A handling fee is an amount charged to a customer on top of the order subtotal and shipping fees. It covers the cost of expenses related to fulfilment, such as warehouse storage cost, shipment cost and packing cost. Handling fees are charged once per order, but not for each individual product in an order.
QuickBooks Commerce’s inventory and order management software will help you automate your workflows so you can focus on growing your business.
For example, 10 minutes / 60 =0.16; 0.16 x $12 per hour = $2.00.
$2 is your handling fee on orders.
To save you time, we have built a handling fee calculator for you.
If you are fulfilling orders on your own, you might not think to add handling costs. However, your time spent is valuable and an overhead to running the business.
Determine the time it takes you to pack an order. Then set the minimum amount you’re willing to earn per hour to pack the items – that’s your hourly rate. Finally, complete the same formula from above:
[Average number of minutes worked to package an item / 60] x hourly rate.
The result is your “opportunity cost”, which is the time you could have spent generating revenue. Use it as your handling fee on orders.
When considering how to set your handling fees, keep in mind the overall expenses associated with small business shipping. Including handling fees in your shipping costs will ensure that you are adequately compensated for all aspects of order fulfillment.
Shipping and handling fees need to be clearly labelled in your order invoices so that your customers don’t think you are overcharging them.
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