Handling Credit Card Fees as a Photographer

  I’ve seen a lot of comments asking how people handle credit card fees for online transactions lately, and I wanted to talk a little bit about it because I think it’s an important discussion to have.

What are Credit Card Fees?

Credit card fees are the little amount that a payment processor takes from you to process your transaction. This is usually a percentage of the total amount you are invoicing. If you are invoicing in large amounts, this might possibly be a significant amount of money that you are losing to the processor.

How Do I Avoid Credit Card Fees?

In short, if you are planning on taking payments via credit card, you will be subject to a processing fee regardless of what payment service you are going through, there really is no way to avoid them unless you decide to not take credit card payments.

Can I Pass Credit Card Fees Off To My Client?

Many people ask if it is possible to pass off your credit card fee to your client. This gets very tricky because laws vary based on the location of you and your client. Many places do have laws against passing this fee off to your client, so you will need to check in with your local laws to ensure that you are able to legally do so.

What Can I Do With Credit Card Fees?

If credit card fees are making it so that you are not able to profitably offer your service at the pricepoint you chose, you might have to raise your prices to compensate for the extra cost. Also, keep in mind that these fees are also tax write-offs for the end of the year!