FAQ

1. What is a Guest Fee?
For participating merchants, the Guest Fee is a $0.99 fee that will be paid for by the guest when placing any orders via Toast Online Ordering (“Guest Fee”), effective on the date stated in your email offer as a participating merchant. The Guest Fee will appear as an “Online Processing Fee” for each guest when they are checking out on any Toast Online Ordering order. “Toast Online Ordering” as used in this FAQ means Toast’s Online Ordering services, excluding Toast TakeOut. Please note that the Guest Fee and the questions addressed here apply only to a limited pool of merchants participating in the Guest Fee program. 

2. Where will the Guest Fee be shown on my end?

You can see details about the Guest Fee in a couple of places:


  • Deposit Totals Overview - The $0.99 Guest Fee will be included in the Fees section of this report.




  • Sales Summary Overview — A summary of all Service Charges, including Guest Fees, will appear as a separate line item on this report.







  • Service Charges Configuration - The Guest Fee will appear as an additional item on the Service Charges configuration page.


  • Credit Card Statement - The total amount of Guest Fees paid by guests for the month will appear as the line item "Guest fee adjustments"  in the "Summary" section of your credit card statement.

3. What will the Guest Fee look like to my guests?

The Order Processing Fee will appear within the Taxes & Fees line item prior to completing checkout in Toast Online Ordering. When guests click on the information pop-up box (ℹ) next to Taxes & Fees, they will see the below explanation on the Order Processing Fee. 



4. What does the Guest Fee apply to?

The Guest Fee applies to all orders placed through Toast Online Ordering. This includes any orders for gift cards or other items bought through your Toast Online Ordering channel.


5. How is the Guest Fee collected by Toast? 

The $0.99 Guest Fee is collected from guests at checkout (but see below regarding how you may choose to absorb the fee without passing it through to your guests). Toast later collects Guest Fees from your restaurant (along with card processing fees) by deducting them from your settlement or debiting your settlement account by ACH, depending on your billing cycle:

  • Daily billing: If your location is configured with daily fee billing, the Guest Fees for the billing period are deducted from your daily deposit.

  • Monthly billing: If your location is configured with monthly fee billing, the Guest Fees for the billing period will be debited from your bank account by ACH on the last day of each month.


6. Will my guests be charged a Guest Fee if they are paying in cash for a Toast Online Ordering order?

Yes, all orders completed by a guest through Toast Online Ordering will be charged the $0.99 Guest Fee. For orders paid in cash, regardless of your billing cycle the Guest Fees will be collected from you by debiting your settlement account by ACH on the last day of each month.


7. Do other digital products include a Guest Fee?

No, only orders placed through Toast Online Ordering will include the Guest Fee at this time.



8. Can I split the Guest Fee with my guests?

The Guest Fee can’t be split. However, you can choose to absorb the entire Guest Fee yourself and not pass it through to your guests.


9. How do I elect to pay the Guest Fee myself instead of passing it through to my guests?

Please reach out to toastpayments@toasttab.com to have your restaurant cover the Guest Fee and stop passing it through to your guests. Please note that this is different from opting out of the Guest Fee. The Guest Fee will not apply to any participating merchant who opts out of the Guest Fee solution, or to their guests. See FAQ No. 11 for more information on opting out.  

10. What are card-not-present (CNP) transactions?

Any transaction where a card or digital wallet is not physically presented to be swiped/dipped/tapped on-premise for payment are deemed CNP. This includes digital transactions (e.g. Toast Online Ordering orders, delivery orders, Toast TakeOut, Toast Mobile Order & PayTM, Scan to pay) and keyed transactions (e.g. manually-entered, phone orders).


11. I do not want to participate in this program or change my current pricing. What do I do?

If you received an email offer for this program and don't want to be a participating merchant, please notify us using the method stated in the email offer you received to opt out of the Guest Fee, and we will keep you on your pricing and fee structure in effect prior to the planned implementation of the Guest Fee. If you do not notify us by the deadline stated in the email offer, the Guest Fee will go into effect on the stated effective date in the email offer.  


12. I no longer want to participate in this program. What do I do?

If you are a participating merchant and you decide after the opt-out deadline that you no longer wish to participate, please reach out to toastpayments@toasttab.com to discuss available options. 


13. I have a question that isn’t on this FAQ

Please reach out to toastpayments@toasttab.com and we would be happy to help!