Learn how to set up Smokeball Payments to pass on credit card processing fees to your clients when they pay an invoice or make a trust deposit.
To enable surcharging:
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Select the Settings (gear) icon on the bottom-left corner of the Smokeball Web App and open Firm Settings.
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Select Payment Provider from the left menu and navigate to the Card Surcharging section.
- Choose the toggles that are relevant for your firm:
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Request processing fee from client for invoice payments means the Smokeball Payments surcharge will be displayed and added to the total amount of a card payment on an invoice right before processing.
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Request processing fee from client for deposits and retainers means the Smokeball Payments surcharge will be displayed and added to the total amount of the trust deposit right before processing.
- Request processing fee from client for payment plans means the Smokeball Payments surcharge will be applied to each instalment on new and active payment plans you may have with your clients. As payment plan instalments are automatically deducted from the client's nominated credit card, you must ensure you have notified your clients of the surcharge before turning this on.
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Important Note regarding the GST component of surcharges and fees
The following fees are associated with Smokeball Payments:
- 1.85% Variable Transaction fee
- $1.85 Fixed Transaction fee
- GST component for both the Variable and Fixed Transaction fee
By default, the GST component of the transaction fees is charged to your firm’s account, so you can claim this GST amount as an input tax credit with the ATO.Â
However, we can also offer an alternative option where all fees are passed on to the payer at checkout, including the:
- Fixed transaction fee
- GST component of both the Variable and Fixed transaction fees
If you choose this option, all fees on your monthly Smokeball Payments invoice will be fully offset by the surcharging credits, resulting in no net fees payable by your firm. Under this configuration, clients will be surcharged:
- 2.035% Variable transaction fee (GST incl.)
- $2.035 Fixed transaction fee (GST incl.)
If your firm prefers not to claim the input tax credit and would like to pass the Variable fee, Fixed fee, and GST component directly to the payer, get in touch with our Support Team.