TicketsCandy is built to keep ticketing costs low for event organizers and their customers. Our standard TicketsCandy fee is 0.9% in the United States and Canada, and TicketsCandy is free in all other supported countries.
Electronic payments made through TicketsCandy are processed by Square, our exclusive payment processing partner. TicketsCandy does not hold your ticket revenue. Square processes these payments through your connected merchant account and deposits your available funds into the bank account connected to Square.
Cash payments are collected directly by you. Square may record the sale, but it does not process or transfer the cash.
TicketsCandy & Square Fees by Country #
The tables below show standard card-processing rates and applicable TicketsCandy fees. Whether you cover these costs yourself or charge customers a passed-on or custom fee depends on your event settings.
United States #
| Sales Method | TicketsCandy Fee | Reserved Seating or Membership Fee | Square Processing Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online Sales | 0.9% | +1% | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Square Terminal | 0.9% | +1% | 2.6% + $0.15 |
| Square Stand | Free | Free | 2.6% + $0.15 |
Canada #
| Sales Method | TicketsCandy Fee | Reserved Seating or Membership Fee | Square Processing Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online Sales | 0.9% | +1% | 2.8% + $0.30 |
| Square Terminal | 0.9% | +1% | 2.5% |
| Square Stand | Free | Free | 2.5% |
United Kingdom #
| Sales Method | TicketsCandy Fee | Square Processing Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Online Sales | Free | 1.4% + 25p |
| In-Person Sales (POS) | Free | 1.75% |
Australia #
| Sales Method | TicketsCandy Fee | Square Processing Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Online Sales | Free | 2.2% |
| In-Person Sales (POS) | Free | 1.6% |
Ireland #
| Sales Method | TicketsCandy Fee | Square Processing Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Online Sales | Free | 1.4% + €0.25 + VAT |
| In-Person Sales (POS) | Free | 1.75% + VAT |
France #
| Sales Method | TicketsCandy Fee | Square Processing Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Online Sales | Free | 1.4% + €0.25 |
| In-Person Sales (POS) | Free | 1.65% |
Spain #
| Sales Method | TicketsCandy Fee | Square Processing Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Online Sales | Free | 1.4% + €0.25 |
| In-Person Sales (POS) | Free | 1.25% + €0.05 |
Note: The Square rates listed above represent the standard rates used for eligible domestic cards. Square may apply different rates or additional fees to certain international cards, alternative payment methods, or merchant arrangements.
Cash POS payments have no TicketsCandy transaction fee or Square processing fee. However, any passed-on or custom fee you choose to charge customers still applies to cash orders.
How TicketsCandy Fees Work #
For organizers in the United States and Canada, TicketsCandy normally charges a 0.9% service fee on paid online transactions. This applies to regular tickets and other applicable items sold through the platform.
Applicable Square Terminal rates are shown in the tables above. Square Stand orders have no TicketsCandy service fee.
TicketsCandy does not charge its standard service fee in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, France, or Spain.
There are also no TicketsCandy or Square processing fees for orders with a total of $0, such as completely free or complimentary tickets.
How Fees Are Calculated #
TicketsCandy and Square calculate their fees from different amounts within the same transaction.
TicketsCandy fees are calculated from the subtotal of the tickets and other applicable items sold, before taxes, fees charged to customers, or other additional charges.
For example, if the ticket subtotal is $100, the TicketsCandy fee is calculated from that $100 amount, even if taxes or additional fees increase the customer’s final order total.
Square processing fees are calculated from the full electronic payment amount processed through Square. This includes the ticket price, applicable taxes, passed-on or custom fees, and other amounts included in the payment.
Because of this, the TicketsCandy percentage fee and Square percentage fee may be calculated from different amounts on the same order.
When you select Pass Fees On, TicketsCandy automatically calculates the amount needed to recover the applicable costs used by its pricing calculator. This calculation also accounts for processing fees on the money collected for fees and tax.
Reserved Seating #
Reserved Seating transactions have an additional 1% TicketsCandy fee, bringing the total TicketsCandy fee to 1.9% where TicketsCandy fees apply.
Reserved Seating requires additional infrastructure to manage seating charts, individual seat inventory, real-time seat availability, seat reservations, and other specialized functionality.
The additional fee helps support the infrastructure, ongoing development, and processing required to provide these features.
Membership Plans #
Membership transactions also have an additional 1% TicketsCandy fee, bringing the total TicketsCandy fee to 1.9% where TicketsCandy fees apply.
Memberships support recurring billing, saved payment methods, automatic renewals, failed-payment handling, subscription management, and other ongoing processes.
The additional fee helps cover the infrastructure and development required to operate these more advanced transactions.
Why TicketsCandy Keeps Its Fees Low #
One of our main goals is to keep ticketing fees as low as possible.
Large service fees can significantly increase the customer’s total and may discourage customers from completing their purchase.
TicketsCandy’s standard fee is only 0.9% in the United States and Canada, which helps keep the total price closer to the organizer’s base ticket price.
Depending on the options available in your country, you can pass applicable fees to customers, absorb them yourself, or configure a custom fee. Events in Spain have Absorb Fees only, as explained below.
Passing Fees to Customers #
Choose Pass Fees On when you want TicketsCandy to automatically calculate the fee charged to customers using the applicable platform and standard processing rates.
The calculated fee is included in the price customers see before checkout. It is not added for the first time when they reach the order summary.
For example, if a ticket has a $20 base price and the calculated fee is $1, its displayed price is $21 before any applicable tax. Tax is displayed according to your event’s tax settings and applicable requirements.
When a customer completes an electronic payment online:
- The item amounts, applicable fees, tax, and any savings determine the final order total.
- The customer pays the total through Square.
- Square processes the payment.
- Square deducts the applicable Square processing fee and TicketsCandy service fee.
- The remaining funds are credited to the organizer’s Square account.
- Square transfers the available funds to the connected bank account according to the organizer’s Square transfer schedule.
TicketsCandy does not collect your ticket revenue and send you a payout after your event. Applicable fees are handled with each electronic transaction.
Multi-item savings #
When Pass Fees On is enabled, each item’s displayed price initially includes enough to cover its purchase on its own. Where the processing rate includes a fixed charge per payment, several items purchased together can share that charge.
TicketsCandy recalculates the combined fees during checkout and removes the duplicated fixed-fee amount through Multi-item savings in the Order Summary. Individual displayed item prices stay the same.
This is a fee adjustment, not a promotional discount funded from your ticket revenue. It removes excess fees from the combined order without reducing your base ticket revenue. The full calculation also accounts for percentage fees, tax, and rounding.
Multi-item savings is part of Pass Fees On whenever an order needs this adjustment. It does not apply to Custom Fees or Absorb Fees.
Different payment methods #
The passed-on fee charged to the customer does not change when they choose a different payment method.
The automatic calculation uses the applicable standard processing rate. If a payment method has a higher actual processing cost, such as Afterpay or Clearpay, you cover the difference.
Pass Fees On therefore does not guarantee an identical net payout for every payment method or merchant arrangement.
Absorbing the Fees #
Choose Absorb Fees when you want to cover the applicable TicketsCandy and Square costs yourself.
No passed-on or custom fee is added to the customer’s price. Applicable tax still follows your event’s tax settings.
For electronic payments, Square deducts applicable processing and TicketsCandy service fees before crediting the remaining funds to you. You cover those costs from your revenue.
Cash POS payments have no TicketsCandy transaction fee or Square processing fee.
Setting a Custom Customer Fee #
Choose Custom Fees to set your own percentage charged to customers. This replaces the automatically calculated passed-on fee; it is not added on top of Pass Fees On.
Your custom fee is included in the displayed price and applies regardless of payment method, including cash POS orders and online Pay at the Door bookings.
Setting a custom fee does not change the TicketsCandy or Square processing rates. Applicable provider fees are still deducted from electronic payments.
Your custom fee may cover more or less than those costs. A single percentage will not precisely match every order, especially where Square charges a fixed amount per payment. You may need a higher percentage to cover smaller orders, which can result in collecting more than the actual costs on larger orders.
Multi-item savings does not apply to Custom Fees.
You can manage your settings separately for each sales channel:
| Sales channel | Where to manage fees and taxes |
|---|---|
| Online sales, including Pay at the Door bookings | Event Settings > Payments |
| In-person sales | Sell In-Person > POS Settings |
Online and POS configurations are separate. Review both if you sell through both channels.
Why Fees Also Apply to Cash and Pay at the Door #
If you select Pass Fees On or Custom Fees, the fees you choose to charge customers apply regardless of payment method. This includes online Pay at the Door bookings and cash payments through TicketsCandy POS on Square Stand and Square Terminal.
To support compliance with pricing and payment-surcharge regulations across different countries, TicketsCandy applies these fees consistently. They form part of the upfront purchase price rather than an extra charge triggered by paying with a card.
TicketsCandy and Square do not charge transaction fees on cash POS payments. Any passed-on or custom fee collected on a cash order stays with you as additional revenue. Applicable taxes still follow your tax settings.
Pay at the Door changes when payment is collected. It does not remove the configured fee from the online booking.
There is no separate option to remove passed-on or custom fees only for cash payments. To stop adding these fees to POS orders, choose Absorb Fees in POS Settings. This applies to all POS payment methods.
Fee Options for Events in Spain #
Absorb Fees is the only fee option available for events in Spain.
Spain places stricter conditions on ticket booking and handling charges. TicketsCandy uses Absorb Fees as its platform policy for handling those requirements. This does not mean Spanish law bans every possible booking fee.
You can account for applicable business costs when setting your base ticket prices. Any applicable tax still follows your tax settings.
How Taxes Affect Prices and Fees #
Your tax settings determine what is taxed and where the tax appears. Configure them separately for online sales and POS, using the rate and treatment confirmed for your event.
Taxable items #
Choose Tickets, Products, or both.
Tickets includes regular tickets, seated tickets, addons, passes, bundles, donations, and similar items. Products covers products sold through your event. All items within each group follow that group’s tax setting.
Tax on buyer fees #
Here, buyer fees means the fees charged to customers through Pass Fees On or Custom Fees.
- Charge tax on buyer fees: Tax applies to the selected item prices and their associated passed-on or custom fees.
- Do not charge tax on buyer fees: Tax applies to the selected item prices, excluding those fees.
With Absorb Fees, there is no separate fee charged to the customer, so this setting has no effect.
Price display #
- Include tax in displayed prices: Applicable tax is included in the price shown before checkout. The price description shows the exact included tax amount.
- Show tax only in the order summary: The displayed price includes any passed-on or custom fee but excludes tax. Applicable tax appears in the Order Summary before purchase.
Changing Price display does not change the tax calculation or the final amount owed. When tax is already included, the summary explains that amount rather than charging it again.
For example, (incl. $0.51 fee & $1.03 tax) identifies amounts already included in the displayed price. The fee amount excludes event tax. Wording and tax names follow the event’s location and language.
Choose the display option allowed for your sales. Consult a local accountant or tax adviser to confirm the correct rate, taxable items, treatment of passed-on or custom fees, and applicable price-display requirements. You remain responsible for collecting, reporting, and paying the required tax.
How Square Processing Fees Work #
Square is the exclusive payment processor used by TicketsCandy. A Square merchant account must be connected before paid online transactions can be accepted.
Square has introduced different software subscription plans and processing rates for some products and countries. You may therefore see a different rate advertised in your Square Dashboard or on Square’s website.
TicketsCandy connects to Square through its payment APIs. The tables above show the standard rates used for the listed card-payment workflows. Alternative payment methods, international cards, and individual merchant arrangements may have different rates.
For example, Square’s standard US online pricing may show a higher rate for certain Square products, while payments processed through its Online API use a different rate. Your subscription level for other Square products does not necessarily determine the rate for transactions processed through TicketsCandy.
Square calculates its processing fee from the total electronic payment, including applicable taxes, passed-on or custom fees, and other charges included in the customer’s payment.
Where Does My Money Go? #
TicketsCandy never holds your ticket revenue.
Electronic payments are processed through your connected Square merchant account. Square records the payment, deducts applicable fees, and transfers your available balance to your connected bank account.
Your payout schedule is controlled by Square and can depend on your account and transfer settings.
Cash is collected directly by you. It is not transferred to your bank account by Square, even if the sale is recorded in Square.
For financial reporting, use your Square Dashboard to review electronic payments, processing fees, refunds, transfers, and recorded cash activity. Reconcile those records with your TicketsCandy orders.
What Happens to Fees When I Issue a Refund? #
Refunds initiated through TicketsCandy are sent to Square for processing.
When an electronic payment is refunded through TicketsCandy:
- TicketsCandy’s service fee is refunded.
- Square’s original processing fee is not refunded.
- You do not need to issue the same refund separately through Square.
Because Square keeps its original processing fee, the refund can cost more than the net amount you originally received from that transaction.
Are There Fees for Free Tickets? #
No. If an order has a total payment amount of $0, there is no payment for Square to process and no TicketsCandy service fee is charged.
This makes it possible to offer complimentary tickets and other free admissions without transaction fees.
