Skip to main content
Share Feedback gettimely.com

How to use terminal card surcharging on the Timely web app

  • Updated

Surcharging is becoming a more common business practice, including within the beauty industry. Surcharging means you are passing on the card processing fees from the business to your client. It is usually only a small additional amount, but can add up to significant savings for the business over time. This is why Timely has built a surcharge feature!

In this article you will learn how to set up terminal card surcharging via the Timely web app. For more information on surcharging, see our help guide Frequently asked questions (FAQs): Surcharging. 

 

 

Important note: It is crucial to be aware of your local legislations, for example: On 28 July 2025, the New Zealand Government announced plans to ban payment surcharges. In anticipation of the ban taking effect and other upcoming changes in the payments system, there are resources available to support businesses. You can take a look at this article from the NZ Commerce Commission for more information.

 

 

How to turn on surcharging

Step-by-step instructions

1 Head to setup from the main menu in your Timely account dashboard, via the web app. Then navigate to the TimelyPay section.

 

2 Make sure to check that your terminal is connected to Timely by looking for a device connected to a location under the terminal management section.

 

3 Next, scroll down to the fees section where you will see the surcharge fees setting, from here select edit to expand the section.

 

4 Finally, choose the pass fee through to clients option, followed by the save button to enable surcharging. You will now see that surcharging has been enabled for your in-salon payments made through your TimelyPay terminal.

 

 

How to process a sale with a surcharge included

Step-by-step instructions

Now that you've enabled surcharging on your TimelyPay terminal, a surcharge will automatically be applied to the transaction total you enter in the checkout flow for any terminal payments. 
 

1 Simply add your services and products to the sale and the payment screen will show you the total excluding card processing fees, as well as what the total will be including card processing fees if the transaction is processed with your TimelyPay terminal.

 

2 Now you can select the take card payment button.

 

3 Here you can also see how much the surcharge value will be. Once you’re happy with the amount to charge the client, select the process payment button. This will connect to the terminal which will then beep and light up with the amount ready for the client to tap/swipe/insert their card.

 

Timely tip: if you need to adjust the amount for a partial payment, the total including fee will update to show you what amount the client will be charged.

 

4 Once the sale is complete, you will be able to see all the transactions for the sale on the left panel. Including the breakdown of the terminal card processing fee and the overall sales total including the fees. Both the invoice in Timely and the PDF invoice that is emailed to clients will display an extra row for the terminal card processing fee(s) along with a note that the fee is non-refundable

 

 

How to refund a sale where a surcharge occurred

If you need to refund a sale that has a surcharge, you will need to follow the usual refund process for a TimelyPay transaction. However, it is important to note that the amount refunded to your client will be the total exclusive of the surcharge amount. This is because the fee has already been used to cover the processing of the original sale. To find out more on refunding a TimelyPay terminal transaction, see the Refund section of the help centre.

 

 

How to remove a surcharge from a sale

Step-by-step instructions

If there is a situation where you would like to remove the surcharge from a sale and cover the fee (instead of passing it on to your client) then you will need to update this setting in the TimelyPay settings. To do this:

 

1 Head to setup from the main menu in your Timely account dashboard.

 

2 Click on the TimelyPay option from the dropdown menu, and scroll down to the fees section.

 

3 From here click the edit button in the pass through fees section.

 

4 Select the business covers the fee option. When you are ready, click save to apply your changes. Now your business will now have the surcharges feature switched off and will be covering the fees for any TimelyPay terminal transactions until the setting is updated again.

 

Timely tip: when you’re ready to switch the surcharges feature back on, repeat steps 1 and 2 then select the pass fee through to clients option, and then click save when you are ready to apply your changes. Now any TimelyPay terminal transactions will have the fee covered by the client

 

 

Viewing surcharges in your reports

When using surcharges, the amounts shown in the following reports will be the total including surcharges (surcharge inclusive). The TimelyPay transaction history report also now includes an additional surcharges column and total, making it easy to see at a glance how much you’ve covered in surcharges!

  • Daily transaction summary report
  • Cash-up summary report
  • Cash-up report
  • Cash-up detail report
  • TimelyPay transaction history report

Related articles