Fee payments

Fees due, paid online straight to your own merchant processor.

For counties, agencies, and departments

How fee payments work in OnlineRME and SkipThePaper

OnlineRME and SkipThePaper make it easy to pay the fees due to your agency. Payments are sent directly to your own merchant processor, so your funds never pass through OnlineRME. In OnlineRME, contractors pay the fees due for their submitted reports once a month. In SkipThePaper, applicants pay when they submit.

What's the same in both products

  • Your fee schedule

    You decide which fees apply. Late fees and additional fees follow rules your agency provides, and we configure them for you.

  • Your merchant processor

    Each payment goes to your agency's own merchant processor, and payers get confirmation right away. Your processor needs a modern API so OnlineRME can send payments to it.

  • Your money stays yours

    Your merchant settles funds directly into your account on its own schedule. Your fees never pass through OnlineRME.

Two payment models

  • OnlineRME

    Monthly payment for submitted reports

    For county health departments. Fees for septic, pumping, and sampling reports build up during the month, and contractors pay them in one monthly payment.

    • Every fee that applies is attached to each submission
    • Payable on the 1st, due by the end of the 25th
    • Contractors who haven't paid can't submit new work
    How OnlineRME handles fees
  • SkipThePaper

    Payment at the time of application

    For agencies and departments that take applications, such as permits and event registrations. Applicants pay the full amount when they submit.

    • Base fees come from your existing fee schedule
    • Fee plugins add charges by event, item count, or date
    • No balances left outstanding
    How SkipThePaper handles fees

How OnlineRME handles your county fees

When contractors submit septic, pumping, and sampling reports through OnlineRME, every county fee that applies is added to the contractor's monthly balance. When the contractor pays, OnlineRME sends the fees due to your county's merchant.

  1. Your county receives work, with every fee attached

    Each report submitted in your county gets every county fee that applies, and those fees are added to the contractor's balance for the month. Fees can include:

    • Septic, pumping, and sampling report fees
    • Late fees and additional fees, following rules your county provides
    • Fees your staff add

  2. Paid monthly, with a firm deadline

    Fees for work received during a month are payable on the 1st of the next month and due by the end of the 25th. Contractors who haven't paid by then can't submit new work until they pay.

    Example: work received in October

    1. October Work received and fees added
    2. November 1 Balance payable
    3. November 25 Due by 11:59 PM
    4. November 26 Unpaid accounts locked out

  3. Each county's fees go to its own merchant

    Contractors who work in more than one county pay everything in one checkout. OnlineRME then sends each county's fees, one county at a time, to that county's own merchant. Each payment is confirmed right away.

  4. Your merchant deposits the funds

    Your merchant processor charges the contractor and settles the funds directly into your county's account, on its own schedule.

Download the OnlineRME county fee overview

How SkipThePaper handles your application fees

With SkipThePaper, applicants pay when they submit. Your fee goes to your agency's own merchant.

  1. An applicant submits an application

    An applicant fills out your online form, such as a Temporary Food Event Permit. The base fee comes from your existing schedule. Fee plugins can add charges based on:

    • Events or the number of items
    • Dates, including late fees
    • Other rules your agency sets

    The applicant sees the full amount before paying.

  2. One checkout, two payments

    The applicant pays once. SkipThePaper sends the convenience fee, which pays for the service, to OnlineRME first. It then sends your application fee to your agency's merchant. Both payments are confirmed right away.

  3. Your merchant deposits the funds

    Your merchant processor settles the application fee directly into your agency's account, on its own schedule.

Download the SkipThePaper agency fee overview

Side-by-side comparison

OnlineRME and SkipThePaper fee payments compared
OnlineRME SkipThePaper
Who pays Contractors who submit reports Applicants
When fees are paid Monthly. Payable on the 1st, due by the end of the 25th. At submission, in full
Fees that can apply Septic, pumping, and sampling report fees, late fees, additional fees by rule, and fees your staff add Base fees from your schedule, plus plugin fees by event, item count, or date, including late fees
If a payment is late The contractor can't submit new work until the balance is paid Doesn't apply. Applications are paid before they reach your reviewers.
Where your fees go Your county's merchant processor Your agency's merchant processor
Merchant processor requirement A processor with a modern API (same for both products)
How the service is paid for A service fee on each submitted report A convenience fee on each application

See how your fees would be set up

We'll walk through your fee schedule, late fee rules, and merchant setup with your team.

Contact us