Common questions: Renta's fee, card fees, taxes and extra charges

These are short answers about what Renta charges you, what your customer pays on top of your price, and how tax and extra charges work. Each answer links to the full article.

What Renta costs you

How much does Renta cost?

Renta has two plans with the same features. On the Commission plan you pay nothing per month and your renters pay a 2.5% fee on each booking. On the Flat plan you pay $300 a month or $3,000 a year, and there is no Renta fee on bookings. See Renta's fee vs. your subscription plan.

Who pays Renta's fee?

Your renter does, on the Commission plan. The fee is added on top of your price, so it is not taken out of what you receive. The Who pays line on the Renta fee card reads "Your renters pay this on top of your price" on Commission and "No per-booking fee." on Flat. See Renta's 2.5% platform fee.

How is Renta's fee calculated?

It is 2.5% of the booking subtotal (the rental price plus add-ons, after discounts and coupons, before tax). Tax is not part of that base and the fee is not taxed. For example, a $100 rental with 8% tax is $108, plus a $2.50 fee, so the customer's card is charged $110.50 and your booking total stays $108. The same fee is added when a card pays a balance on an existing booking, worked out on the pre-tax share of the amount charged. See Renta's 2.5% platform fee.

Where can I see my plan and my fee rate?

In the left sidebar, hover Pricing and click Fees. The Renta fee card shows Your plan, Fee per booking and Who pays, then a worked example on a $100 rental using your own tax rate. The same cards also sit under Pricing rules, on the Universal Rules tab. Settings, then Stripe (the page where you connect your Stripe account, the service that takes card payments) has a Platform Fees card too, visible to owners and managers. See Renta's fee vs. your subscription plan.

What does "Includes a special rate of X%" mean on my Fees page?

It means Renta has set your fee lower than the plan rate. The card also says either "in effect through" a date or "with no end date". A special rate can only lower the fee, and you cannot set it yourself. If you are on Flat with a custom monthly price, the card shows "Your flat plan price: $X/month". See Renta's fee vs. your subscription plan.

Can I turn off or change Renta's fee?

No setting does that. The Renta fee card says that nothing on it changes what a customer is charged. The way to stop the per-booking fee is the Flat plan. What you can choose is whether customers see the fee inside the price or as its own line (see the Fee display questions below). See Renta's 2.5% platform fee.

Does a coupon or discount lower Renta's fee?

Yes. The fee is worked out after discounts and coupons, so a smaller subtotal means a smaller fee. See How a price is calculated.

Does Renta charge a fee on gift cards?

Yes, on top of the card's value. At the 2.5% rate a $100 gift card costs the buyer $102.50, and the card is still worth $100 to whoever holds it. On the Flat plan there is no fee. See Why gift cards show up as a liability.

Does Renta charge a fee on a security deposit?

Not on the hold. A hold is an authorization (money reserved on the card, not taken), and it carries no Renta fee. If you capture (take) part of it for damage, Renta's fee comes out of the captured amount, so the customer is charged exactly the amount you capture. A booking with a 0% fee rate, such as a Flat plan booking, has no fee taken. See How security deposits are billed and returned.

If I change plans, what fee do my existing bookings carry?

A booking is charged at the fee rate in effect when it was created, including later payments on that booking such as a balance. A booking with no recorded rate uses your current rate instead. See Renta's fee vs. your subscription plan.

Is Renta's fee refunded when a booking is cancelled or refunded?

No. Renta keeps its fee when you refund a real booking, and customers are told "Not refunded if you cancel" at checkout. The exception is a booking that fails to complete after the card was charged, for example when the amount charged does not match the booking total. In that case the automatic reversal returns the fee as well. See Renta's 2.5% platform fee.

Do I pay Stripe's card fees?

Renta's pricing page says standard Stripe processing fees apply on both plans and are billed to you by Stripe directly. It quotes about 2.9% plus 30 cents per card payment. This is separate from Renta's own fee. See Renta's fee vs. your subscription plan.

Plans and billing

How do I switch plans?

1. In the left sidebar, hover Pricing, click Fees, then click Change plan in Billing on the Renta fee card. This opens the Billing & Subscription page. 2. Under Available Plans, find the plan you are not on. 3. To go to Flat, pick the monthly or yearly price and click Switch to flat billing. You then pay on Stripe's hosted payment page (Stripe Checkout). 4. To go to Commission, click Switch to commission and confirm with Switch.

Only an owner can do this. See Your subscription plan and billing history.

Can I pay for the Flat plan once a year?

Yes, when you switch from Commission to Flat. A choice between the monthly and the yearly price appears above Switch to flat billing, and the plan card shows the yearly saving (17%). If Renta set a custom monthly price for your business, only monthly is offered. See Your subscription plan and billing history.

What happens when I switch from Flat to Commission?

You keep the Flat plan until the end of the period you have already paid for, and nothing more is charged after that. Until then the page says "Your Flat plan is set to end" with the date, and the button changes to Keep Flat instead, which cancels the switch. From the end date your renters pay the 2.5% fee. If your Flat plan has no Stripe subscription behind it (for example a free Flat plan set up for you by Renta), the switch happens right away. See Your subscription plan and billing history.

Why can't I switch to the Commission plan?

If your Flat subscription is past due or unpaid, Renta refuses the switch with this reason: "Cannot switch to the commission plan while there are outstanding invoices. Please resolve any unpaid invoices before switching." The error box is titled Something went wrong. Pay the open invoice, then try again. See Your subscription plan and billing history.

What do the plan status and the "Couldn't reach Stripe" message mean?

The badge on the Current Plan card shows your subscription status as active, past_due, cancelled or trialing. A subscription that Stripe reports as unpaid, incomplete or paused also shows as past_due. If the page cannot reach Stripe, it says "Couldn't reach Stripe just now, so this is your last known plan. Refresh in a moment to confirm it." See Your subscription plan and billing history.

Where are my past invoices?

On the Billing & Subscription page, in Billing History. It lists your 10 most recent invoices with Date, Amount, Status and a View → link. The section only appears once you have at least one invoice. See Your subscription plan and billing history.

Who can see or change billing?

Only an owner can change the plan. A manager can open the Billing page but any change is refused, and staff accounts have no billing access. The permissions table on the Team page lists these as View billing and Manage billing. See Inviting staff and setting their role.

I can't find Billing in the Settings menu. Where is it?

There is no Billing entry in the Settings menu. Open Pricing, then Fees, and click Change plan in Billing, or go to your admin address followed by /settings/billing. The page is titled Billing & Subscription. See Your subscription plan and billing history.

What your customer pays

Why did my customer pay more than the listed price?

Three things can sit between your rate and the card charge: sales tax (your Tax Rate (%) setting), Renta's fee if you are on the Commission plan, and any add-ons or extra charges on the booking. By default your fleet cards already include Renta's fee (see the next question). A security deposit is a hold, not part of the total. See How a price is calculated.

Why is the price on my fleet cards higher than the rate I entered?

On the Commission plan, fleet cards, the booking widget and cart prices show your rate with Renta's 2.5% already added, so the price never grows between browsing and checkout. You still receive your own rate. To show your bare rate instead, turn on Show tax and the Renta fee only at checkout. See Showing fees and tax as separate line items.

How do I show tax and Renta's fee as separate lines?

1. In the left sidebar, hover Pricing and click Fees. 2. On the Fee display card, tick Show tax and the Renta fee only at checkout.

It saves as soon as you tick it (you see Saving…, then Saved). Fleet cards then show your bare rate, and Subtotal, Tax, Renta fee and Total appear as separate lines once a customer reaches checkout. This never changes what the customer pays. See Showing fees and tax as separate line items.

Why is the Fee display checkbox greyed out?

It is greyed out for a moment while a change is saving. It also stays greyed out if your account lacks settings write access, and the card then says "Only an owner or manager with settings access can change this." In the standard roles, Owner, Manager and Staff all have that access, so you should not normally see this. See Showing fees and tax as separate line items.

What does my customer see for Renta's fee at checkout?

On the Commission plan the order summary has a row called Renta booking fee with the rate in brackets, for example (2.5%), and the note "Charged by Renta, the booking software this shop uses". It also says "Not a tax" and "Not refunded if you cancel". A line above the pay button names the dollar amount and links to the Renter Terms. On a payment link the same fee can appear as Service fee, and on the Flat plan no fee row appears. See Renta's 2.5% platform fee.

Why was I charged a deposit?

A customer who asks this is looking at a security deposit hold, which is an authorization on their card, not a charge. At checkout the page says "I understand that a security deposit hold of" the amount "will be placed on my card" with the timing. At the end of the rental your staff release it, or keep part of it for damage or extra charges. See How security deposits are billed and returned.

Sales tax

How do I set my sales tax rate?

1. In the left sidebar, click Settings, which opens General. 2. Enter your rate in Tax Rate (%), for example 8.5. 3. Click Save Settings.

The rate applies to bookings made on your storefront and in the admin, and a number outside 0 to 100 is refused with "Tax rate must be a number between 0 and 100." If no rate is set, no tax is charged. See Setting your business name, timezone, tax rate, and currency.

Can one location charge a different tax rate?

Yes. Under Settings, then Locations, each location has Sales tax rate for this location. Leave it blank to use the business-wide rate from General, or enter 0 to charge no tax on rentals picked up there. The rate used is the one for the booking's pickup location. See Setting up your pickup and dropoff locations.

What is taxed and what is not?

Tax is worked out on the booking subtotal: the rental, add-ons and any extra charge marked taxable, after discounts and coupons. Renta's fee and the security deposit are not taxed. An item marked as free has no tax. See How a price is calculated.

Is the deposit taxed?

No. The deposit is held separately and is not part of the booking subtotal, so no tax is worked out on it. If you capture part of it for damage, that amount is not taxed either. See How security deposits are billed and returned.

Do free rentals pay tax or Renta's fee?

No. An item marked This is a free item skips pricing rules, tax and Renta's fee, so the total is $0. The security deposit still applies if the item has one. See How security deposits are billed and returned.

Damage, late and extra charges

How do I charge a damage fee?

1. Open the booking and click Finish to open the return checkout. 2. To bill a repair, open Work Orders and click Add work order. Describe the damage, enter the Internal cost (parts + labor), tick Bill the customer, and set the Charge amount (it starts at your cost). 3. For any other amount, open Additional Charges, click Add charge, describe it and enter the Amount. 4. If the booking has a deposit, open Deposit and choose Capture from deposit to take the money from it. 5. Click Finish rental.

See Finishing a rental: the return checkout.

How do I add a cleaning fee or other extra charge when a rental comes back?

In the return checkout, open Additional Charges and click Add charge. Type what it is for, enter the Amount, and switch Taxable on if tax applies. Each charge is added to the booking when you click Finish rental, and the step shows Total additional charges. See Finishing a rental: the return checkout.

Are extra charges at return taxed?

A charge on the Additional Charges step is not taxed unless you switch Taxable on, and the switch starts off. A repair billed through Work Orders is added as a taxable charge, and that step has no Taxable switch. See Finishing a rental: the return checkout.

What if the charges are more than the deposit?

The Deposit step shows Charges not covered by the deposit with the amount. Nothing is charged automatically: the amount stays on the booking as money owed. After you finish, a box says "Still owed on this booking" with a Collect payment button, which opens a way to use a saved card, send a payment link or record cash. See Finishing a rental: the return checkout.

How does the late return fee work, and why was none added?

Turn it on with Charge late fees on the Late return fee card (hover Pricing and click Late fees). When a rental comes back late, Renta adds the fee to Additional Charges for you to check before you finish, as a line like "Late return fee (2 hr)". No fee is added if Charge late fees is off, if the booking has dates but no times of day, or if you removed the fee earlier on that return, because a removed fee does not come back. See Charging a late return fee.

Is there a cancellation fee?

You can keep a flat dollar amount from each cancellation tier in the Fee kept ($) column of your cancellation policy (hover Pricing and click Payment & policies). The refund is the Refund % of what you were credited, minus that fee, and never below $0. Renta's own fee is not part of that, because the figure used is what the shop was credited. See Your cancellation and refund policy.

Is there a no-show fee?

Renta has no automatic no-show fee. Cancellation policies only have time-based tiers (hours before pickup), and a no-show tier type exists in the code but is reserved and nothing uses it yet. See Your cancellation and refund policy.

Gift cards

Why do gift cards show up as a liability?

The money for an unused gift card is still owed to the customer as a future rental, so it counts as a liability (money you owe) and not as income until the card is redeemed. You can see it as Outstanding gift card balance under Pricing rules, on the Gift cards tab, and as Gift Card Liability on the Financial tab of Reports. See Why gift cards show up as a liability.