Build a transparent fee worksheet

What the dated presets represent

PayPal Australia’s public merchant fee page, last updated 9 February 2026, lists a standard rate of 2.90% plus a fixed fee for receiving domestic commercial transactions. Its Australian-dollar fixed fee table lists AUD 0.30. The same page lists 1.50% plus fixed fee for eligible Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments and 1.10% plus fixed fee for approved domestic charity transactions.

Those are examples, not a promise about a particular account. QR code, micropayment, virtual terminal, alternative payment, payout, donation and other services have different structures. Merchant-volume pricing, legacy arrangements, eligibility, approval, international payer location and the received currency can also change the result. PayPal states its Combined Financial Services Guide and Product Disclosure Statement prevails if inconsistent with the web page.

Select custom when reconciling a real statement or product. Enter percentage points as displayed rather than converting them to a decimal fraction: enter 2.90 for 2.90%, not 0.029. The calculator applies the fixed fee once per transaction, so ten $10 payments generally produce more fixed-fee cost than one $100 payment.

How the worksheet calculates seller proceeds

The target-price result reverses the percentage and per-transaction fixed cost. It adds the allocated monthly cost and per-transaction share of other entered batch costs to the desired net, then divides by one minus the combined percentage rate. If the entered percentage reaches 100%, there is no finite price in this simple model and the input is rejected.

Contribution after product cost subtracts the entered product, shipping and fulfilment cost for each sale from the net receipt. It is not accounting profit. Advertising, wages, platform subscriptions, refunds, bad debts, tax, insurance, rent and other overheads may still need to be deducted.

Worked example: ten domestic $100 sales

At the public domestic commercial example of 2.90% plus $0.30, the base fee on one $100 payment is $3.20. Across ten equal payments, gross receipts are $1,000 and base transaction fees are $32. With no other entered charges, estimated net receipt is $968, or $96.80 for each sale.

If each order costs $45 to source, pack and send, the batch contribution after those costs is $518. That is useful for product pricing, but it is not a tax return profit. If the seller wants to receive $100 after only the percentage and fixed transaction fee, the reverse calculation gives a required customer payment of about $103.30.

Now suppose the payer is international and the relevant agreement adds percentage points, or the seller accepts conversion into a different balance currency. Enter each applicable increment separately. Do not assume every cross-border payment incurs the same combination: payer market, product and currency route matter.

Currency conversion is more than another transaction percentage

A currency conversion can be reflected in the exchange rate offered rather than posted as a simple line-item percentage against the AUD sale. The calculator’s FX field is an economic allowance: it helps test how a chosen percentage would affect proceeds, but it cannot reconstruct the rate PayPal will apply at conversion time.

Compare the transaction currency, settlement currency, PayPal conversion rate, reference rate where disclosed and the amount credited to the balance. If the customer converts before paying, the seller’s fee path may differ from a conversion performed by PayPal for the seller. Avoid double-counting an international receiving increment and an exchange-rate margin as though they were the same fee.

For bookkeeping, preserve the original-currency invoice, transaction record, converted amount, fee detail and settlement. Australian income-tax and GST treatment depends on the transaction and business facts; this page does not classify tax or determine the correct exchange rate for reporting.

Refunds, disputes, optional services and GST

Refund and dispute economics cannot be represented accurately by one universal percentage. A refund can affect previously charged fees under the current user agreement, while chargeback, dispute or protection products can introduce separate rules. Use the other-cost field only for a known amount or an explicit scenario allowance, and label the saved worksheet accordingly.

Optional PayPal Online Card Payment services can have their own percentage or fixed charges. The public page lists examples such as a percentage for Chargeback Protection and a per-transaction amount for Fraud Protection Advanced, subject to service eligibility. A monthly product charge should be entered separately and allocated across expected volume so the transaction margin does not hide fixed overhead.

Do not automatically add 10% GST to every fee displayed. Check whether the quoted fee is GST-inclusive or otherwise described in the legal document and tax invoice. Enter the total economic amount actually payable in the relevant field. GST credits and GST on the underlying sale are accounting and BAS questions outside this net-receipt worksheet.

Fixed fees matter most on low-value transactions

A fixed AUD 0.30 component is only 0.3% of a $100 payment, but it is 6% of a $5 payment before the percentage fee is added. That is why a blended monthly fee percentage can hide poor margins on inexpensive products, tips or digital items. Model the actual transaction size distribution, not just average monthly revenue.

If small payments are material, compare the current eligibility and terms for micropayments or other products rather than assuming the standard commercial rate is optimal. PayPal’s public page lists a separate approved micropayment structure, but switching can affect all eligible payments on the account. Assess the full sales mix and governing terms before changing products.

Reconcile the estimate to PayPal activity

Export or review transaction activity for the same date range as the sales ledger. Match gross payments, refunds, reversals, transaction fees, currency conversions, disputes, withdrawals and the closing balance. A bank deposit can combine or net multiple events and should not be treated as gross sales without reconciliation.

Group transactions by fee product and currency before comparing an average rate. Fixed fees make the effective percentage higher for small payments. International and optional-service charges can make one transaction an outlier. Investigate the components instead of forcing every transaction into one blended rate.

Keep the source fee page date, account agreement, statement and calculation. If the result is used for pricing, retest at low and high order values, different refund assumptions and realistic monthly volume. A price that covers a percentage fee at $100 may not cover the fixed fee on a $5 sale.