Overview
Fergus Pay lets you choose which payment methods to offer and who covers the processing fee for each method.
Set defaults for your business, then adjust the payment options on individual draft invoices. Invoices you’ve already approved keep their existing settings.
Before you start
These instructions cover the Fergus web screens.
Fergus Pay must be set up and active. See Fergus Pay powered by Stripe.
To change company defaults, you must be the account owner or have permission to edit billing settings.
To change an invoice’s payment settings, the invoice must still be a draft.
Set your company defaults
Open Payments from the navigation.
Select Overview and Settings.
Under Settings, find Card Payment Fee.
Under On by default, tick the payment methods you want to offer. Untick any you don’t want enabled by default.
If the Who pays the fee column is shown, select your preferred option. The regional table below explains which choices are available.
Changes save automatically.
New Zealand account shown. Available fee-payer choices vary by region.
Fee-payer option | What it means |
You pay | Your business covers the processing fee. It is deducted before the funds are paid out to you. |
Customer pays | The processing fee is added to the amount your customer pays through Fergus Pay. |
You pay — can’t be surcharged | Your business must cover this fee. Hover over the lock message to see why. |
The Fee column shows the rate for each method. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, wallets and Tap to Pay share one card fee-payer choice. Their processing rates can differ.
Using Xero? A clearing account can make reconciliation easier whether you or your customer pays the fee. Once set up, Fergus automatically syncs customer payments, processing fees paid by your business, and payouts to Xero. See Fergus Pay + Xero: Setting Up a Clearing Account.
Who can pay the fee in your region?
This table describes the choices in Fergus Pay for methods available on your account.
Payment method | New Zealand | Australia | United Kingdom |
Visa, Mastercard and American Express | You or your customer | You pay | You pay |
Direct Debit | You or your customer | You or your customer | You pay |
Klarna | You pay | You pay | You pay |
Afterpay / Clearpay | You pay | You pay | You pay |
Wallets and Tap to Pay follow the card fee-payer choice. Afterpay is called Clearpay in the UK.
For UK accounts, the Who pays the fee column is hidden because your business covers every method’s fee.
Change settings for one invoice
Use invoice settings when a particular invoice needs different payment options from your company defaults.
Open the draft invoice.
Open Payment Options.
Under Online Payment Fee, tick or untick methods in the On this invoice column.
For each enabled method, choose who pays the fee from the available options.
Changes save automatically and affect only that invoice.
You can select a method that is off by default, provided it is available on your account. If it needs activation or verification first, complete that on the Payments page.
Check these settings before approving and sending the invoice. Once approved, its payment settings cannot be changed.
What your customer sees
Your customer sees the payment methods available for their invoice.
You pay: no processing surcharge is added to their payment.
Customer pays: the amount on the payment button includes the fee, with a fee explanation beneath it.
American Express: when the customer pays the card fee, the screen warns that Amex carries a higher surcharge.
Bank deposit(No online payment method): Your customer pays directly into your bank account, outside Fergus Pay, so no Fergus Pay processing fee applies.
For example, a card payment can display “Includes processing fee of…” followed by the applicable rate. The Amex warning reads: “Please note, by paying with AMEX your total includes a higher surcharge.” For Afterpay, your business covers the processing fee, so no surcharge is added to your customer’s payment.
FAQs
Q - Will changing my defaults affect invoices I’ve already sent?
Approved invoices keep their existing payment settings. Company defaults apply to drafts that still use those defaults and to future invoices. A draft with its own saved payment settings keeps those choices.
Q - What happens when I duplicate an invoice?
The copy starts with the original invoice’s payment choices, subject to current availability and restrictions. Review the new draft before approving it.
Q - What happens if I untick every payment method?
On a draft invoice, this removes online payment methods. Customers can use the bank deposit details shown on the invoice, so make sure those details are correct.
Unticking every method in company settings disables online methods by default. Individual invoice settings can override that choice, and approved invoices remain unchanged.
Q - Why can’t my customer see Klarna or Afterpay/Clearpay?
Check that the method is enabled on the invoice and available on your account. These methods also have transaction limits. Hover over the question-mark icon beside the fee to see the invoice limit.
Q - Why can’t I enable American Express?
Enable Visa & Mastercard first. You can accept other cards while leaving American Express switched off.
Q - How does this affect Tap to Pay?
Tap to Pay follows the card(Visa & Mastercard) fee-payer choice. It also needs to be enabled in Fergus Go, where you accept its terms.
Turning off cards in company payment settings also disables Tap to Pay.
Q - What if part of the invoice has already been paid?
When your customer pays the remaining balance through Fergus Pay, the processing fee is calculated on that remaining amount, rather than the original invoice total.
Q - Why does a method require extra verification?
Stripe needs more information before activating it. Click Open Stripe settings to complete the process. If verification is pending, wait for confirmation.
If you choose Not now, you can return later by clicking Stripe Settings on the Payments page.
