Processing Fees

When families pay by credit card or ACH, the payment processor charges a fee for handling the transaction. Campflow lets you pass these fees on to families so your camp receives the full payment amount.

How Fees Work

Each payment method in Campflow can have two types of fees:

• Percentage fee — A percentage of the payment amount (for example, 3%).
• Fixed fee — A flat dollar amount per transaction (for example, $0.30).

When a family makes a payment, Campflow calculates the total charge by working backwards from the amount your camp needs to receive. This is called the pass-through formula.

Example

If a family owes $1,000 and your credit card fees are 3% + $0.30:

• Campflow calculates: ($1,000 + $0.30) / (1 - 0.03) = $1,031.24
• The family is charged $1,031.24 total
• The processor takes their fee: ($1,031.24 x 3%) + $0.30 = $31.24
• Your camp receives exactly $1,000.00

This way, your camp always receives the intended payment amount. The fee is added on top and shown to the family as a separate line item before they confirm the payment.

Configuring Fees

Fees are set per payment method in your camp settings:

1. Go to the Settings page from the sidebar.
2. Open the Payment Methods section.
3. Click on the payment method you want to configure (for example, Credit Card).
4. Set the Fee percentage and Fee fixed amount.
5. Click Save.

Each payment method has its own fee settings, so you can have different fees for credit cards versus ACH, or no fees at all for check and cash payments.

What the Family Sees

When a family is making a payment and selects a method that has fees, they see:

• The base payment amount
• The processing fee (shown as a separate line)
• The total amount that will be charged

This preview appears before they submit, so there are no surprises.

Fee Settings per Payment Method

Here is how fees typically apply to each method:

Method	Typical Fee	Notes
Credit Card	3% + $0.30	Default rate for most camps
ACH (Bank Account)	Lower than cards	Often a flat fee or smaller percentage
Check	No fee	Recorded manually, no processing involved
Cash	No fee	Recorded manually
Zelle / Venmo	No fee	Peer-to-peer transfers, no processor

Your processing fees are set when you apply for payment processing through Campflow. The rates shown in your settings reflect your current fee structure.

Fees and Refunds

When you refund a payment that included processing fees, you can choose how to handle the fee:

• Effective refund — Refund only the base amount (what the family owed). The processing fee is not returned. This is the most common choice.
• Full refund — Refund the entire charged amount, including the processing fee. The family gets back everything they paid.

There is also an option to deduct a $0.30 refund processing fee from the refund amount. This covers the cost your processor charges for the refund transaction itself.

Good to Know

• Setting fees to zero means the family pays only the base amount and your camp absorbs the processing fee.
• Fees only apply to payment methods that actually process a charge (credit cards, ACH). Methods like check, cash, and Zelle do not have processor fees since no automated charge occurs.
• The fee calculation ensures your camp receives the exact amount owed, regardless of the fee structure. You never receive less than the payment amount because of processing costs.
• Fee settings apply to all payments going forward — changing fees does not affect payments that were already processed.