How to use the Fee Simulator

Overview

Use the links below to quickly jump to a specific section:

Fee Simulator

Understand exactly what your school receives — before you send the invoice.

If you’re using Onespot Payments, the Fee Simulator gives you a clear, visual breakdown of estimated fees for different transaction types.

This tool helps you:

See how service fees affect the total
Compare Card vs ACH payments
Understand subscription vs one-time invoice costs
Estimate exactly how much your school will receive

It’s simple, transparent, and built to help you make confident pricing decisions.

Where to Find the Fee Simulator

Click the ⚡ Lightning Bolt (Admin Superpowers)
Select Onespot Payments
Go to Settings & Dashboard
Click Fee Structure
Scroll to the bottom to find the Fee Simulator.

Important: The Fee Simulator reflects the Fee Structure settings you have saved (Service Fee %, ACH Discount, etc.). If you make changes to these settings, be sure to click Save Settings so the updates apply. The simulator will calculate fees based on your most recently saved configuration.

How the Fee Simulator Works

The simulator allows you to test different scenarios using three steps:

Select an Example Transaction
Select a Payment Method
Select a Charge Type

It will then automatically generate a full fee breakdown.

Let’s walk through each section.

Step 1: Select an Example Transaction

At the top, you’ll see sample transactions:

$10 – T-Shirt
$100 – Field Trip
$1000 – Tuition

These are just examples to help you visualize different charge amounts.

For example, if you select $1000 Tuition, the simulator will calculate everything based on that base amount.

Step 2: Select a Payment Method

You can choose between:

Card
ACH

This matters because:

Card payments have standard Stripe processing fees.
ACH payments may include lower processing costs.
If you’ve set up an ACH discount, it will automatically appear in the breakdown.

Step 3: Select a Charge Type

There are three charge types:

1️⃣ Recurring Charge

Used for subscriptions (ex: monthly tuition).

Stripe applies a Product Billing Fee (0.7%) on recurring charges.

2️⃣ One-Time Invoice

Used for:

Field trips
Supply fees
Single charges

Stripe applies a Product Invoicing Fee (0.4%) on one-time charges.

3️⃣ Self-Checkout

Used when:

Parents purchase directly from a screen (like merchandise)
No invoice is manually sent

How to Read the Fee Breakdown

Once your selections are made, the simulator displays a full breakdown.

What Each Line Means

Base Amount

This is the original charge amount.

Service Fee

The percentage your school chooses to add on top of the Base Amount to help cover payment processing costs. If an ACH Discount is enabled, parents who pay by ACH receive a discount on this fee.

Customer Pays

This is the total amount the parent is charged.

School Receives

This is your final estimated net amount after all fees.

This number helps you decide:

Should you adjust your service fee?
Should you encourage ACH payments?
Does your pricing align with what you want to net?

Sample Scenarios

The examples below are calculated using:

4% Service Fee
3% ACH Discount

These are sample settings to help you understand how the Fee Simulator works.

⚠️ Important: These percentages can be adjusted anytime in your Fee Structure based on your school’s preference. After making changes to the Service Fee or ACH Discount, be sure to click Save Settings for the updates to take effect. The Fee Simulator will reflect the settings you have saved.

Example 1: $1000 Tuition (Card + Recurring)

Example 2: $100 Field Trip (ACH + One-Time Invoice)

Example 3: $10 T-Shirt (Card + Self-Checkout)

Important Notes

The simulator provides estimates, not financial advice.
Always review your Stripe dashboard for finalized settlement amounts.
You can adjust your Service Fee % anytime inside Fee Structure.

When Should You Use the Fee Simulator?

Use it when:

Setting tuition rates
Deciding how much service fee to offset
Comparing ACH vs Card impact
Planning subscriptions
Selling merchandise
Reviewing revenue expectations

It gives you clarity before you invoice.

You can also try our external Onespot Payments Fee Calculator to experiment with different amounts and fee settings.

Check out the calculator here.

Important Note: This tool is still a work-in-progress

Final Tip

If the “School Receives” amount isn’t what you expected:

Go back to Fee Structure
Adjust your service fee or ACH discount
Recheck the simulator

It’s designed to help you visually understand the full breakdown — so there are no surprises.