# How fees work

URL: /systems/finance/fees · Id: `page:systems/finance/fees`

> What each kind of fee is, when it comes out, and where it lands in the Ledger, from card charges to marketplace takes, payouts and filing costs.

A [Startup](/business/nouns/startup) pays one platform fee on each charge, outside costs at what they cost, and other Startups once their work is accepted. Every fee posts to the [Ledger](/systems/ledger) as its own [Entry](/business/nouns/entry).

## One fee per charge
Each charge a [Customer](/business/nouns/customer) pays carries one platform fee, withheld before the money reaches the Startup's balance. It covers Stripe's processing cost and the platform's share, and the platform pays Stripe from it. The Ledger books the two parts as separate Entries, so [Reports](/systems/reports) show what taking each payment cost.

| When | What happens to fees |
| --- | --- |
| A Customer pays | The fee comes out of that charge before it settles. |
| A refund | [`Order.refund`](/business/nouns/order/refund) posts reversing Entries against the original sale. |
| A chargeback | The rail withdraws the disputed amount and Stripe's dispute fee; a won [Dispute](/business/nouns/dispute) returns both. |
| A bank inquiry | Answered, or refunded in full, it closes with no dispute fee. |

## Marketplace sales
On a [Marketplace](/products/templates/marketplace), the [Supplier](/business/nouns/supplier) sells, so each sale is a Stripe destination charge settled on the Supplier's own account. Its application fee carries the Startup's take and the platform fee together. The platform keeps its fee and transfers the take to the Startup the same day.

A refund reverses the Supplier's transfer and the application fee in proportion to the amount returned. [Marketplace payments](/systems/finance/marketplace-payments) walks through one sale.

## Costs passed through
When a [System](/business/nouns/system) spends with an outside party, the cost passes through at what that party charges, with no platform fee on top. Each one posts as its own Entry when the party bills it.

| Item | Paid to | System |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Payouts to each Supplier and [Partner](/business/nouns/partner) | Stripe | [Earnings](/systems/payouts) |
| Sales tax calculated on each taxed charge | Stripe | [Tax](/systems/tax) |
| [Bill](/business/nouns/bill) payments, transfers out and instant payouts to your bank | Stripe | [Treasury](/systems/treasury), [Spend management](/systems/spend) |
| Numbers, minutes and texts | Phone carriers | [Phone](/systems/phone) |
| Spend on each [Ad](/business/nouns/ad), inside its [Campaign](/business/nouns/campaign) budget | The networks that show it | [Ads](/systems/ads) |
| Filing fees and the registered agent | States and the registered agent | [Corporate records](/systems/corporate-records) |
| Trademark filings and domain renewals | Governments and registries | [Intellectual property](/systems/intellectual-property) |
| Pay runs | The payroll provider, under its [Agreement](/business/nouns/agreement) | [Pay runs](/systems/payroll) |

A [Card](/business/nouns/card) charge is spend, not a fee. It posts a [Cost](/business/nouns/cost) to the [Task](/business/nouns/task) that spent it.

## Work from other Startups and venues
A Startup can order a whole job, such as a bookkeeping review or a security questionnaire, from another Startup on the platform under an Agreement. It pays once the work is delivered and accepted; [the upstreams list](/systems/integrations/upstreams) names each one.

Code hosts, cloud marketplaces and app stores charge the buyer themselves and keep their share. No money crosses the platform, so it takes no fee on that sale ([Funds flow](/systems/finance/funds-flow)).

## Where your rates are
These pages describe how each fee works; the rates sit with your Startup's account, and each charge's fee Entry shows the amount withheld. Ask your agent "what did fees cost us last month?" and it reads them from the Ledger.