Charges & Tax
This page explains how extra charges and tax are worked out. For how to apply a surcharge, see Surcharges; for delivery, see Delivery Orders & Charges.
Surcharge
A surcharge can be a flat dollar amount or a percentage.
A percentage surcharge is worked out on the subtotal after the discount and coupon come off - not on the original subtotal.
Example - $90.00 of food, $20.00 discount, 10% surcharge:
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Subtotal | $90.00 |
| Discount | − $20.00 |
| Discounted subtotal | $70.00 |
| Surcharge at 10% | + $7.00 |
The surcharge is $7.00, not the $9.00 that 10% of $90.00 would give.
A surcharge never moves with how the bill is paid
A surcharge is a fee on the goods. It is fixed when the items are in the cart, before anyone says how they will pay, and a cash discount never reduces it.
INFO
This matters most on a split bill. If a cash discount reduced the surcharge, the reduction would leak onto people who had already paid, and the last person to pay would absorb all of it. Keeping the surcharge fixed is what stops that.
Delivery, service charge and platform fee
These are flat amounts added to the bill:
| Charge | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Delivery charge | Set on the order, or by delivery zone |
| Service charge | Carried by online and kiosk orders |
| Platform fee | Carried by online and kiosk orders |
Each is added to the total and then shared across the items in proportion to their value, so that a per-person or per-item breakdown always adds back to the order total.
TIP
On a wholly discounted order - everything free - a flat delivery charge is still carried, shared equally across the items. It is not dropped just because the goods came to zero.
Tax
Inclusive and exclusive
| Type | What it means | Effect on the total |
|---|---|---|
| Inclusive | The tax is already inside the menu price | Adds nothing. Shown for reporting only |
| Exclusive | The tax is added on top | Increases the total |
A $11.00 item with inclusive GST is $11.00 to the customer, of which $1.00 is GST. A $10.00 item with exclusive GST is $11.00 to the customer.
Tax follows the discount down
Tax added on top is worked out on each item's price after its share of any discount. The customer is buying goods at the reduced price, so they pay tax on the reduced price.
Example - $64.00 item, 10% GST, with a 5% cash discount:
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Item | $64.00 |
| Cash discount at 5% | − $3.20 |
| Goods after discount | $60.80 |
| GST at 10% of $60.80 | + $6.08 |
| Total | $66.88 |
The GST is $6.08, not the $6.40 that the undiscounted price would give. The difference - $0.32 - is tax the customer no longer owes because they are not paying for that value.
Tax on the surcharge and delivery
The surcharge and the delivery charge carry their own tax, worked out on those amounts themselves rather than on the goods. Your manager sets which tax groups apply to each in the admin portal.
Tax is rounded once per rate, not per item
This is the reason a receipt's tax line can differ by a cent or two from adding up the tax shown against each item.
The POS totals the goods at each tax rate, works out the tax on that total once, and then shares it back across the items. Working out the tax on each item separately and adding up loses money:
Example - six drinks totalling $260.00 of goods at 10% GST:
Worked out per item and added up, the rounded amounts come to $25.98. Ten percent of $260.00 is $26.00. Rounding each item on its own loses two cents that the customer is actually charged.
The POS reports $26.00 and shares it back across the six lines.
Common questions
Why is the surcharge less than I expected?
A percentage surcharge is worked out after the discount and coupon come off. On a $90.00 order with $20.00 off, a 10% surcharge is $7.00, not $9.00.
The tax on the receipt does not match the tax against each item added up. Is that wrong?
No. Tax is worked out once on the total goods at each rate, then shared back. Adding up individually-rounded amounts can land a cent or two out - the receipt figure is the correct one.
Why did the GST drop when I applied a discount?
Because the customer is buying less value. Tax added on top is always worked out on what the goods actually cost after the discount.
A customer says the menu price should include GST but the receipt adds it. Which is right?
That depends on how your products are configured. Inclusive tax is already inside the menu price and adds nothing at the till; exclusive tax is added on top. Your manager sets this per product in the admin portal.
Does the tip get taxed?
No. A tip is added last and is never taxed. It also never changes the price of any item.
We give a cash discount. Does it reduce the surcharge too?
No. The surcharge is a fee on the goods and is fixed before payment method is known. A cash discount reduces the goods and the tax on them, not the surcharge.