When to Use This Feature
Tip: This feature has a dual purpose- either adding custom taxes beyond state sales taxes that are specific to your city, region, etc. or to add a surcharge for when invoices are paid via credit card.
FAQ:
If you decide to add a surcharge to offset credit card processing fees, you are required by law to disclose it to your clients. In addition, it must be listed as a separate line on the invoice, so be sure to explicitly name your surcharge fee so it is is easily identifiable by clients. It will be listed as a separate charge.
The tax or surcharge will automatically apply to the invoice. If you need to remove it, for example, when a client pays entirely in cash and you prefer not to charge the fee simply tap the minus (-) icon next to the charge on the invoice. This works the same way as adding or removing a discount.
Adding a Surcharge or Custom Tax
1. Begin in the Aesthetic Record web-based Control Center
Navigate to the Settings wheel and then select Manage Clinics
2. Search for the Clinic you'd like to add the fee to and click Edit
Reminder: Custom taxes and surcharges are configured and applied at the clinic level. Each clinic must have its own charges set up.
3. Next, scroll down and click Additional Clinic Surcharges
Understanding Cascading & Non-Cascading Taxes
4. Fill Out the Required Fields
Complete each field:
Name — Label shown on invoice (e.g., Service Fee)
Percentage (%) — Percentage only (no $ amounts)
Application Level
Invoice Level — applies to whole invoice
Item Level — applies only to specific taxable item lines
4. Tax Type — choose one and note cascading behavior
🔄 Cascading vs. Non-Cascading — What Does It Mean?
Non-Cascading =
A surcharge is calculated only on the original subtotal (or allowed items) —
❌ NOT on tax
❌ NOT on other surcharges
✅ No double taxation
Example (Non-Cascading):
Subtotal $100 → Non-Cascading Post-Tax 3% = 3% of $100 = $3.00
> The fee is added after tax but does not increase the taxable amount.
Cascading =
A surcharge is calculated on top of other taxes and fees that came before it.
✅ Tax on tax
✅ Raises the taxable base again
Example (Cascading):
Subtotal $100 → Tax $8 → Cascading Post-Tax 3% = 3% of $108 = $3.24
> The fee applies after tax → and includes the tax as part of the calculation.
Surcharge
Pre-Tax
Included in Subtotal: Yes (calculated before tax)
Taxable: Yes
Cascading? No
Effect example: Subtotal $100 + Pre-Tax 3.5% = $3.50 → Tax applied on $103.50
Post-Tax
Displayed after tax: Yes
Taxable: Depends on variant (see cascading)
Cascading? Can be Yes or No
If Non-Cascading (No): Applies after tax and is NOT included in tax base.
Example: Subtotal $100 + Tax $8 → Post-Tax 3% = $3 (3% of $100) → total adds $3 after tax.
If Cascading (Yes): Applies on subtotal + pre-tax + tax (i.e., tax-on-tax).
Example: Subtotal + pre-tax + tax = $115 → Post-Tax 3% = $3.45 (3% of $115)
5. Rules
All Invoices / Online Booking / In Clinic
6. Exclusions (multi-select)
Memberships, Gift Cards, Cancellation Fee, Treatment Plan, Service Deposits
Save
Click Save — surcharge appears in Clinic Surcharge list
5. After creating your surcharges, proceed through your normal checkout flow. The configured fees will automatically apply to your invoice based on the rules you set.
In this example, you see a medical invoice from that demonstrates how various fees and taxes are layered onto the base service costs to arrive at the final amount due.
The Base Services
In this example, you see two line items listed: 20 units of Dysport priced at $5.75 equalling $115 and 1 unit of Createnew retail for test priced at $100.00 with a individual 7% sales tax, this is creating a subtotal of $215.00.
Additional Charges Applied
In this example, you see three separate charges added to the subtotal:
Service Fee (5%): You see a $10.75 charge, which is 5% of the $215 subtotal, covering administrative and processing costs.
CDD (0.5%): You see a $0.50 charge on the Taxable retail item,
In this example the CDD fee only applies to the taxable item because the fee is applied at the item level. Only items that are taxable are eligible.
Sales Tax (7%): The taxable retail item applied a charge of $7.39 (7% x $111.25). $100 plus the additional fees of $11.25 .
The Final Calculation
In this example, you see these surcharges/taxes total $18.64 in additional fees, bringing the final amount from $215.00 to $233.64
6. View fees in Business Insights
Sales Summary Report
Surcharges are displayed separately under the Tax section.
Pre-Tax Fees, Surcharges, and Taxes are itemized clearly.
Total Sales includes surcharges.
Net Sales excludes them.
Sales > Taxes Report
A new column in the taxes report titled Surcharges Collected shows the total collected per clinic.
This provides a quick snapshot of surcharge revenue over your selected date range.
In Sales – Invoices Export, two new columns show detailed surcharge data.
