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Overview

When a customer pays via Stripe, processing fees are deducted before the funds reach your account. With the Payment Surcharge feature, you can pass some or all of those costs on to your customer by adding a percentage-based surcharge to each payment.

The surcharge is added as a separate line item on the Stripe checkout page and the customer's Stripe receipt, so it's completely transparent.

Enabling the Surcharge

Navigate to Settings → Integrations → Stripe and scroll down to the Payment Surcharge section. Turn on the slider to enable surcharges, then set your preferred percentage.

You can set this to whatever you like — it's entirely up to you. Stripe's processing fee varies by country and account type, so only you will know the exact rate you're being charged. A surcharge of around 2.75% is typically a good starting point, but you might choose to cover half the cost yourself and pass the other half to your customer, or recover the full amount.

Sales Tax on Surcharges

There's an option to apply sales tax to the surcharge. When enabled, the same sales tax rate from the order will be applied to the surcharge line item on the Stripe checkout.

Whether you should do this depends on your country's tax rules. In some jurisdictions, transaction fees are not subject to GST or VAT. Check with your accountant if you're unsure.

Refund Policy for Surcharges

You can choose whether to refund the surcharge when a payment is refunded. When enabled, a full refund includes the full surcharge, and a partial refund includes a proportionate share. When disabled, the surcharge is retained regardless of any refund.

If you choose not to refund surcharges, we recommend including this in your terms and conditions so customers are aware before making payment.

What the Customer Sees

When a customer clicks Pay Now on their quote, the button clearly shows the total amount including the surcharge — for example, "Pay $178.71 (includes $5.20 surcharge)".

On the Stripe checkout page, the surcharge appears as a separate line item so the customer can see exactly what they're paying for. After payment, their quote shows a breakdown:

• Amount paid — The quote amount applied to the order
• Processing fee — The surcharge that was added
• Total charged — The full amount charged to their card

The customer can also click through to Stripe to view and download an official receipt.

What You See

From the order view, click the Stripe button to open the payment panel. For each payment you'll see:

• Paid by customer — The total amount charged to the customer's card, including the surcharge
• Surcharge received — The surcharge amount you collected
• Stripe processing fee — The fee Stripe deducted, shown with the effective rate
• Puree platform fee — The small platform fee deducted
• Net payout — The amount deposited to your bank account

Requesting Additional Payments

If the order changes after payment — for example, the customer wants more items — you can request an additional payment from the Stripe panel. The surcharge is automatically calculated and applied to the new payment as well.

Accounting & Reconciliation

There are a few important things to be aware of when it comes to your accounting:

• Your Puree quote does not change — The quote total remains the original order amount. The surcharge is only added at the point of payment through Stripe.
• Invoices sent to Xero or QuickBooks reflect the quote total only — The surcharge and Stripe fees are not included in the invoice amount.
• Net proceeds from Stripe may differ from the invoice amount — Because of surcharges, processing fees, and platform fees, the amount deposited to your bank account will not exactly match the Puree invoice. You will need to make allowance for these differences when reconciling.

For example, on a $1,000 order with a 3% surcharge, the customer pays $1,030. After Stripe and Puree fees are deducted, you might receive around $995 in your bank account. Your Xero or QuickBooks invoice will show $1,000, so you'll need to account for the $5 difference when reconciling.