Surcharging in Clio lets your firm pass credit card processing fees to clients and offset the cost of accepting credit cards. Clio Payments keeps surcharges within card brand rules, capping them at 3% of the transaction amount and holding them at or below your cost of acceptance. After you meet the notice period and jurisdiction requirements and enable the feature, credit card payments automatically include the surcharge.
Note: Surcharging is a request-only feature available to Clio Payments customers in the United States. It applies to clients in all states except Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico.
Important: This list summarizes key requirements. Additional requirements may apply, so review the laws in your state and the ethics rules of your jurisdiction's Bar association.
Review surcharging rules and requirements
Major credit card networks enforce surcharging rules, and surcharging applies to credit card payments only. Review the following requirements before you begin:
- Visa requires notice to the acquirer 30 days before surcharging begins. Clio handles this notice on your behalf.
- Post signage in your office stating that the surcharge applies to credit card payments and showing the surcharge amount.
- Offer clients an alternative payment method, such as debit or eCheck, that is free of a surcharge. When a client chooses another method, your firm still pays the processing fees for that method.
Enable surcharging
To begin surcharging, an administrator will need to call Clio Support to enable the feature for your account. An email confirmation follows when the feature is enabled. After you receive the confirmation, complete the 30-day notice period and meet any additional state or card network requirements. Then turn on surcharging using the steps below.
Important: Enabling surcharging disables the Google Pay and Apple Pay options, and surcharges do not apply to credit card payments made with tap-to-pay. Once enabled, all future payments made through your client's links include the surcharge, even for bills sent before activation.
- In Clio Manage, click Settings > Online Payments.
- Click Go to Payments Settings.
- In the Payment methods card, click Manage payment methods.
- Toggle Pass on credit card fees to on.
- Review the terms and conditions, and check each box to accept the terms.
- Click Enable surcharging.
Note: If this option does not appear, an administrator should first call Clio Support to enable surcharging for your firm.
Up Next
Review Accepted Payment Methods: Review which methods clients can use and how surcharging affects each one.