For a general overview of System Settings, see System Settings Overview.

Introduction

Surcharges let you add extra fees and sitter pay when specific rules are met—such as holidays, weekends, last‑minute bookings, or client location. They never appear on the daily schedule for clients or sitters; clients see them only on invoices and sitters do not see them at all. Managers and administrators can add or remove any surcharge at any time.

Key Difference from Addons

  • Addons are optional extras selectable by clients during a request and appear on schedules for both clients and sitters.
  • Surcharges are automatic fees (holiday, after-hours, territory). They never show on schedules—only Administrators and Managers see them in visit details, and clients see them only on the invoice.

Details

In the Details section

  • Type – choose the rule that will trigger the fee

  • Holiday – Built-in list of major holidays; the dates update automatically each year.

    Need a different holiday date? Create it under Custom instead.

  • Days of the Week – Adds a fee on the specific weekdays you check.

  • Time of Day – Triggers before a set time (early-morning) or after a set time (late-evening).

  • Location – Applies only to clients in a selected territory. (See the Territories article for details.)

  • Last Minute – Kicks in when a visit is requested within your chosen hours or days of the start time.

  • Custom – Define your own single date or date range, or create a manual-only surcharge that staff can add case-by-case.

  • Name – the label managers see on the schedule and clients see on invoices.

  • Client Price – set amount or percent added to the visit total.

  • Pet Sitter Pay – optional extra pay for the sitter.

  • Frequency – Per Visit (each visit) or Per Day (once per client per day).

  • Surcharge can be discounted – set to No if you want this fee to ignore all Service Discounts.

  • Include in percent‑based Tip Calculations – include or exclude the fee from the tip base.

  • Apply Surcharge – Automatically (system applies when rules match) or Manually (managers add via the Surcharge button).

  • Active – set to No to turn the fee off without deleting history.

In the Automation section

These fields appear only when Apply Surcharge is set to Automatically.

  • Specific Date(s) – add one date or a range; a colored banner will mark these days on the calendar.

  • Create Ongoing Visits on selected Days – decide whether the system should create ongoing visits on these dates (handy for holiday shutdowns).

  • Service(s) – limit the rule to particular Base Services, or leave blank for All Services.

How Automatic Surcharges Apply

Automatic surcharges only apply to newly added or requested visits. Subsequent visit updates won't apply automatic surcharges. A surcharge is added only when all of the following are true:

  • The surcharge is Active.

  • The visit matches every condition defined in Type, date, and time.

  • The visit’s Base Service matches the list in Service(s).

  • For Per Day fees, no identical surcharge has already been applied that day.

  • The client’s profile is not set to “Ignore automatic surcharges.”

Managers can always add or remove any surcharge manually on the Master Schedule (use the Surcharge button) or by editing the visit.

Maintaining Surcharges

  • Edit – open the record, adjust fields, click Save.

  • Deactivate – set Active to No instead of deleting so reports remain intact.

  • Reorder the list – click View › Reorder at the top of the Surcharges page for quicker scanning.