Booking fees allow you to apply a consistent fee to all bookings, keeping pricing clear and transparent for customers. With Bookwhen, you can set a fee that applies to all payment methods, helping ensure compliance with local regulations around surcharging and pricing transparency.
This article explains how to set up and manage booking fees for your events.
How to add fees to your bookings
To add fees to your bookings:
To open your payment settings, select Settings, then Payments from the left-hand menu on your account.
Select Edit in the Booking fees section:
Tick the Add a booking fee checkbox:
Enter the fee details:
Fixed fee: A set amount (£x) per booking.
Percentage fee: A percentage of the booking cost added alongside the fixed fee (x%).
Select Save to save your changes:
Review your settings
Check your booking fee and amount in the view panel on the Payments page:
No booking fee applied
Applies to all bookings: x% + £x
Booking fees do not apply to:
Pass tickets
Free, exclusive tickets
💡 You can update your fees anytime.
How the booking fee displays to customers during checkout
The booking fee appears on the public page, the basket page, and the payment page during checkout. For example:
Public page:
Basket:
Payment overview:
Waiving the booking fee for offline payments
✨ Team members with permission to make admin bookings can waive the offline fee. i.e. Account Owners, Schedule Managers, and Booking Admins.
If you have enabled booking fees on your account, the system will automatically apply them to each booking, regardless of payment type. However, you can opt to remove the fee for that specific booking when booking on behalf of a customer,
To do this:
Navigate to the Payment stage of the checkout:
Scroll down to the Offline payment section.
The Apply booking fee option is selected by default. To remove the fee, select Waive booking fee:
You can add any additional information and record the payment (if applicable). When ready, select Complete booking.
The booking confirmation page will then show a summary of the booking:
This is useful for situations such as:
Complimentary bookings
Adjustments or goodwill gestures
Special cases where the fee should not apply
Important info when waiving booking fees
The Total to be paid amount won’t be updated initially, but it will be correct after checkout:
If you select Yes to Record the payment now?, the Amount received will show the waived amount. i.e.:
💡 Please note:
You can’t waive the booking fee for completed bookings. This must be done by the admin user at the time of booking.
Removing the booking fee only affects that booking. Your default booking fee settings will remain unchanged for future bookings.
FAQs
Q: Do booking fees apply to free, no-cost or pass tickets?
A: No, booking fees only apply to paid tickets:
Q: Are booking fees applied to every recurring payment or only at registration?
A: Booking fees apply only to paid bookings. They are added when customers purchase a membership or any ticket that has a cost, including costed exclusive tickets. Booking fees do not apply when customers redeem free tickets.
Q: Why do I see a booking fee message when using a pass?
A: The booking page shows a booking fee message whenever a ticket has a price.
If a pass applies to the ticket, the price may still appear on the booking page. The pass applies once the ticket reaches the basket, which reduces the ticket price.
If the booking total becomes £0.00, Bookwhen does not charge a booking fee.
Q: Do the fees show in the booking confirmation email?
A: No, only the price of the ticket, membership or pass shows in the booking confirmation emails
Q: Will booking fees be included in the Customer Portal?
A: Yes, the payment fee appears in the order details of the customer portal:
Q: Will booking fees be recalculated after ticket cancellations, including when bulk booking discounts apply?
A: Yes. After a cancellation, the system removes the bulk booking discount and recalculates the booking fee.
Q: Can I add booking fees to avoid ticket fee deductions?
A: Yes. You can add booking fees in your payment settings or include them in your ticket prices. Both approaches are commonly used by Bookwhen admins.
Important: Before adding fees, check local rules, such as restrictions on surcharges, to ensure your setup complies.