We have some merge tokens that automatically display convenience fee information. These are designed for schools utilizing our Payments product, and they pull information from the Payment Setup page.
💡Quick Answers
- If I change my convenience fee, do I need to update my emails and forms? No. These tokens are dynamic. As soon as you save a new rate on the Payment Setup page, every email, form, and portal page using these tokens will automatically display the new amount.
- Why is Check or Custom/Wire Transfer missing from my bulleted list token? The bulleted list tokens only display payment methods that are currently enabled for that specific category. If Check is disabled for Deposits, it will not appear in the {{system.convenience_fee_descriptions_deposit}} list.
- What is the difference between a Bulleted List token and an Individual token? Bulleted List tokens generate a pre-formatted list of all methods and fees (e.g., "Credit Card: 3%"). Individual tokens pull only the rate (e.g., "3%"), allowing you to insert them into your own custom sentences.
- Can I use the Autopay tokens in a standard marketing or inquiry email? No. Autopay tokens are specialized and only function within Billing Email templates.
- How do I change the name of the fee (e.g., change Convenience Fee to Processing Fee)? The tokens pull the Fee Description directly from your Payment Setup page. Updating the description there will update the text generated by the tokens site-wide.
In This Article
⚠️ Important Note
The amounts and names shown in the examples below (e.g., 3.05% or $2.50) are examples only. Your tokens will dynamically display the specific Display Name and Fee Amount/Rate you have configured in your settings.
Bulleted List Tokens
These tokens generate a bulleted list of every enabled payment method and its associated fee. If a payment method is disabled for a specific category, it will not appear in the list. The information pulled into these tokens populates from the information on your Payment Setup page.
- Billing Specifics: The Billing token is unique to the Billing Management portal, which only supports Credit Card and ACH.
- Zero Fees: If a method is enabled but has no fee, it will display as $0.00.
| Category | Token | Example Display |
| Application | {{system.convenience_fee_descriptions_application}} |
|
| Deposit | {{system.convenience_fee_descriptions_deposit}} |
|
| Billing | {{system.convenience_fee_descriptions_billing}} |
|
| Custom Forms | {{system.convenience_fee_descriptions_ad_hoc_form}} |
|
Individual Fee Tokens
Use these tokens if you want to display only the fee amount (percentage or dollar value) without the payment method name. These are ideal for building your own custom sentences.
| Description | Token | Example Display |
| Credit Card | {{system.convenience_fee_description_credit_card}} | 3.05% (4% for international cards) |
| Electronic Check | {{system.convenience_fee_description_electronic_check}} | $2.50 |
| Check | {{system.convenience_fee_description_check}} | $0.00 |
| Custom | {{system.convenience_fee_description_custom}} | $0.00 |
Things to Note
- Setup Limits: Convenience fees can only be applied to Credit Cards and Electronic Checks.
- Visibility: If you haven't enabled a payment method for a specific area (like "Check" for Applications), it simply won't appear in the bulleted list.
- Editing: To change the names or amounts shown by these tokens, navigate to your Payment Setup page.
Autopay Convenience Fee Tokens
These contain information specific to the convenience fees associated with payments scheduled to be automatically withdrawn. These tokens will only work within the Billing Email templates (i.e., they will not work in custom email templates).
Formatted Autopay Convenience Fee Amount
Displays the amount of the convenience fee associated with the recipient's charge. This displays only the amount of the convenience fee (no other text.)
- Merge Field: {{statement.formatted_autopay_convenience_fee_amount}}
- Example: If the charge is $275 and the Credit Card convenience fee is 3.05%, $8.38 would display.
Important notes:
- If no convenience fee is applicable, $0.0 will be displayed.
- Because this token begins with "statement", it will only work within Billing Email templates; it's only intended for use in emails that go out before a payment is made (like Upcoming Payment) and will not work the same in emails that occur after payment (like the Payment Received email).
Autopay Convenience Fee Disclaimer
Displays a message that informs the recipient of the convenience fee associated with their charge:
- Merge Field: {{statement.autopay_convenience_fee_disclaimer}}
- Example: Note: There is an additional convenience fee associated with your enrolled autopay payment method of $X.XX. This amount will be added to the amount processed.
Within the above statement, certain words are pulled from what you have set up on your Payment Setup page.
- The words "convenience fee" are based on what you have recorded as the Fee Description within the Payment Setup page.
- The amount that will be displayed within the message is based on the fees established on the Payment Setup page.
The merge token automatically adjusts based on the recipient. For example, if they have a Credit Card set to autopay and receive an email with the merge token, they'll see the Fee Description you have set for credit cards and the fee amount (either percentage, flat rate, or both) you have set up for credit cards.
Additional notes:
- If the associated payment doesn't incur any convenience fee, that merge token will not display anything within the recipient's email.
- Because this token begins with "statement", it will only work within Billing email templates; it's only intended for use in emails that go out before a payment is made (like Upcoming Payment) and will not work the same in emails that occur after payment (like the Payment Received email).
- We recommend including the token in the following Billing emails:
- Auto Payment Failure
- Retry Upcoming Auto Payment
- Upcoming Statement
- Upcoming Payment
- Upcoming Auto Payment
Where to Use These Tokens
You can include the convenience fee merge tokens in your Parent Portal, forms, and emails. (Please note: the Autopay tokens can only be used in Billing Email templates.
Parent Portal
You can utilize the Parent Portal content templates (Settings > Portal > Parent Portal Content) to update certain areas of the Parent Portal.
Reminder about your Parent Portal: Convenience fees are already displayed by default within the Billing Management tab (see the Parent Billing Workflow article for more details).
You may wish to include convenience fee information in the following template:
- Deposit Instructions: This is displayed within your Contract form, on the payment page, right above the area where parents select their payment method.
How to use the token here
Within the template editor, use the merge token picker to select the System tokens and then locate and insert the Merge token you'd like to include.
Below you can see an example of including the Convenience Fee Description for Deposit token. This will display as a bulleted list within the contract and includes all payment methods enabled for the Deposit.
Forms
Within the Advanced Editor of any form, you can include one of these convenience fee merge tokens.
How to use the token here
- Navigate to the one of your forms (Settings > Forms) and access the Advanced Form Editor under the Actions menu.
- Add a new comment section or update an existing comment section and include the merge token by pasting in the token.
- For example, if you were to update one of your custom forms, you could include the custom form token within the comment box like this: {{system.convenience_fee_description_custom}}
Be sure that it's typed correctly (exactly as it appears here). As a pro-tip, use a blank email template to pull the token in by searching for it in the token picker and then copy the token and paste it where you are working within the form.
Below is a quick example GIF of adding the Convenience Fee Description for Custom Forms token within a comment in the Advanced Form Editor. It will display as a bulleted list that shows each payment method enabled for custom forms along with their associated convenience fee.
Please note that you will need to publish changes within a form to make it parent-facing. Be sure to preview your form edits to check that you are happy with them before publishing.
Emails
You can include these tokens in any email that you wish to communicate fee information in.
How to use the token here
Within the template editor, use the merge token picker to select the System tokens and then locate and insert the Merge token you'd like to include.
The example below demonstrates pulling a convenience fee merge token into an email template. Please note that the token selected in the GIF is an example only and the token you should include will depend on the communication and your need.
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