Your GotPhoto Fees (Canadian Customers)

Overview

This article explains how your fees are calculated and billed on your GotPhoto invoice. GotPhoto applies different rounding rules for billable order fees and the amount charged when an order is placed. Photographer Fee Payment

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Fee Overview 

There are 2 types of fees that can be charged by GotPhoto:

1. Standard Fees

GotPhoto charges you:

• A monthly subscription fee (not applicable for Enterprise customers). Here you can also switch to an annual subscription. The annual fee will be charged upfront, with your first invoice that follows the switch. In both cases, we will charge the credit card that you saved in your GotPhoto account. 
• A service fee is a percentage applied per order on gross revenue. The percentage is based on your selected plan.
• Payment fees:
  • A payment service fee of $0.30 per order. 
  • A volume-based fee per transaction: 2.9% per order. 
• Editing Service fees (If applicable)

GotPhoto is a U.S.-based business, meaning, all transactions with our customers are conducted in United States Dollars (USD),our billing currency.

Even though your shop currency is Canadian Dollars (CAD) a currency conversion is still required. This is because GotPhoto calculates fees (e.g., service fees) in USD. To cover these fees, we convert the equivalent amount from CAD to USD using a specified exchange rate. In your GotPhoto invoices, you will see the applied conversion rate displayed next to service fees. For example, you might see a line item such as "Service fee CAD-4.08 xRate:0.740753," indicating that the CAD amount has been converted to USD at the specified exchange rate. This rate reflects the currency conversion necessary for fees billed in USD.

Since your bank account is in CAD, you will see a slight discrepancy between the sum listed on your invoice and the sum on your bank statement. This is due to conversion fees and fluctuations in the daily exchange rate. In your GotPhoto shop, customers will be using CAD.

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2. Other Charges: 

• If you use our basic editing or background removal services, we will charge this fee within the following invoice.
• We apply a service fee per order if you create manual direct or batch orders on the order entry page. The amount is dependent on your plan.  

You may notice a negative balance in your account throughout the month. The amount is dependent on the volume of orders you handle.

The reason for this is due to how GotPhoto calculates fees. There are two types of fees:

1. Service Fee: % of gross revenue
2. Payment Fee: 2.9% per payment + $0.30

For both fee types, our accounting uses four decimal places, while the charges we apply have only two decimal places. This difference in precision can cause a balance discrepancy. Please note that this rounding practice also applies to fees for orders that are placed manually via Order Entry. 

Due to volume, we have higher precision when we sum up all fees for an entire month. This results in a difference between the total amount of fees and the total amount of charges. In some months, this difference may result in a positive balance, while other months may result in a small negative balance.

A negative balance can also be a result of a Prepay order. When a transaction is processed, GotPhoto charges all applicable fees and taxes. Your fees are billed immediately, but your sales tax is billed when your Prepay orders have been processed. This means that unlike your fees, your sales tax will end up as a credit in your GotPhoto balance and look like available funds that can be withdrawn in a payout. If you choose to request a payout at this time, your balance will run negative in the next billing cycle due to the sales tax being billed. 

Using billable items with four decimals ensures fairness, especially for photographers with a high volume of small orders. Rounding up even one cent for each order could lead to a different total service fee at the end of the month. This is why we have chosen to apply rounding rules in this way.

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The Takeaway

GotPhoto applies specific rounding rules for invoice items, order fees, and charges deducted from customer payments. This discrepancy can result in balance variations. These differences are automatically reconciled, ensuring fairness for all users. GotPhoto's commitment to accuracy and fairness underlines our decision to maintain four-decimal precision for order fees.