Booking Payment Fee Calculator
Enter your price and your card processing rate. The calculator shows the fee on each payment, what reaches your bank, and the price you would need to charge to keep the full amount.
Your numbers
Enter 0 to take the full price in one payment.
Presets are standard published rates. Check your processor and edit the figures to match your account.
Any extra percentage your booking software takes on top of the card processor.
Result
You keep
$145.05
$4.95 goes in fees, which is 3.3% of the price.
- Fee on deposit of $37.50
- $1.39
- Fee on balance of $112.50
- $3.56
- Total fees
- $4.95
- Price to charge to keep $150
- $155.10
Splitting the price into a deposit and a balance pays the fixed fee twice. That is the whole difference from a single payment.
Take deposits and balances in one flow
BookingMachine collects the deposit at booking and the balance on completion, through Stripe, with the payout going straight to your bank.
Why a deposit costs slightly more in fees
Card processors charge a percentage of each payment plus a small fixed fee. The percentage is the same however you split the price. The fixed fee is charged once per payment, so taking a deposit and a balance pays it twice.
On most jobs that second fixed fee is a few pence or cents, far less than the cost of a single no-show. It matters more on low-priced services, where a full payment up front is often the better choice.
Using the right rate
The presets are standard published rates for online card payments. Your own rate can differ: international cards, premium cards and some business types cost more, and high-volume accounts can negotiate less. Check your processor dashboard and edit the figures to match.
If your booking software adds its own fee on top of the processor, enter it in the platform fee field. It is charged on the whole price.
Questions
How are card processing fees calculated?
Most processors charge a percentage of the payment plus a fixed amount per transaction. On a 100 payment at 2.9% plus 0.30, the fee is 3.20 and you receive 96.80.
Can I pass card fees on to the customer?
Rules on surcharging vary. In the UK and the EU, surcharging consumer cards is generally not allowed. In the US it depends on the state and the card network rules. Raising your price to cover fees is allowed everywhere, which is what the "price to net your full amount" figure is for.
Is it cheaper to take full payment than a deposit?
Slightly, because the fixed part of the fee is paid once instead of twice. The difference is one fixed fee per booking. For most services the protection a deposit gives is worth more than that.
Are fees refunded if I refund the customer?
It depends on the processor. Many keep the original fee when you issue a refund. Check your processor terms, and take it into account when you decide how generous your refund window is.
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Take deposits and balances in one flow
BookingMachine collects the deposit at booking and the balance on completion, through Stripe, with the payout going straight to your bank.