Xola supports four different fee structures:
- Flex Level, Guest Pays
- Flex Level, Company Pays
- Flex Standard, Guest Pays
- Flex Standard, Company Pays
This article addresses frequently asked questions about Flex Standard, Guest Pays -- where a 6% fee is assessed on Online (Website) Credit Card transactions and is attributed to your guest in checkout.
Note: Your Xola account must meet certain qualifications to be on this fee structure.
If you have any other questions please reach out to our Support Team at support@xola.com.
How much is the Service Fee?
The typical Service Fee is 6%.
The fee is assessed on top of your configured price. For example, if your experience has a price of $100, the final amount that the Guest is charged will be $106 ($100 + 6%).
Here is an example of what a purchase may look like to your Customer:
What is the Service Fee assessed on?
The Service Fee is assessed on the sub-total before taxes & fees.
This means the Service Fee will decrease if apply coupons or discounts to the reservation. Conversely, the Service Fee will increase if you have custom line items, add-ons, etc.
Who pays the Service Fee?
The Service Fee is paid by your guest.
Is the Service Fee assessed on all methods of payment (including cash)?
No. The Service Fee is only assessed on Online (Website) Credit Card Transactions.
How are the Service Fees collected for deposits and split payments?
Service Fees are collected on the total reservation amount at the time of purchase.
For example,
- You have a reservation for $100 with a Service Fee of $6 (total price = $106)
- Your guest makes a deposit or split payment of $20.
- The Service Fee will be $6 (Xola figures off the Total Reservation Amount before deposit)
- The customer will pay $26 for the deposit.
Will my guest see a Service Fee?
When the Service Fee is configured to be paid by the guest, only the guest sees the fee during the checkout process. They will also see the Service Fee on their confirmation email/receipts, reminder emails, etc.
Where do I see the Service Fee?
The company does not see the Service Fee in its reporting. The fee is shown during checkout as a Service Fee and is wholly attributed to the guest. The Company will, however, see a yellow asterisk next to any reservation where the Service Fee was paid by your guest. It is not shown in your reporting because this is money that is not going to your account. If we were to report on this your reports and payouts wouldn’t match and would have the potential to cause more confusion. However, we show it via the asterisk so you always know when a customer paid the fee. If the customer were to call you and say they are looking at a charge for a different amount, the asterisk is an indication of why those numbers vary.
Why do I see a Processing Fee but not a Service Fee?
The Processing Fee (or credit card fee) is paid by the company, not your guest, so it is shown in your reporting, much in the same way we show any taxes you configure so that you can know how to remit those accordingly. This allows you to reconcile your Xola payouts with the services you’ve rendered and have those match.
If the guest pays the Service Fee, it goes directly to Xola so it is not shown in your reports or they would not reconcile properly. If we were to report on this, your reports and payouts wouldn’t match and would have the potential to cause more confusion. However we show it via the asterisk referenced above so you always know when a guest paid the fee.
Can I customize how Service Fees are shown on checkout?
If the guest is paying the Service Fee, it will show in your checkout. You have two options to show this fee.
1. Show the Taxes and Fees as separate line items when hovered over:
2. Show Taxes and Fees as one simple line item, that combines them together:
You can configure whether the Service Fee is displayed separately or lumped with your other taxes and fees. See Checkout Preferences.
Will my guest get a refund of the Service Fee if an event is canceled?
If you cancel the reservation and issue a full refund to the customer, the service fee will also be refunded. The customer will see the refund as two separate payments on their statement: one for the refund for the reservation and one for the service fee since it is refunded separately from Stripe.