Fuel Surcharge Fees

Tough Commerce gives you full control over how fuel surcharges are applied across your operations—whether you’re dispatching volumetric mixers, concrete pumps, dump trucks, or other heavy equipment. Instead of relying on a one-size-fits-all approach, you can configure surcharges in a way that matches how your business actually incurs fuel costs.

At the core of this flexibility is our use of formulas, which allow you to build precise, predictable pricing models tailored to your operation.

You can construct fuel surcharges using three methods:

Overall % of Subtotal

Apply a percentage-based surcharge to the entire order subtotal using a simple formula. In this case, a variable (a) represents your chosen percentage and is multiplied by the order subtotal to calculate the final fee. This is ideal for scalable pricing that automatically adjusts with job size.

Example:
If your fuel surcharge is set to 8% and the order subtotal is $1,000, the fuel surcharge will be $80.

Price by Distance (Miles or Kilometres)

Set surcharges based on how far your equipment travels. Tough Commerce supports both miles and kilometres through separate formulas that standardize the calculation.

In both cases, the structure is:
distance × a
where a is the rate you want to charge per mile or kilometre. This ensures fuel costs are directly tied to travel distance.

Example:
If you charge $1.50 per mile and the job is 40 miles away, the fuel surcharge will be $60.

Price by Quantity

Tie fuel costs directly to the amount of work performed—such as per yard poured, per ton delivered, or per hour of equipment use. This option is used when pricing should scale based on the volume or quantity of the job.

This method can be configured in three ways:

• Per Quantity – Charges based on units delivered (e.g. per yard, ton, or item)
• Per Load – Applies a flat fee per truckload or dispatch
• Fixed – Applies a single flat fee regardless of quantity

Example (Per Quantity):
If your fuel surcharge is $2 per yard and the order is 20 yards, the fuel surcharge will be $40

Example (Per Load):
If your fuel surcharge is $75 per load and 3 loads are dispatched, the fuel surcharge will be $225

Example (Fixed):
If your fuel surcharge is set to a fixed $50, the fee will always be $50 regardless of order size

How to Set Up a Fuel Surcharge in Tough Commerce

Step 1: Create the Fuel Surcharge Fee

To add a new fuel surcharge:

1. Click Settings in the left-hand panel
2. Select Locations
3. Click the location you want to update
   • You can apply this fee to other locations later if needed
4. Under Select Fees, choose Fee Settings
5. Select the Common Fee category
6. Click Add Fee
7. Enter a name (e.g. Fuel Surcharge)

Step 2: Apply Fee to Products or Categories

You can choose where the fuel surcharge applies:

• All products – leave blank to apply to everything
• Product category – select a category from the dropdown
• Specific products – select items under Source and move them to Selected

Click Save to confirm.

Step 3: Add Fee to a Product Category (Configuration)

Once the fee is created, it must be added to a product category and priced before it will appear in orders.

1. Under Select Fees, choose the relevant product category
   • Example: Volumetric Concrete
2. Click General Fees
3. Click Add New
4. Select Fuel Surcharge from the dropdown
5. Enter the price
6. Choose a charging method (see below)

Charging Methods (How the Fee is Applied)

Before configuring pricing logic, select how the fee is applied to an order:

1. Per Quantity: Charges based on the quantity ordered.

   1. Example: $2 per yard × 20 yards = $40

2. Per Load: Applies a flat fee per truckload or dispatch.

   1. Example: $75 per load × 1 load = $75

3. Fixed: Applies a single flat fee per order.

   1. Example: $50 fixed fee = $50 per order

4. Fixed + Formula: Used when pricing needs to adjust dynamically based on rules such as distance or percentage.

Click Add to save the fee if using Quantity, Load or Fixed. 

Step 4: Configure Fuel Surcharge Logic (Fixed + Formula Only)

If you selected Fixed + Formula, define how the fee calculates:

Overall % of Subtotal

1. Select Fixed + Formula
2. Click the Select formula button 
3. Search 2026 Fuel Surcharge by Percentage of Total
4. Select this formula 
5. A new button will appear with the formula- click the formula 
6. In the "a" box, enter the percentage:
   
   • Example: 0.08 = 8%
7. Click Done → Add

Price by Distance

1. Click the Select formula button 
2. Search 2026 Fuel Surcharge by Distance (KM) [if you use kilometres) or 2026 Fuel Surcharge by Distance (Miles) [if you use miles]
3. Select the formula 
4. A new button will appear with the formula- click the formula 
5. In the "a" box, enter the rate you wish to charge:
   
   • Example: 1.50 per mile (or km)
6. Click Done → Add