Credit Card Charge Report

[AkamaiAloha]

Apparently, it's legal in certain states for the owner of a restaurant to pass along the 3% fee on a credit card transaction to the server. I assume they can only charge them for the tipped portion. Example: Customer has $50 tab, leaves a $10 tip, and pays with a Visa. I assume the way the software works, the server would only pay 3% on the $10. To me, even that practice is questionable... it's the merchants decision to accept credit cards. So, it's another case of the man sticking it to one of the lowest paid employees on earth. I say this assuming that they can't stick them with the whole 3% charge (i.e. on the tip and the tab)--that would be too outrageous for words.

Anyway, Aloha can do this, or so I am told. I've got a store that wants to be able to print a report of these charges, so that the servers can deduct them from their taxes (because we all know how servers like to fill out a 1040a, so they can their itemized deductions <I am being sarcastic here>).

Does anyone now if such a report is possible?

TIA

 

[DTSMAN]

If you go into payments, tenders, there is a tip refund%, set the percentage there and it is suppose to do it automatically. Never used it, but supposedly that is all there is to it.


Tip Refund, also known as tip reduction, enables a restaurant to withhold a percentage of credit card tips
to recover the credit card processor fees for the tip.
Tip refund includes automatic gratuities in the tip refund calculation.
Tip refund is not related to tip share.

Bo

Kentucky phone support-
"Mash the Kentrol key and hit scape."

 

[AkamaiAloha]

Is there a report they can pull that tells how much they've paid each day in CC fees?

 

[DTSMAN]

I believe the server sales detail. Go into settings and make sure it is flagged for a column.

Bo

Kentucky phone support-
"Mash the Kentrol key and hit scape."

 

[Shift4SMS]

RE: "Apparently, it's legal in certain states for the owner of a restaurant to pass along the 3% fee on a credit card transaction to the server..."

Yes, from what I have heard and read, this is "legal" in most states BUT the consenseus is that this practice is chicken s#!% and will lead to more employee discontent than it is worth. As you stated, the lowest paid persons on the staff are the ones being penalized. If the discount rate of credit card transactions are affecting the bottom line that much, it is time to find a new merchant service provider, raise the prices across the board or stop taking credit cards!

Steve Sommers
Shift4 Corporation --

http://www.shift4.com

Creators of $$$ ON THE NET(tm) payment processing services

 

[AkamaiAloha]

I couldn't agree more, Steve. Even though I don't consider myself a member in either major political party, I have to say I lean much more to the right than to the left (i.e. my response to some topics of this nature might sound more like "Oh, well.. should have went to college" ) But this is crap. I also agree that what you make up in charge fees, you're probably going to lose in employee bad-will and malcontent.

 

[DTSMAN]

The old addage, "Just because something is legal, doesn't make it right."

Credit Card companies fall into this with me and I hate those bas***ds. Legal Long Sharks are all they are. I was glad to hear they are being made to make people pay higher monthly payments instead of just asking for their interest till bankruptcy time. These Jack***s charge the people 20 percent interest and then get a cut of the merchant's action with a 3 percent charge for each transaction they do plus other BS fees on the merchants' statements.
If I did that out of my house I would go to jail. But that is where merchants came up with the idea of passing the 3% onto the servers who are taking the payment, because their argument is that they shouldn't have to pay processing fees for the servers' tips. Servers should wear a piece of 'flair' (button) that says cash tips only please so they can get around that and lie at tax time just like the rest of us. After being in the industry so long, I try to leave a cash tip vs a CC tip where I go.
Sorry for the rant. Credit card fee threads always puts me on a soap box.

Bo

Kentucky phone support-
"Mash the Kentrol key and hit scape."

 

[Shift4SMS]

RE: ...and then get a cut of the merchant's action with a 3 percent charge for each transaction...

If you are a you are a restaurant in the US and are paying a 3% discount rate for swiped credit card transactions, look for a new merchant service provider. You should be paying closer to 2%. While 1% does not sound like much, it adds up fast!

If you are not a restaurant in the US, I'm sorry. For some reason, most countries other than the US see a 3-5% discoount rate.

Steve Sommers
Shift4 Corporation --

http://www.shift4.com

Creators of $$$ ON THE NET(tm) payment processing services

 

[AkamaiAloha]

I agree, it's amazing what banks get away with. And sanctioning by the government, no less. It's hard not to be on a soap box about this, because it's positively infuriating.

What ever the percentage is, the point is they are alreadying nabbing the guy who's paying with the card, but then they turn around and charge a fee to the guy who accepts it too?!? They should be giving the How--and WHY-in the world do we let these institutions get away with this?? Maybe I don't understand how it works, Steve. Are the guys that issue the cards the same guys who make the money on the processing of the card?

Anyway, this a cost of doing business. The employer is already not offering them health insurance (in 95% of cases), paying them next to nothing, and yet their whole business depends on how well these people--who are represent the "face" of the restaurant--treat their customers.

 

[Shift4SMS]

There are two parts to credit card fees that the merchants see: A discount rate and a fixed transaction fee -- usually something like 1.85%+$0.25 or 2.02%+$0.15. Sometimes both are rolled into a higher discount rate but it is more common to have the two broken out.

The fixed fee portion is supposed to cover the network costs for the transaction. The fixed portion is usually associated to the authorization request and is charged whether or not a transaction is ultimately settled -- which covers unused auths, declines, etc.

The percentage portion rate is split in fairly even portions three ways between the merchant bank, the issuing bank and the card association (VISA or MasterCard). There are costs to the three parties for overhead, fraud screening, insurance and risk management, but there is quite a bit of profit also!

Additional gateway fees may also apply or they may be rolled up in the fees described above -- depending on your provider.

As far as the cardholder fees and interest, I have no idea how this is structured. My guess is that a small portion goes to the card association while the majority goes to the issuer and most is profit -- that's simply my guess, I could be wrong here.


Steve Sommers
Shift4 Corporation --

http://www.shift4.com

Creators of $$$ ON THE NET(tm) payment processing services