A surcharge is an additional fee automatically added to a guest’s bill during specific days or time periods. Venues typically use surcharges to help cover increased wage costs during weekends, public holidays, or special events.

For example:

A venue might apply a 10% surcharge every weekend, which the guest will see at checkout.

ℹ️ In Australia, the me&u platform fee is separate from the venue surcharges described in this article, and both can apply to an order.

How surcharges work in me&u 

You can create multiple surcharges, but only one surcharge can apply to an order at any given time. 

Surcharges do not stack. 

If multiple surcharges overlap, me&u determines which surcharge applies based on priority and schedule, not percentage amount! 

A surcharge will apply only if all of the following are true: 

1. The surcharge is enabled 
2. The surcharge's schedule is active right now 
3. The surcharge is in the highest position in the surcharge table 

If the top enabled surcharge is not currently active, me&u will apply the next enabled surcharge below it that has an active schedule.

This article explains everything you need to know about surcharges, including:

• Setting up a surcharge 
• Adding schedules 
• Knowing when a surcharge is active 
• Disabling or deleting surcharges 
• Important things to know and FAQs

 

How to set up a surcharge

1. Go to Venue Details → Surcharge
2. Click + New surcharge
3. Complete the details: 

• Display name : Shown to both your team and customers at checkout
  (e.g. “10% Public Holiday Surcharge”)
• Surcharge percentage (%): The amount added to the order (e.g. 2%, 10%)
• Internal description (optional): For internal reference only (e.g. "Applies Daily" " Sundays only")
• POS Surcharge ID (optional): Required only for some POS integrations -> Refer to this article to find out if your POS integrations require an SKU. 

4. Click Next: Schedule setup 

Add a schedule (required)

A surcharge must have at least one schedule before it can be created.

You can:
    •    Use a Recurring schedule
    •    Use a Date range
    •    Or combine both within the same surcharge

Recurring schedule

Use this for repeating weekly patterns such as:

• Every Sunday 
• Fridays & Saturdays 
• Evening-only surcharges

Steps

1. Select Recurring 
2. Click + Add time next to the relevant day(s) 
3. Set the start and end time

Date range schedule

Use this for one-off events such as:

• Public holidays (Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Easter) 
• Special venue events

Steps

1. Select Date range 
2. Choose the start and end date 
   • For a single-day surcharge, set the start date and end date to the same day.
   • 💡 Tip: For Public Holidays, we recommend entering all PH dates for the year in advance.

3. Click Create surcharge

Combining recurring + date range (advanced but recommended)

You can combine date range + recurring schedules in the same surcharge.

This is useful when a surcharge applies:

• On a specific date, and 
• Only during certain hours

Example: 
New Year’s Eve Public Holiday surcharge:

• Date range: 31 December → 31 December
• Recurring: Saturday
• Time: 4:00pm – 11:59pm (close)

Important: All new surcharges appear at the bottom of the surcharge table by default.

This is intentional and prevents new surcharges from immediately overriding existing ones.

To ensure your surcharge applies:

• Make sure the Enabled toggle is ON 
• Drag the surcharge higher in the table using the handle bars

 

How to know when a surcharge is active

On the Surcharges page, each surcharge shows a clear status.

Green ON + ✓

The surcharge is live and applying now.

Green ON + ⚠️

The surcharge is enabled, but another surcharge with a higher position is currently applying.

Move the surcharge higher if you want it to apply instead.

 

Green ON + ☾

The surcharge is enabled, but it is not scheduled to apply to the cart at this time

 

OFF

The surcharge is disabled and will not apply.

 

How to disable or delete a surcharge

Disable

1. Go to Venue Details → Surcharges 
2. Toggle the surcharge OFF

Delete

1. Click the three dots (⋮) 
2. Select Delete

Use this if you no longer need the surcharge.

 

Recommended surcharge setups

Public Holiday surcharge (recommended)

Public Holiday surcharges should always have highest position.

Recommended setup

• Schedule type: Date range Time: 12:00am – 11:45pm (or specific hours if required by state rules)
• Position: Top of the surcharge table

Why this works

Public Holidays fall on different days each year. Using a date-based setup ensures the surcharge always applies correctly.

💡 Tip: Add all Public Holiday dates for the year in advance.

 

Sunday surcharge (recommended)

Sunday surcharges work best with a recurring schedule.

Recommended setup

• Day: Sunday Time: Full day: 12:00am – 11:45pm, or Service hours only (e.g. 5:00pm – 10:00pm)
• Position: Below Public Holiday surcharge

Why this works

Ensures Sunday surcharge applies every Sunday Allows Public Holiday surcharge to override when required

 

Important things to know

• Only one surcharge applies at a time 
  • If multiple surcharges overlap, Order & Pay platform will automatically apply the highest position, enabled surcharge on the table, provided the schedule is active at that given time.
  • Any lower-position surcharges active during that same period will display a warning icon. Use handle bars to update position of surcharges to determine which would apply to cart when the schedule is active
• Recurring and Date Range schedules can be combines
  • A single surcharge can include both a recurring weekly pattern and a specific date range. This allows you to control which days the surcharge applies and what time window it runs within the defined date range.
• Surcharge priority is based on position, not percentage 
• Display name is visible to customers at checkout 
• POS Surcharge ID is optional (POS dependent)
  • This field is only required for certain POS integrations. If your POS does not require a surcharge ID, you can leave this field blank.
• Guests cannot remove surcharges at checkout 
• New surcharges are enabled by default but start at the bottom of the table 
• Past-dated schedules must be updated before enabling

FAQs

What happens if I enable more than one surcharge?

Only one surcharge applies per order. me&u applies the highest-position enabled surcharge with an active schedule.

 

Why isn’t my surcharge applying even though it’s ON?

Check that:

The schedule matches the current date and time The surcharge is above other enabled surcharges The schedule is not past- or future-dated

 

Can I add multiple Public Holidays to one surcharge?

Yes.

You can add multiple date ranges within the same surcharge.