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How to talk about the billing fee with your customers

Last verified: May 20, 2026

Some customers will see “Back Office Billing Fee — $4.95” on their first invoice and ask what it is. Here's how to handle that conversation, three ways, depending on how you prefer to run your business.

Why it's a line item at all

PoolSpartan is free for you to use. We earn from a $4.95 fee on each invoice the software sends. By default, that fee appears as its own line item on the invoice — so the customer sees exactly what they're paying for, the same way they'd see a service fee on a card payment or a delivery charge on a takeout order.

We could have hidden it inside the service price. Most platforms do. We don't, because transparency builds trust with the customer and gives you cover: the fee is the software, not you marking it up.

The system explains it

Wherever the fee shows up — the invoice itself, the customer portal, the payment screen — PoolSpartan displays a short plain-language explanation alongside it. Most “what's this?” questions are answered before the customer asks you. The scripts below are for the smaller number who still want to hear it from you directly.

How often you bill is your call

Weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually — set the cadence that fits your business. The $4.95 applies per invoice, so the total your customer sees follows the rhythm you choose. Some operators bill once a year. Some bill monthly. Some quarterly. PoolSpartan doesn't dictate.

Three ways to talk about it

1. The convenience-fee comparison

The cleanest framing for most residential customers:

That's the platform fee for the software I use to invoice you, process the card / ACH payment, and run your service history. It works like a card convenience fee — about $5 per invoice. It lets me skip a $300/month software subscription to provide you with a first-rate online experience, which keeps your service price lower and your customer experience top-notch.

Works because: homeowners already accept small surcharges on card payments, delivery fees, etc. A $5 platform fee is in the same shape and rarely gets pushback.

2. The all-in service price

If you don't want to explain the fee on every invoice, switch the Who pays the Billing Fee setting to Company pays in your PoolSpartan admin. The fee comes out of your payout instead of appearing on the customer's invoice. Then you can quote prices like:

$40 a visit, all in.

Trade-off: the $4.95 per invoice comes out of your margin instead. Worth it if you'd rather have clean invoices than explain a platform fee every time.

3. The honest direct answer

For customers who just want to know what something is:

That's the software fee. PoolSpartan handles billing, autopay, and chemistry tracking — costs me nothing to use; they take a small fee on each invoice. About $5.

Works because: honest, brief, doesn't apologize. Most pool customers appreciate operators who answer questions plainly.

If a customer pushes back

“Why isn't this just in the service price?”

Some operators bake it in instead. I prefer line items so you see what you're actually paying for — if it's a real concern, I can quote you differently next renewal and absorb the fee into my rate.

What's available: the “company pays” setting is entity-wide — not per-customer. Two real options:

Flip the global toggle to “company pays” and raise your service prices by $4.95 to recover the margin (applies to every customer going forward).
Leave the toggle as-is and just quote that one customer at a higher service price at renewal — same total to them, no line-item conversation.

“My old pool guy didn't charge this.”

Your old pool guy was either paying $200–$400/month for software out of his margin, or he was running a spreadsheet and losing customers when he forgot visits. I'd rather show you the $5 so the math is honest.

The closing reminder

You have levers:

Toggle “company pays” globally if you'd rather absorb the fee yourself — no line item shows on customer invoices.
Raise your service price by $5/invoice if your market supports it (most do).

PoolSpartan doesn't dictate. The defaults are sane; you can adjust.

Still have questions?

Email support@poolspartan.com. We've seen the customer conversations operators actually have. Happy to help you find the framing that works for your market.