Late Return Fees

Back to Knowledge Base

EN ES

Late return fees charge customers who bring a vehicle back after the agreed drop-off time. You set an hourly rate for each vehicle category, and you can create time ranges so that longer delays are charged at different rates.

What they are for

When a customer returns a vehicle later than agreed, the vehicle may be unavailable for the next booking and your staff may need to wait. Late return fees let you recover that cost by charging for the extra time, with the flexibility to apply different rates depending on how late the return is.

Where to access them

In the admin area, open the Fees & Taxes section, then Return Fees → Late return. The page shows a grid:

  • Each row is a vehicle category.
  • Each column is a time range in hours, with a from and to value.
  • Each cell holds the rate charged per hour for that category and range.

Main settings

Collect late return fees

A switch at the top of the page controls whether these fees are charged at all.

  • On – the fee grid is shown and late fees are added to bookings.
  • Off – the grid is hidden and no late return fees are collected, even if amounts were previously entered.

Set same price

A switch on the category column lets you use one fee for every category instead of a different fee per category.

  • Off (default) – you set each category's fee individually in its own row.
  • On – the category rows are replaced by a single row called "Set the same fee for all vehicle categories", where one fee per range is applied to every category.

Time ranges

Each range column has a from and to value in hours. The first range starts at 1, and each following range continues from the previous one. Use Add Range to create a new range, or the x button on a column to remove it.

Rate per cell

In each cell you can either:

  • Enter a rate, charged per hour for that category and range, or
  • Tick Free of charge so no fee is charged for that combination.

How to use it

  1. Make sure Collect late return fees is switched on.
  2. Choose whether to set a different fee per category or the same fee for all categories.
  3. Use Add Range to create the time ranges you need, and set each range's to value.
  4. For each category and range, enter the hourly rate, or tick Free of charge.
  5. Click Save.

What happens next

  • After saving, the rates apply to vehicles returned after the agreed drop-off time.
  • The overdue time is charged using the rate for the category and the range the delay falls into.

Important behavior and special cases

  • Rates must be positive numbers. Negative or non-number entries are ignored.
  • If you leave a cell empty (and Free of charge is unticked), no rate is stored for that combination.
  • If the Collect late return fees switch is off, the system ignores all configured rates until you switch it back on.
  • If no fleet categories exist and you are not using Set same price, the grid cannot be shown; you must create those first.
Important Late return fees are separate from extra mileage and other return fees. A vehicle returned late and over its mileage allowance can be charged both, depending on your settings.

Tips

Tip Use several ranges to apply a modest rate for a short delay and a higher rate for returns that are hours late.
Tip Use the Set same price switch if you charge a flat hourly late fee regardless of category, so you do not have to enter the same number in every row.
Take full control of your car rental operations. Start here