Adding Service Fees

Service fees let you add an additional charge per ticket. This can help cover payment processing costs, platform fees, or generate extra revenue for your events.

What Are Service Fees?

A service fee is an extra charge added to each ticket. For example:

• Ticket price: $25.00
• Service fee: $2.50
• Customer pays: $27.50

The fee appears as a separate line item so customers can see exactly what they’re paying.

Enabling Service Fees

Service fees must first be enabled site-wide before you can use them on your events.

Step 1: Enable in Plugin Settings

1. Go to Event Tickets → Settings in your WordPress admin
2. Find the Service Fees section
3. Toggle Enable Service Fees to on
4. Click Save

Step 2: Add Fee to Your Event

Once enabled site-wide, you can add fees to individual events:

1. Edit your event
2. Open the product/tickets field
3. Find the Service Fee section
4. Configure your fee (see options below)
5. Save your event

Fee Types

Fixed Amount

Charge the same fee regardless of ticket price:

• Example: $2.50 per ticket
• Best for: Consistent processing costs, simple pricing

Ticket	Price	Fee	Total
GA	$25.00	$2.50	$27.50
VIP	$75.00	$2.50	$77.50
Student	$15.00	$2.50	$17.50

Percentage

Charge a percentage of the ticket price:

• Example: 5% per ticket
• Best for: Scaling with ticket value, premium events

Ticket	Price	Fee (5%)	Total
GA	$25.00	$1.25	$26.25
VIP	$75.00	$3.75	$78.75
Student	$15.00	$0.75	$15.75

Configuring Your Fee

Fee Amount

Enter the fee value:

• For fixed: Enter the dollar amount (e.g., 2.50)
• For percentage: Enter the percentage (e.g., 5)

Fee Label

Customize what customers see:

• Default: “Service Fee”
• Examples:
  • “Booking Fee”
  • “Processing Fee”
  • “Platform Fee”
  • “Facility Fee”

Per Ticket vs. Per Order

Service fees are applied per ticket, not per order:

Order	Fee per Ticket	Total Fees
1 ticket	$2.50	$2.50
3 tickets	$2.50	$7.50
5 tickets	$2.50	$12.50

How Customers See Fees

In the Ticket Form

When customers select tickets, they see:

Order Summary
─────────────────────────
2x General Admission    $50.00
Service Fee (2x $2.50)   $5.00
─────────────────────────
Total                   $55.00

On the Receipt

After purchase, the receipt shows:

• Individual ticket prices
• Service fees as line item
• Total charged

Transparency

Being clear about fees builds trust:

• Fee appears before checkout
• Customers know the total upfront
• No surprise charges at payment

Where the Fee Goes

Service fees are credited to the event organizer (you):

• Fee is part of the order total
• Collected through your normal payment process
• Shows in your revenue reports

When to Use Service Fees

Good Use Cases

Cover payment processing:

Credit card processors charge 2.9% + $0.30. A small service fee can offset this:

• $2.00 fixed fee covers most transactions
• 3% percentage fee matches processor cost

Platform or venue fees:

If you pay fees to use a ticketing platform or venue:

• Pass some or all cost to ticket buyers
• Common in the event industry

Premium experience:

For events with extra services:

• Fee covers things like reserved seating systems
• Helps fund customer support

When to Skip Fees

Free events:

If tickets are free, adding fees may seem odd.

All-inclusive pricing:

Some prefer to build fees into ticket prices for cleaner numbers.

Competitive markets:

If similar events don’t charge fees, yours may seem more expensive.

Fee Strategies

Cover Processing Costs

Most payment processors charge around 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

For a $25 ticket:

• Processing cost: ~$1.03
• Service fee: $1.50 (covers cost with small margin)

Round Number Totals

Set fees so totals are clean numbers:

• Ticket: $23.00
• Fee: $2.00
• Total: $25.00 ← Nice round number

Tiered by Ticket Type

While fees are set per-event, consider your ticket mix:

• Lower-priced tickets: Fixed fee works better
• Higher-priced tickets: Percentage fee works better
• Mixed: Choose based on your most common ticket type

Displaying Fee Information

On Your Event Page

Consider adding text explaining fees:

“A small service fee is added to each ticket to cover booking and processing costs.”

In Your FAQ

Add a question about fees:

Why is there a service fee? The service fee helps cover payment processing and platform costs. It ensures we can continue providing a smooth ticket purchasing experience.

Troubleshooting

Service fee option not appearing

1. Go to Voxel Events → Settings
2. Make sure Enable Service Fees is on
3. Save settings
4. Refresh your event edit page

Fee not showing on ticket form

• Make sure you’ve added a fee amount in the event settings
• Check that the amount is greater than 0
• Verify you selected a fee type (fixed or percentage)
• Clear any caching plugins

Wrong fee amount showing

• Double-check your fee configuration
• Fixed = dollar amount (2.50 means $2.50)
• Percentage = percent value (5 means 5%)
• Make sure you selected the right fee type

Fee not appearing in order total

• Refresh the page
• Clear browser cache
• Check for JavaScript errors in browser console
• Contact support if issue persists

Legal Considerations

Service fees are common and legal, but consider:

Transparency

Always show fees before checkout. Hidden fees can:

• Violate consumer protection laws
• Damage your reputation
• Lead to chargebacks

Labeling

Use accurate labels:

• “Service Fee” is standard
• Don’t call it a “tax” unless it’s actually a tax
• Be honest about what the fee covers

Local Regulations

Some jurisdictions have rules about:

• Maximum fee percentages
• How fees must be disclosed
• Whether fees can be charged at all

Check your local regulations if unsure.