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How do I add a surcharge to a sale?

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How do I add the fee to the customers bill?

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Good news! We launched a 'Service Charge' feature in the US! Check out more information here

️ Isabelle | she/her
Seller Community & Super Seller Program Manager | Square, Inc.
Learn about the Super Seller program!

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Unless I'm missing something on this Monday morning, the workaround doesn't work for e-commerce options. 

 

For instance, the % fee + $.30 processing fee for API orders adds up to about 10% on an average coffee ring of $5. I could add a convenience tax of 10% to recapture most of those fees. The problem is the tax is applied at the register as well. So customers that come inside the store and order at the register would be charged unless staff physically removed the item from the sale. This is not an acceptable solution when running 40 customers through the register per hour. Staff will inconsistently remember to remove the tax and customer service issues will follow. 

 

I tried creating a rule to remove the tax but the only options are "for here" or "to go" this does not accurately represent e-commerce sales versus in-person sales. 

 

There must be a way to better manage this process. The pandemic has more than tripled our online and API (app) ordering. Increasing prices is not an option due to partner locations and the need for pricing consistency. So, we are left trying to figure out how to absorb nearly 10% higher cost on selling to customers we already have but choosing different ordering option.

Take care of yourself and, as life provides, someone else too.
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Great!  Thank you for the info.  Very helpful!

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I have noticed over that past several months many people in our area are starting to charge a Convenience Fee for using a Credit/Debit card.  This fee ranges anywhere from 2 to 5%.  Does anyone here do that?  is there a way to put that in the square system.  I have looked around and the only place I see to add a fee of sorts is the tax area.  Is there another place?

 

thank you

ColleenT

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Alumni

Hi @ColleenT - thanks for making your first post to the community! 🎉

Some sellers do add a surcharge to cover the cost of credit card processing. I moved your post to this thread so you can read tips and connect with other sellers that are applying surcharges to cover credit card processing. Make sure to check @Sean's post covering how to get started with applying surcharges

I hope this helps - let us know if you need anything else. 👍

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I would also like to know the easy way to add fees for credit cards.

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For the fee that square charges depending on how you run the card. How do you incorporate that into the payment?

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Square Community Moderator

Hi @Bruiser63

 

I've moved your post over to this existing thread. 

 

Check out the links and articles in the Best Answer and it should point you in the right direction. 

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Is there a setting I can set up to pass the fees back to the customer?

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Square Community Moderator

Hi @lscwood1

 

I've moved your post over to this existing thread, as it's a common question whenever sellers like yourself decide to accept credit cards for their business. 

 

Check out the Best Answer and the posts from your fellow sellers for some details around how to go about doing this. 

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I created an ITEM called 'Credit Card Surcharge' and I charge 50¢.

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What if you want to do a percentage????

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How do you add surcharge to Gift Cards when they pay with credit card?

Gift cards are not an item and can't be taxed.. 

so... theres no option to add the (cc surcharg)second tax...

 

 

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I need help adding transaction fees for my non-profit choir.   Should I add the percentage as a tax, a modifier on each item or another way.   I also need a way to add $.30 to each transaction for the online store.  Please dont just sent me to the transaction fee help section.  I've read it many times.  Thanks!

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Super Seller

first, in many states, it is illegal to pass the processing fee on to the end user so you will need to investigate that first.

 

if you can you would just add an item called item surcharge and take your total and multiply it by .0283 and 

If swiping the card for a $100 sale

use 2.83%

$100*1.0283=$102.83

Charge $102.83 and your fee from square will be $2.83 netting $100

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Thats perfect! 

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I created a Card Processing tax, but it doesn't show up as a separate tax, just lumps it into my sales tax.  How can I make this line item show up separately on checkout?

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Great info! How do you charge for the 15cents? Would I roll that into the cost of goods? Not fair that square takes a percentage on top of percentages though. Thanks!

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Hey @Ajera, Seans answer on the first page of this thread has an article on how to add a surcharge fee. 

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 I assume that you can't just add 0.8 percent to each of the transaction fees (there's different amounts for the different types of payments. 

 

For example, while it's 2.65% per credit tap, insert or swipe, and 10¢ per interac transaction, it's 3.4% + 15¢ for a keyed in transaction.. How would you add a surcharge that takes this last number into consideration? It's not 4.2% is it? Plus you can't add the extra 15 cents.. (It's not a huge deal if the number isn't perfect, but for bookkeeping in things like QuickBooks Online, you can't balance your bank with your QBO account when the numbers are all off

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Square Community Moderator

Hi @TheAsset

 

Many sellers use a third-party fee calculators helpful in understanding the amount to add as a surcharge. That's probably your best chance at accurate reporting. You can find these online or within the Apple App Store or Google Play.

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Hi there! 

 

Thanks for all of your help! I set mine up did exactly as you said... or at least I think! I'm still not fully understanding the math on one of my transactions & I'm hoping you can help! 

 

I charged a credit card $104.00 + 6.85% Utah Sales Tax + 2.83 Processing Charge & this is what it came out to:

 

Subtotal: $104.00

UT Sales Tax (6.85%) $7.12

Processing Fee (2.83%): $2.94

Total: $114.06

 

I set the processing fee up as a second tax, but it's only taxing the Subtotal, not the Subtotal + UT sales tax. Is that how it's supposed to work? My understanding was that Square charges you a fee on the TOTAL amount of your transaction, meaning that the processing fee would be based off:

 

$104.00 + $7.12 = $111.12

then: $111.12 x .0283 = $3.14 

Totaling: $111.12 + $3.14= 114.26

 

Am I totally missing something, or does Square NOT CHARGE off of the grand total. Any help would be greatly appreciated! 😄

 

Danielle

 

[Personal Information Redacted] 

 

 

 

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