When to use it
Use it to decide whether to turn on online payments and to make the case to your Grand Knight. It pulls your council's real numbers — member count, sample dues amount, and how many payments came in online versus manual — so the comparison reflects your council, not a generic example.
Step by step
- Open Settings → Online Payments. The calculator is the hero card at the top — there's nothing to launch.
- Read the payment methods comparison table: bank transfer (ACH) at 0.8% capped at $5, credit/debit card at 2.9% + $0.30, and check with scan at $0 processing — each shown as a dollar figure on a sample dues amount.
- Review the hidden costs of checks table: paper notices and stamps (three rounds plus membership cards), FS time, Treasurer time, and — if applicable — lost revenue from members who never pay, all scaled to your member count.
- To keep 100% of dues, follow the note about the cash-discount option and configure it at Dues → Rates (members paying by card see the fee up front; bank-transfer members see the flat amount).
- Click Connect Stripe to set up online payments, or click Share with GK to open a pre-written email to your Grand Knight summarizing the math.
Tips & gotchas
- The card is state-aware: before Stripe is connected it shows the full breakdown; once connected it shows your online-adoption percentage and estimated hours saved; above 70% online it shows a green confirmation.
- Fees shown are Stripe's actual cost with no markup — ACH is hard-capped at $5 per payment.
- Share with GK opens your email app with the message pre-filled; nothing is sent until you send it.
- The dollar figures use a sample regular-member dues amount and your live member counts, so they update as your roster and rates change.
Related
- See also online-payments
- See also check-scan