Overview
Surcharging allows you to pass on a 3% payment processing fee to clients paying invoices by credit card. This helps your firm offset transaction costs. Currently, the surcharging feature is available only for firms that meet specific criteria:
Your firm must be using both Time & Billing and LMPay.
Your firm must be located in the United States, and your state must legally allow surcharging. If your state does not permit surcharging, this feature will not be available in your account.
Important Considerations
The surcharge rate is always fixed at 3%. Before enabling surcharging, ensure your state allows a 3% surcharge.
Surcharging is only applicable to invoices being paid into operating accounts. It will not work with invoices paid into trust or other accounts.
Setting Default Surcharge Preferences
You can set a default preference to automatically apply surcharges to all eligible invoices:
Navigate to Settings > Invoices.
Locate the Surcharging option and toggle it to On if you would like surcharges enabled by default.
Note: You can still override this default setting on individual invoices.
Applying Surcharges to Invoices
You have the flexibility to apply surcharges manually or automatically through various invoice creation methods:
Manual invoices
Automated Invoices
LmPay blocks on custom forms
Viewing Surcharges on Invoices and Receipts
When an invoice includes a surcharge:
The surcharge amount will not count directly toward the primary invoice balance. Instead, you'll see a purple surcharge icon next to the paid amount in your invoices table. Hover over this icon to view the 3% surcharge amount added to that invoice.
The surcharge amount will appear clearly as a separate line item on receipts provided to clients.
If you issue a refund through LMPay for an invoice that included a surcharge, the surcharge amount will automatically be refunded as well.
QuickBooks Online Integration
If your firm uses QuickBooks Online integration, you must perform one additional step:
Go to your QuickBooks integration settings in Lawmatics
Map the surcharge field to a specific QuickBooks service or product item.
Doing this ensures:
The surcharge amount is reflected as a distinct line item on invoices synced with QuickBooks.
The surcharge amount contributes correctly to the total amount paid within QuickBooks.