Configuring ecommerce settings for taxes

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Learn how to configure tax settings from the Taxes tab, including opting out for select inventory, opting out post booking, removing tax from a booking, and configuring booking fee options.

New to Ecommerce Setup? Read the first article in this series for an introduction to Ecommerce Setup.

 

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✓ Soho | ✓ Pro | ✓ Plus | ✓ Enterprise  | ✓ Flex |

Where can I find this feature using the top menu?

Manage > Ecommerce Setup > Taxes

What more do I need to use this feature?

• Admin permissions configure Taxes and Inventory. Restricted permission to Modify Taxes can be assigned independently.
  
  

Which Checkfront version supports this feature - classic, new, or both?

• The Ecommerce Setup feature applies to both those using items (Inventory > Items), a key feature of our classic version of Checkfront, and those using products (Inventory > Products), a key feature of our newest version of Checkfront.

 

New to Checkfront - Products ✨ Products (Inventory > Products) is the successor feature to (Inventory > Items) and is available in our newest version of Checkfront. Not yet on our newest version and interested in upgrading? Please reach out to our Technical Support team for more information. Discover more product-related help articles here: Products (New).

 

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You can define any applicable taxes or service fees you need to collect here. Taxes configured apply to all inventory items or products, although they can also be disabled per item/product basis.

Filter the list configured by tax status: Enabled, Disabled, or All. By default, all Enabled taxes display.

The following information displays for each tax configured: ID, Name, Amount, Type, Applied (to), Account Number, and (Display) Order. We describe the settings this data matches below under Tax Setup. 

Columns can sort the list in ascending or descending order. By default, the list sorts by tax name in ascending order (A-Z).

To configure a new tax in your system, click the +Create Tax button in the left sidebar.

 

Why do my old invoices change when I change my tax configurations?

 

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The tax setup modal opens from the +Create Tax button or when editing an existing tax.

Entering a tax name

Choose a name for your tax. This shows on your invoices and reports, so select a name that makes sense to you and your Customers.

 

Configuring the tax amount

The amount of tax you want to apply to the bookings. Select the $ (adjust by fixed amount) or % (adjust by percentage) button and enter an applicable figure in the text field.

Select a type from the dropdown menu that shows if you are choosing a fixed amount. The options currently available are as follows:  Percent, Flat Fee per Booking, Flat Fee per Item/Product, Flat Fee per Days, or Flat fee per Quantity.

 

Entering a tax account number

If you have a tax account number you need to show on your invoices, enter it here.

 

Choosing taxable customers

Here you can have the tax apply to specific Customer segments. 

You can apply the tax to all customers, only customers residing in your province/state/county, only customers residing in your country, or only international customers. This is based on the locale settings in your system.

For step-by-step instructions on how to set up a location-specific tax, please see the following help article: How do I set up a location-specific tax?

 

Configuring additional tax options

Choose an additional tax Calculation Method here. You can select a Compound or Inclusive tax.

A compound tax applies on top of inventory that has already been taxed. An inclusive tax is already included in the inventory's price.

For inclusive tax, checking Hidden to Guest prevents this tax from showing on Customer invoices.

The inventory item/product must be configured to charge tax. If it is not, the tax does not apply, regardless of your setting.

 

Applying tax to inventory

Click the arrow to expand the inventory list and select which item/product is tax applicable. Check the box labelled Apply By Default (Opt out) to automatically add the tax to new items/products in your inventory.

 

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New taxes apply to all items/products in your inventory by default.

You can remove taxes from specific items/products by turning them off in the item/product's Pricing tab (Inventory > Items > Edit Item or Inventory > Products > Edit Product). Click the status button to turn it off.  

 

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You can opt out of a tax after a booking has been created.

This is done per item/product basis by clicking on the Edit tab while viewing a booking, locating the required item/product, and clicking the Change button.  

 

You can uncheck the taxes you wish to remove in the Change Item window. Click the Save button when finished.  

This process removes the applicable tax for that item/product only. Any other items/products in the booking that are also opted into that tax remain opted in unless you repeat the process and remove the tax manually.  

 

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If you wish to remove a tax from a booking, you can click the Remove button in the main tax table under a booking's Edit tab.

This process removes that tax from all the items/products in the booking previously opted into the tax. The invoice total is then updated.

When editing an item  in a booking via the invoice, the following rules are true:

• Parent items only show the taxes that apply to them, not to their children
• Child items only show the taxes that apply to them, not from their parent
• Changing a parent item's taxes should affect only the parent.

Children should have the same taxes as before the parent was saved.

 

Currently, the products do not support Product Grouping (parent and child setup).

 

For each tax that shows up on the main Invoice page (not the item/product edit modal), there is a Remove button. Clicking this option removes the associated tax from all items/products in the booking.

 

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Is your business on our Flex plan? In that case, a booking fee is listed with your other configured taxes, assuming you still need to rename the fee...which you can do! The booking fee is used to collect payment for the cost of Checkfront services.

You can configure the booking fee options as follows. Start by clicking the name of the booking fee to access the Tax Setup modal.

 

From the Tax Setup modal...

1. Edit the Tax Name or retain the label Booking Fee. Note that the amount is not editable.
2. Next, consider your Options.
   
   By default, the booking fee is not set to inclusive. The booking fee is configured to be added to the invoice's subtotal. The amount is displayed before the booking total within the Create Booking, Payment, Booking Summary, and Booking Invoice pages. Stripe automatically deducts the booking fee from the amount paid and then collects and remits it to Checkfront.
   
   Select the Inclusive checkbox if you want the fee to display after the booking total within the Payment, Booking Summary, and Booking Invoice pages. In this case, the booking fee is not charged on top of the subtotal, but Stripe automatically deducts the fee from the amount paid and collected and remitted to Checkfront.
   
   Choose to set the booking fee as Inclusive and Inclusive Hidden to Guest if you need to hide the booking fee on the invoice. The fee continues to be automatically deducted by Stripe from the amount paid and then collected and remitted to Checkfront.
   
   
3. Save or Update your booking fee to complete the booking fee setup.

The fee displays to Guests when booking and can be reported via the Transaction report (Reports > Transaction). The fee is non-refundable at this time.

 

Interested in our Flex plan? Learn more about the Checkfront Flex Plan!

 

 

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