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Payment Timers and Fees

Overview

Two settings on the Payment Settings panel control how money flows through your program:

  • Service Fees — who pays the processing fees on each transaction
  • Payment Timers — an optional countdown that requires participants to finish payment within a set window

Open the panel by clicking the gear icon at the top left of the Payments tab.

How It Works

This article covers the two settings separately. Service Fees affect the dollar amounts that change hands. Payment Timers affect how long a participant has to finish checkout.

Service Fees

Card transactions typically include two components:

  • A Stripe processing fee for handling the card
  • An Eventene application fee for using the platform

The total fee depends on your pricing plan and Stripe’s processing rates.

No fees are charged on $0 transactions, such as fully-credited orders or registrations with no charges.

You choose who pays these fees on the Payment Settings panel. There are two options:

Organizer (absorb the fees)

  • Participants see only the Product price
  • The organizer receives net proceeds — price minus fees
  • Example: a $100 Product → participant pays $100 → organizer receives ~$94.95

Invitees (pass the fees through)

  • A separate Service Fee line appears at checkout
  • The organizer receives the full Product price
  • The fee is grossed up slightly so the math works out after Stripe takes its cut
  • Example: a $100 Product → participant sees $100 + ~$5.05 service fee = ~$105.05 → organizer receives $100

The exact fee amount is calculated automatically at checkout and shown to participants before payment.

The exact fee rates (including Stripe processing and Eventene fees) are published on the Eventene pricing page. These rates may change over time.

Most organizers either absorb the fees or raise their prices slightly to cover them — both feel friendlier to participants than a separate fee line.

Payment Timers

A payment timer enforces that participants complete checkout in one sitting. It is off by default.

When a timer is on, it applies during registration when:

  • An activity contains one or more required Products, and
  • The activity uses Ask attendance mode (participants opt in)

The timer length is configurable from 10 minutes to 24 hours. The default is 15 minutes.

If the timer expires before the participant clicks Pay Now:

  • Registration is not completed
  • Required selections (such as opted-in activities) are reset
  • The participant has to restart the registration flow

You can turn the timer on or off at any time during the registration period.

To set or change the timer:

  1. Open the Payments tab
  2. Click the gear icon to open Payment Settings
  3. Under Time Limits for Payments, select Set a Timer
  4. Choose the timer length

To turn the timer off, return to Payment Settings and clear the setting.

Tips & Best Practices

On fees:

  • Choose your fee model before launch and apply it consistently across recurring programs
  • If you absorb fees, consider raising prices slightly so your net proceeds match what you expect
  • Avoid changing the fee model mid-registration — participants who already registered will be confused by the difference

On timers:

  • Use a timer for activities with limited capacity — it stops participants from holding seats while they shop around
  • Match the timer length to the complexity of your registration: a single workshop might need 10 minutes; a long multi-activity flow may need an hour or more
  • Tell participants up front that a timer is in effect, especially if you keep it short