sale, like services or products.
- Full sale value:
- Depending on your preference, check the box for the service charge to Automatically apply during checkout.
- Under Rate type, choose how you want to calculate the charge:
- Flat rate:
Enter a fixed amount that will be added to all items. - Percentage:
Specify a percentage that will be calculated based on the item’s value. You can apply this to either the total sale amount including taxes or the subtotal before taxes. - Both:
Enter a fixed amount that will be added to all items and a percentage that will be calculated based on the item’s value.
- Flat rate:
- If needed, set a Tax rate from the dropdown menu.
- Click Add.
To add a service charge:
- Open Workspace settings, select Sales and then Service charges.
- Tap Add (+) to create a new service charge.
- Add the Basic info for the service charge, including a name that will appear on the receipt and an optional description for internal use.
- Under Settings, choose how you want to apply the service charge:
- Full sale value:
Apply the service charge to the total amount of the sale, including all services, products, gift cards, and memberships. - Only selected item type:
Apply the service charge only to specific item types in the sale, like services or products.
- Full sale value:
- Depending on your preference, check the box for the service charge to Automatically apply during checkout.
- Under Rate type, choose how you want to calculate the charge:
- Flat rate:
Enter a fixed amount that will be added to all items. - Percentage:
Specify a percentage that will be calculated based on the item’s value. You can apply this to either the total sale amount including taxes or the subtotal before taxes. - Both:
Enter a fixed amount that will be added to all items and a percentage that will be calculated based on the item’s value.
- Flat rate:
- If needed, set a Tax rate from the dropdown menu.
- Tap Add.
Managing service charges
Easily manage your service charges through the workspace settings, including editing or deleting existing service charges as needed.
Edit service charges
- Desktop
- Mobile
To edit a service charge:
- Open Workspace settings, select Sales then Service charges.
- On the relevant service charge, click Actions and select Edit.
- Change the service charge details as needed.
- Click Save.
To edit a service charge:
- Open Workspace settings, select Sales and then Service charges.
- Next to the relevant service charge, tap Actions (the three dots) and select Edit.
- Change the service charge details as needed.
- Tap Save.
Delete service charges
When deleting a service charge, any existing sales including the service charge won't be affected.
- Desktop
- Mobile
To delete a service charge:
- Open Workspace settings, select Sales then Service charges.
- On the relevant service charge, click Actions and select Delete.
- Select Delete to reconfirm.
To delete a service charge:
- Open Workspace settings, select Sales and then Service charges.
- Next to the relevant service charge, tap Actions (the three dots) and select Delete.
- Select Delete to reconfirm.
Applying service charges
Applying service charges at checkout can be done automatically if set up in advance, or manually for specific transactions.
Editing automatic service charges at checkout
The service charge will automatically appear in the cart at checkout if you set it up to automatically apply under the settings.
- Desktop
- Mobile
To edit the service charge:
- Open a new sale or checkout an appointment in the Calendar.
- Click on the name of the service charge highlighted in the cart.
- Adjust the percentage and rate values as needed.
- Click Save.
To remove the service charge:
- Open a new sale or checkout an appointment.
- Click on trash can icon next to the highlighted service charge in the cart.
- Select Yes, remove to reconfirm.
To edit the service charge:
- Open a new sale or checkout an appointment in the Calendar.
- Tap on the name of the service charge highlighted in the cart.
- Adjust the percentage and rate values as needed.
- Tap Save.
To remove the service charge:
- Open a new sale or checkout an appointment.
- Tap on trash can icon next to the highlighted service charge in the cart.
- Select Yes, remove to reconfirm.
Manually applying a service charge at checkout
During checkout, you can manually add a service charge from a list of the ones already created in settings.
- Desktop
- Mobile
To manually apply a service charge at checkout:
- Open a new sale or checkout an appointment in the Calendar.
- Click Quick actions (the three dots) and select Add service charge.
- Choose an existing service charge from the list.
- Once the service charge is applied, you can continue with payment and complete the sale.
A breakdown of all service charges will appear on the invoice.
To manually apply a service charge at checkout:
- Open a new sale or checkout an appointment in the Calendar.
- Tap Quick actions (the three dots) and select Add service charge.
- Choose an existing service charge from the list.
- Once the service charge is applied, you can continue with payment and complete the sale.
A breakdown of all service charges will appear on the invoice.
Service charges are not applied to payments made online by clients, including products, gift cards, memberships, and deposits.
You can track and find insights for service charges through the Finance summary report.
FAQs
Can I set different rates for different service charges?
Will changes to a service charge apply to previous transactions?
How can I ensure a service charge is applied to only specific items?
Can I disable a service charge temporarily?