What Are Performance Fees?
Performance fees are the platform fees charged based on how much money your auction raises. Unlike subscription fees, performance fees are only applied when your event generates revenue, making it a pay-as-you-earn model.
This allows you to run your auction at no upfront cost, paying only when your fundraiser is successful.
How the Fees Are Calculated
- The standard performance fee is typically a fixed percentage (e.g., 3%) of the total amount raised.
- The fee applies to:
- Winning bid amounts collected online
- Ticket sales
- Donations
- Buy It Now items
- The fee does not apply to amounts collected offline outside of the platform.
✅ Example:
If your auction raises $10,000 online and the performance fee is 3%, your platform fee would be $300.
How the Fees Are Collected
- Performance fees are automatically deducted from your auction’s online proceeds before payout.
- If bidders cover fees during checkout, your organization receives a larger net amount.
- Any unpaid offline invoices are not included in this calculation.
When the Fee Is Collected:
- When a bidder’s credit card is charged
- When payments are deposited into your payout account
- Or when you settle your account manually (if applicable)
Fees on Offline Payments
If your organization collects payment offline, platform fees are still owed on those transactions because they’re included in the total amount raised. However:
- No credit card fees are charged on offline amounts.
- You’ll need to remit the platform fee manually, since it wasn’t deducted automatically.
How Fee Splitting Works
Organizations can choose to pass some or all of the performance fees to bidders.
- If enabled, bidders pay a “cover fee” at checkout.
- This offsets or eliminates the cost for your organization.
- If disabled, the fee is deducted from your proceeds.
How Fees Are Displayed
- You can view a Payout Summary in your dashboard showing:
- Total raised
- Total platform fees
- Fees covered by bidders
- Net amount to your organization
- The fee amount is clearly itemized on your payout reports.
Transparent Pricing for Donors and Admins
Performance fees are always disclosed during bidder checkout and in your payout statements. This ensures donors know exactly how their contributions are used and helps admins reconcile their accounting records easily.
Pro Tips for Managing Performance Fees
- Enable bidder cover fees to minimize costs to your organization.
- Track offline payments carefully to ensure fees are properly remitted.
- Review your payout summary regularly for transparency.
- Communicate any fees clearly in your terms and conditions to avoid confusion.
Related Guides
- Can I Charge Additional Credit Card Fees or Shipping Charges
- How to Add Terms and Conditions to Your Auction
- How to Pay Your Invoice
- Sorting and Printing Invoices
- What Is a Buyer’s Premium
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a performance fee?
A performance fee is a small platform fee charged as a percentage of your total amount raised. It’s deducted from your proceeds after the event.
When are performance fees charged?
They’re collected automatically when funds are processed through the platform or remitted manually for offline payments.
Do performance fees apply to offline payments?
Yes. Since offline amounts are included in your total raised, performance fees still apply, but no credit card fees are charged.
Can bidders cover the performance fee?
Yes. You can enable bidder cover fees at checkout so donors pay the platform fee instead of your organization.
Is the performance fee refundable?
If a transaction is refunded, the performance fee associated with it may be reversed, depending on your payout status.
Are there any upfront costs?
No. Performance fees are only applied after your auction raises funds—no upfront fees are required.
Can I lower or remove performance fees?
Performance fees depend on your plan. Upgrading or using a custom agreement may adjust the rate.
How can I see the total performance fees charged?
You can view a full breakdown of fees in your Payout Summary and event reporting dashboard.
Does the performance fee apply to shipping or taxes?
Fees apply only to the total raised through auction activity. Additional charges like shipping may be handled separately.
Where can I find more pricing information?
You can review your pricing plan in your admin dashboard or contact support for a custom rate quote.
💡 Try this in ChatGPT
- Summarize the article "How Performance Fees Work on CharityAuctionsToday" from https://www.charityauctionstoday.com/p/help/can-you-explain-how-the-performance-fees-work/ in 3 bullet points for a board update.
- Turn the article "How Performance Fees Work on CharityAuctionsToday" (https://www.charityauctionstoday.com/p/help/can-you-explain-how-the-performance-fees-work/) into a 60-second talking script with one example and one CTA.
- Extract 5 SEO keywords and 3 internal link ideas from "How Performance Fees Work on CharityAuctionsToday": https://www.charityauctionstoday.com/p/help/can-you-explain-how-the-performance-fees-work/.
- Create 3 tweet ideas and a LinkedIn post that expand on this help topic using the article at https://www.charityauctionstoday.com/p/help/can-you-explain-how-the-performance-fees-work/.
Tip: Paste the whole prompt (with the URL) so the AI can fetch context.
