If you charge clients a one-time onboarding cost, a setup fee collects it automatically when they buy a recurring service.
Use case: You run a design subscription. Before work starts, you spend time on onboarding, setting up systems and initial strategy. Instead of invoicing this by hand for every new client, you add a setup fee to the service so it's included at checkout.
Good to know: setup fees are available on recurring services only. One-off services don't have this option.
How to add a setup fee
Go to Services > All services and create a new recurring service, or edit an existing one.
On the Pricing details step, set your prices and recurring periods as usual.
Scroll down to More details and turn on Charge a setup fee.
Enter the Setup fee amount. It uses the service's currency.
Click Next to finish the remaining steps and save the service.
What clients see and pay
The fee is charged once, on top of the regular price. It doesn't repeat on renewals.
Clients see it as Setup fee (one-time) in the order summary before they pay.
On the invoice, it appears as a separate Setup fee line.
The fee also applies when the service is bought through an order form.
Setup fees with trials
If the service has a trial (free or paid), the setup fee isn't charged at signup. It shows as $0.00 at checkout and is added to the first invoice after the trial ends. The order summary lists it under Future payments so clients know what to expect.
