Location-based fees let you price the reality of your branch network. Instead of charging every customer the same amount no matter where they collect or return the vehicle, VEVS Car Rental Software lets you attach a pick-up fee and a return fee to each location and vehicle category, so the total a customer sees reflects the place they actually use.
What pick-up and drop-off fees are
Location-based fees are extra charges that depend on where a vehicle is picked up or returned and on which vehicle category is booked. A customer collecting a car at an airport can be charged more than a customer collecting the same class of car at a city-centre branch, and the amount can differ again between an SUV and a compact model. The fee is not a generic surcharge applied to everyone; it is tied to the specific combination of location and category that the booking uses.
The feature exists because not every pick-up point costs the same to operate. Airports, ports and remote branches often carry higher overheads, whether that means concession charges, staffing, transport of vehicles between sites or simply the time it takes to hand a car over in a busy terminal. Rather than absorbing those differences into one blended rental price, you can reflect them directly in the quote the customer receives when they choose a location.
Where to find the settings
In the admin area, open the Fees section and choose Pick-up & Drop-off Fees. The page presents a grid built around your own operation. Each row represents a pick-up and return location, and each column represents a vehicle category. Inside every cell there are two amounts: a pick-up fee and a return fee.
Because the grid is generated from your existing data, it only appears when you already have locations and fleet categories in place. If either list is empty, the grid cannot be shown, so those records need to be created first.
The two switches that control the feature
Two settings at the top of the page determine how the grid behaves. The first is Collect location based fees. When it is on, the fee grid is shown and fees are added to bookings. When it is off, the grid is hidden and no location-based fees are collected at all, even if amounts were entered previously. That makes the switch a convenient way to pause the whole mechanism without deleting your carefully prepared figures.
The second switch is Set same price. By default it is off, which means you set each location's fees individually in its own row. Turn it on and the individual rows are replaced by a single row called "Set the same fee for all locations", where one pick-up fee and one return fee per category apply to every location.
Good to know: the two switches work together. If collecting is switched off, it does not matter which fee mode is selected, because nothing is charged until collection is enabled again.
How to configure the fees
- Make sure Collect location based fees is switched on.
- Decide whether you want a different fee per location or the same fee for all locations, and set Set same price accordingly.
- For each location and category, enter a pick-up fee, a return fee, or both.
- Click Save to store the changes.
Entering numbers cell by cell is accurate but slow when you have many locations and categories. The page therefore includes small bulk buttons. Column buttons sit on each category heading and set or reset the pick-up and return fee for that category across all locations. Row buttons sit on each location and set or reset both fees for that location across all categories.
What happens after you save
Saved changes are applied immediately to future bookings. When a customer or a staff member selects a vehicle category and a pick-up location, the system adds that location's pick-up fee and return fee to the booking automatically as a Pick-up and drop-off fee line. The fee is charged once per booking, based on the pick-up location and category, regardless of how long the rental lasts.
Every change is recorded, so you can review what was altered later under History. The page also accepts internal Notes, which gives your team a place to explain why a particular branch carries a higher amount, when a rate was last reviewed, or which manager approved a change. Those notes are for your staff rather than for customers, and they help keep pricing decisions understandable months after they were made.
Behaviour and special cases
| Situation | What the system does |
|---|---|
| Amount entered with more than two decimals | Amounts must be positive numbers with up to two decimal places; negative or non-numeric entries are ignored. |
| Both fields left empty | No fee is charged for that location and category combination. |
| Collection switch turned off | All configured amounts are ignored until the switch is turned back on. |
| New category added while "Set same price" is on | The shared fee is copied to the new category automatically. |
| No locations or no fleet categories | The grid cannot be displayed until those records are created. |
One detail deserves particular attention. The fee is calculated from the pick-up location and the selected category, and it is added as a single amount that combines the pick-up and return components of that location. If you need to charge specifically for returning a vehicle to a different branch, that is handled by the separate Relocation fees setting rather than by this grid.
Why location-based fees matter for your business
Transparent, location-aware pricing protects your margin without forcing you to raise rates everywhere. An operator with one busy airport desk and several quiet neighbourhood branches can recover the higher cost of the airport while keeping the neighbourhood prices competitive.
The feature also reduces manual work at the counter. Because the fee is added automatically based on the location and category selected, staff do not have to remember a list of surcharges or key in an adjustment by hand. That lowers the risk of inconsistent charging between shifts and makes the quote the customer sees online match the amount they are asked to pay on collection.
- Cost recovery: reflect the real expense of airports, ports and remote branches.
- Category sensitivity: charge differently for larger or more specialised vehicles.
- Pricing clarity: show the surcharge as its own line instead of hiding it in the daily rate.
- Operational consistency: apply the same rule to online and counter bookings.
- Flexibility: pause collection or switch to a uniform fee without losing your data.
Practical use cases
An airport surcharge is the classic example: the terminal desk, the parking arrangement and the staff time involved usually justify a higher fee than a downtown office. A second common case is a remote or seasonal branch, where vehicles must be driven a long distance or where demand is concentrated into a few weeks of the year. A third is category-based pricing at a premium location, where an SUV or a specialist vehicle attracts a larger handling fee than a compact car.
Operators with a single cost structure across all sites can use the "Set same price" mode to keep administration minimal, while groups with a mixed network can leave it off and tune each row.
Best practices
- Review the grid after any change to your locations or fleet categories, since the two lists drive what the page can display.
- Leave both fields empty where you genuinely do not want a surcharge, rather than entering a zero you may later mistake for a real amount.
- Record the reasoning in Notes and check History before changing a long-standing fee.
- After editing, open the Rates & Fees panel of a category to confirm the expected pick-up and drop-off amounts are in place.
- Keep airport and other premium locations higher and consider leaving your main branch at zero if no surcharge is intended there.
Conclusion
Pick-up and drop-off fees turn a single blended price into a structure that reflects how your business actually operates. With one grid, two switches and a handful of bulk tools, you can recover location-specific costs, differentiate by vehicle category and keep every quote consistent. Configure the fees once, verify them in the category pricing panel, and your team can focus on service.