How to Set Up Magical Fees

This guide walks you through the full setup for Magical Fees. You'll install the app, create fee rules, and configure your online store so fees display correctly from product page to checkout. Use the plan selector above to focus on your plan — the guide shows all content by default.

<ForPlan plans={["starter"]}>

What the Starter Plan Covers

Starter gives you fixed and percentage fees on products and order subtotal, location-based rules, credit card surcharges, and support for both the online store and POS. You don't get order-total fees, PayPal fees, customer tag fees, or the Checkout UI Extension — those are Growth-only.

<ForPlan plans={["growth"]}>

What the Growth Plan Adds

Beyond Starter, Growth gives you:

• Order Total fees — Apply fees to the order total (after discounts, shipping, tax) instead of just subtotal.
• PayPal fees — Add payment-method fees for PayPal transactions.
• Customer Tag fees — Apply fees only to customers with specific tags.
• Checkout UI Extension — Fees appear natively in Shopify's checkout with full Shop Pay support.
• Block method + discounts — Use the Block method so product-based discounts apply to your fees.

Install the App

1. Install Magical Fees from the Shopify App Store.
2. Confirm your subscription. There's a 14-day trial so you can test before committing.

After installing, you'll land on the Magical Fees dashboard. The app will show App is Not Active until you add at least one fee rule and activate a sales channel.

Create Your First Fee Rule

1. From the Magical Fees dashboard, click Add fee rules (or Create fee rule).
2. On the rule page, you'll configure the following.

Fee Method

• Function Method (recommended) — Uses Shopify functions. Fees appear at checkout as part of the product or bundle, but are separated from the product price. Faster and more reliable for most stores.
• Block Method — Fees display as separate line items in checkout. Use this if your workflow depends on fee lines being distinct, or if you need product-based discounts to apply to fees (Growth Plan only).

Title & Description

Enter a title (e.g. "Recycling Fee") and, in Details, describe what the fee is for. The description is visible to customers at checkout.

Fee Type

• Product Fee — Applies to specific products or collections.
• Order Fee — Applies to the order subtotal (Starter supports subtotal only). <ForPlan plans={["growth"]}>On Growth Plan, you can also apply to order total.

Calculation

Set a fixed amount (e.g. $0.05) or a percentage (e.g. 1.5%).

Product Fee Options

If you chose Product Fee:

• Number of times fee applies: Every product (per quantity) or Once per product (max one per matching product).
• Bundle with: Matching Product (fee bundled with products, included in product-based discounts) or Other Product Fees (fee grouped with other fees under a placeholder, excluded from product discounts).
• Conditions: All products, Specific collections, Specific products, or Custom conditions.

Order Fee Options

If you chose Order Fee:

• Apply to: Subtotal (order subtotal before shipping/tax). <ForPlan plans={["growth"]}>On Growth Plan, you can also select Total to apply fees to the order total (after discounts, shipping, tax).

Payment Method Fees

To add credit card surcharges, click Add payment methods and select Credit Cards. <ForPlan plans={["growth"]}>On Growth Plan, you can also select PayPal for PayPal transaction fees.

Location-Based Fees

Click Add Locations and select the countries, provinces, or states where the fee applies. Use the search field to find specific regions.

<ForPlan plans={["growth"]}>

Customer Tag Fees (Shopify Plus)

To restrict a fee to specific customer segments:

1. Click Enable customer tags.
2. In the Update data access window, click Update to grant the app access to customer metafields.
3. Click Add customer tags and select the tags the fee should apply to.

Use the search field to find tags. Only customers with at least one selected tag will see the fee.

4. Click Save.

5. Click Save and confirm the rule shows as Active.

Activate Sales Channels

The app must be active on at least one sales channel. In the Magical Fees app, go to Add sales channels (or the equivalent in your setup flow).

Online Store

1. Under Online Store, click Activate app embed block.
2. In the theme editor, toggle Magical Fees on under Theme settings > App embeds.
3. Turn on Hide Dynamic Checkout Buttons when Fees Apply so dynamic buttons don't bypass fee calculation. <ForPlan plans={["starter"]}>Alternatively, disable them manually: in the theme editor, select the Product template, open the Buy buttons block, and uncheck Show dynamic checkout buttons.
4. Click Save.

<ForPlan plans={["growth"]}>

Enable the Checkout UI Extension (Growth / Shopify Plus)

The Checkout UI Extension shows fees natively in checkout and works with Shop Pay. Set it up once:

1. In Shopify admin, go to Settings > Checkout.
2. Under Checkout customization, click Customize next to the checkout you want to edit.
3. In the checkout editor, select the Checkout page from the top menu.
4. In the Order summary section, click Add block.
5. Select Magical Product Fees and place it in the recommended area.
6. Click the Magical Product Fees block in the left panel.
7. Under Checkout behavior, enable:
   • Include app block in Shop Pay
   • Allow app to block checkout (required so the app can validate consent or conditions before checkout completes)
8. Click Save.

For more detail on the Checkout UI Extension (Shop Pay, behavior options, troubleshooting), see the Checkout UI Extension deep dive.

Set Up Fees in Shopify POS

To use fees in POS, add a fees tile to your POS home screen and ensure your fee rules include the POS sales channel. For the full walkthrough, see How to set up Magical Fees for Shopify POS.

Video Walkthroughs

• Product fees (eco-fees, deposits, per-product fees): How to Set Up Magical Fees (Product Fees)
• Order fees (surcharges, service charges, subtotal fees): How to Set Up Magical Fees (Order Fees)

Need Help?

Visit our Help Center for troubleshooting and FAQs. For specific fee types (tariffs, bottle deposits, excise taxes, etc.), check the use-case guides or the setup library.