Late fees are the charges automatically added to your facility's unpaid invoices, based on a policy you configure. This article explains how to set up the policy, when the warning email is sent, when the fee is generated, and what to do if a fee was applied in error.
Common questions
How do I enable late fees for my facility? Go to Settings, open the Late Fees tab, check Enable late fees, choose the grace period and the fee type, then save.
When is the warning email sent to the customer? Three days before the end of the grace period, as long as the grace is at least four days. If the grace is shorter, no warning is sent.
Why was no late fee applied even though there's an overdue invoice? Check that Enable late fees is actually checked, that the grace period has passed, and that the customer isn't exempt.
How do I cancel a late fee applied in error? Stortech doesn't yet have a self-service option to cancel an already-issued fee. Contact support for a manual adjustment.
Can the fee stack across multiple cycles? Yes, depending on the configured policy. If the original invoice stays unpaid at each cycle, a new late fee can be generated.
Who this article is for
Configuring late fees requires the Owner or Manager role. Viewing late fee invoices is available to all roles. If you don't see the Late Fees tab in settings, ask an Owner on your team.
How late fees work in Stortech
Automatic: a daily process generates them with no manual action.
Per facility: each facility has its own policy (configured in Settings > Late Fees).
Based on the payment failure date or the invoice date, depending on the invoice type.
Configure late fees
To enable or change the late fee policy:
From the left menu, click Settings.
Click the Late Fees tab in the left sidebar.
The Late fee configuration section appears, with:
- Enable late fees, main switch. If unchecked, no late fee will be generated, regardless of the other settings. - Grace period (days), number of days after payment failure before the fee is applied. Typical value: 7 days. - Fee type, choose between: - Fixed amount (for example $25); - Percentage of the invoice (for example 5%). - Fee percentage (%) or Amount depending on the type chosen.
Click Save fees.
Verify that a late fee was applied
Late fees appear as separate invoices linked to the original unpaid invoice.
Open the overdue invoice from the Invoices list.
The Summary or Recent activity section shows whether a late fee has already been generated.
The new late fee invoice also appears in the Invoices list, in Open status initially.
What happens automatically
Timeline of an unpaid invoice
``` Day 0 The payment is attempted. The card is declined. → the invoice stays Open → the payment failure is recorded → gate access may be suspended → the customer receives a payment failure email
Day 1 to (grace - 1) Grace period. The customer can pay at any time via their portal or with an updated card. No late fee is applied yet.
Day (grace - 3) (if grace is >= 4 days) The customer receives a warning email announcing a late fee will be applied soon if they don't pay.
Day grace The daily process generates a new invoice for the late fee, based on the facility's configuration. This new invoice follows its own payment cycle.
Day grace + N The late fee can stack across multiple cycles if the original invoice stays unpaid, based on the facility's policy. ```
On a payment failure
The original invoice stays Open.
Stripe may make automatic retries based on the connected account's configuration.
Gate access may be suspended based on the configured provider.
A payment failure email is sent to the customer.
The failure is recorded on the invoice. That moment is the reference point for the grace period.
On a successful payment (manual or retry)
The invoice moves to Paid.
If all the customer's other rental invoices are paid, gate access is restored.
The customer receives a receipt email.
Special case: very short grace
If the grace period is 3 days or less, the warning email isn't sent (the window is too short to be useful). The fee is generated straight away at the end of the grace.
Important statuses and fields
Item | Meaning |
Enable late fees | Main switch. If unchecked, no fee will be generated. |
Grace period (days) | Delay between payment failure and fee creation. |
Fee type | Fixed dollar amount or percentage of the unpaid invoice. |
Percentage of the invoice | Calculates the fee as a percentage of the unpaid amount (for example 5% of $200 = $10). |
Common issues
Situation | What to check | What to do |
No late fee was applied despite an overdue invoice. Why? | Is Enable late fees checked? Has the grace period actually passed? Is the customer exempt? | Enable the configuration if needed. If everything looks correct and the fee should have been generated, contact support to check the daily process. |
The customer didn't receive a warning before the fee. Why? | Is the grace period 3 days or less? | That's the expected behaviour: no warning for short grace periods. Increase the grace to 4 days or more if you want the warning. |
A fee was applied to an exempt customer. What now? | Was an exemption configured for this rental or this customer? | If the exemption existed, contact support, the fee shouldn't have been generated. In the meantime, support can cancel the fee. |
The customer asks to cancel an already-issued late fee. What now? | Cancelling an already-generated fee isn't a self-service workflow. | Contact support for a manual adjustment. You can also issue a refund if the fee invoice has been paid. See the Invoices article. |
The late fee stacks several times on the same unpaid invoice. Why? | That's expected if each billing cycle triggers a new fee based on your policy. | Confirm the policy with the facility owner. If the stacking isn't desired, adjust the configuration. |