Organizer guide: Understanding fee calculation changes (as of Jan 1, 2022)

Organizer guide: Understanding Showpass fee calculation changes (as of Jan 1, 2022)

Starting January 1, 2022, Showpass introduced a new fee configuration system that standardizes how fees are calculated across all organizers—whether using the Showpass processor or a custom merchant account.

Important: If your organization registered after September 20, 2021, you’re already using this new fee structure. These updates only apply to new events, products, or tickets that have no sales.

Fee calculation order overview

There are four types of fees impacted by this configuration:

• Organizer Fees
• Showpass Fees
• Processing Fees
• Organizer Processing Fees (for custom processors)

Organizer Fees

• Fixed-amount fees remain unchanged.
• Percentage-based fees are now calculated on the pre-discount ticket value, ensuring organizers earn their full fee amount regardless of applied discounts.

Showpass Fees

• Percentage-based Showpass Fees are calculated on the pre-discount amount, which includes any organizer fees, taxes, and shipping.

Processing Fees

• Calculated last, based on the full post-discount total—including all other fees and taxes.

Organizer Processing Fee (new)

• Available for organizers using their own merchant accounts.
• Calculated last, after all other components, similar to how Showpass applies its standard processing fee.

Example calculation

Let’s say your configuration includes the following:

• Base ticket: $10.00
• Discount: $1.00
• Host Fee: $1.00 (fixed)
• Artist Fee: 5%
• Tax: 5%
• Showpass Fee: $1.69 + 2.5%
• Processing Fee: $0.30 + 2.9%

Step-by-step breakdown:

1. Pre-discount: $10.00
   Post-discount: $9.00
2. Tax: 5% of $9.00 = $0.45
3. Artist Fee: 5% of $10.00 = $0.50
4. Host Fee: $1.00
5. Subtotal before Showpass Fee: $10.00 + $0.45 + $1.50 = $11.95
6. Showpass % Fee: 2.5% of $11.95 = $0.30
7. Subtotal before Processing: $9.00 + $0.45 + $1.50 + $1.69 + $0.30 = $12.94
8. Processing Fee: 2.9% of $12.94 = $0.38
   Final total: $12.94 + $0.30 + $0.38 = $13.62

In this scenario, the Ticket Buyer would pay $13.62 at checkout.

Review screen visibility

The buyer's review page will reflect the breakdown of service and organizer fees based on these new calculations. Service fees may appear slightly higher, especially when calculated on the full, pre-discounted value.

Absorbed fee scenarios

If you choose to absorb Showpass or processing fees, you may see slightly higher internal costs—especially if additional organizer fees, taxes, or shipping are passed onto the buyer.

Tip: Use the fee calculators provided in your organization profile, event, product, or ticket setup to preview the total cost structure.

Fee calculators

To help configure pricing correctly, Showpass offers real-time fee calculators accessible within:

• Your organization profile
• Event setup pages
• Product and Ticket Type settings

These tools let you test pricing scenarios and estimate final buyer costs before going live.

Need support? Our team is here to help. Get in touch with us by filling out this contact form.