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Set up and manage service charges
Set up and manage service charges
In this guide, you’ll learn how to set up service charges that are automatically applied at checkout to help cover additional business costs.
How service charges work
Service charges are extra fees you can add to cover additional costs, like extra product usage during a service. You can set them as a fixed amount or percentage, and choose to apply them automatically at checkout or manually to individual sales.
In some regions, such as the UK and EU, passing on processing fees to clients is not permitted. In the US, this is commonly passed on as a surcharge where rules may vary by state.
Set up service charges
- From the menu on the left of your screen, go to Settings.
- Click on the Sales category and then select Service charges from the left menu panel.
- Click on the Add button in the top right to create a new service charge.
- In the Add a service charge view, add the service charge name that will appear on invoices and a description under Basic info.
- Under Settings, choose whether the service will apply to the Full sale value or Selected item types, including services, products, gift cards, and memberships.
- Tick the checkbox next to Automatically apply during checkout if you want this charge added to sales by default.
- Under Rate type, choose a rate type from the following options:
- Flat rate to add a fixed amount.
- Percentage to apply a proportion of the item or total sale.
- Both to combine a fixed amount with a percentage-based fee.
- Under Tax rate, set a tax rate from your existing tax options.
- Click on the Add button in the top right to save the new service charge.
Based on your settings, the service charge will automatically apply to the selected items. You’ll also have the flexibility to add or remove it manually at checkout. It will appear clearly in the cart and on the client’s invoice. You can update service charges as needed following the same steps
Delete service charges
- Open your list of existing service charges from your Sales settings.
- Next to the relevant service charge, click on the Actions button and select Delete from the panel.
- Select Delete in the pop-up to confirm.
When deleting a service charge, any existing sales including the service charge won't be affected.
Manage 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.
- Open a new sale.
- In the bottom left of the cart, click the service charge listed in the item breakdown.
- In the pop-up make either of the following changes:
- Edit the service charge: Adjust the percentage or fixed rate and click Apply.
- Remove the service charge: Click the delete icon and select Yes, remove to confirm.
The cart total will update automatically to reflect the changes. Removing a service charge here only affects the current appointment, it won’t change your settings or other appointments.
Manually apply a service charge at checkout
During checkout, you can manually add a service charge from a list of the ones already created in your settings.
- Open a new sale.
- In the bottom left of the cart, click on Actions (three dots) and select Add service charge from the panel.
- Choose an existing service charge from the list in the pop-up to apply the service charge to the cart.
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 clients receipt.
FAQs
Yes, you can set different rates for each service charge, including flat rates, percentages, or a combination of both.
No, changes to a service charge will only apply to future transactions unless manually edited during checkout.
Yes, when creating or editing a service charge, you can uncheck the 'Automatically apply during checkout' box to prevent it from being applied automatically.
Service charges are not applied to payments made online by clients, including purchases of products, gift cards, memberships, or deposits.
You can track and review service charges using the Finance summary report, which gives a breakdown of all charges applied across your sales.
You can apply an extra fee for specific reasons beyond the standard service cost, this is known as a surcharge. It's important to check your local laws and regulations to ensure these charges are applied legally.