👉 Note that this feature is only available with Stripe Payments, Bonsai Payments, or Paypal, not with other offline payment options.
With Bonsai's invoices, you have the ability to decide whether you or the client pays the payment processing fee on the invoices. You can set this either on individual invoices or for all of your invoices.
Updating Specific Individual Invoices
You can easily change who pays transaction fees for an invoice by turning the "Client Pays Fees" option on or off in the "Payments" section from the invoice sidebar menu.
Updating Defaults For All New Invoices
You can change it by going to your Invoice Settings and selecting the "Client will pay transaction fees on payments".
Note: This will also affect all Proposals/Contracts that require upfront payments. This means that any fees that are processed as a result of this setting being enabled will be included in the deposit collected by the client.
How are fees calculated when the client pays the fees?
When you opt to pass on transaction fees, these are added to the invoice total. This means your client pays a slightly higher amount to cover the fee, ensuring you receive the full invoiced amount. For instance, a $100 invoice paid by credit card would total $103.40 to cover the fee, leaving you with $100.
ACH payments incur a 1% processing fee added to the invoice amount.
Credit/debit card payments incur a processing fee of 3.1% + $0.30 added to the invoice amount.
Additional Information
Legal Considerations for Passing on Transaction Fees. In some jurisdictions, it's illegal to pass processing fees to your customers. It's crucial to understand and comply with these laws to avoid legal repercussions.
Scope of the Surcharge Ban Under PSD2. For those operating within Europe, PSD2 regulation restricts surcharging for both consumer (B2C) and business (B2B) transactions. Learn more about the surcharge ban.
Card Network Regulations. Card networks like Visa, Mastercard, and others may have their own set of rules regarding surcharges. Where the law allows, and if card network rules permit, surcharges can be itemized on invoices. Nonetheless, Bonsai advises consulting with a legal professional to navigate these rules confidently.
Foreign Exchange fees
Also, a quick note about possible foreign exchange fees on your invoices.
When you create an invoice, always watch out for the currency you're sending the invoice in. Your invoices will be charged a foreign exchange fee if the currency doesn't match your payment country's currency. You can learn more about the FX fees here.