Client Fees

When a buyer or seller pays something on top of the commission, that's a client fee — collected at closing and routed to your brokerage or to the agent.

Introduction

A buyer pays a transaction fee. A seller offers your agent a bonus for getting the deal done. The brokerage charges a flat admin fee on every closing, and escrow needs to see it as its own line rather than folded into compensation. None of that money is carved out of anyone's commission, and all of it still has to land on the disbursement.

That's a client fee: money arriving from outside the commission, collected at closing and added on top. The fee types get named once at the account level, and from then on whoever enters commissions picks a type, says whether the buyer or the seller is paying, and chooses which side of the closing collects it. Because it's added rather than deducted, a client fee stands as its own line on the CDA.

Get one choice right and the rest follows: who collects it. That decides whose payable the money lands in, and it's the difference between a bonus reaching your agent and a fee reaching the office. The other thing to know going in is that a client fee adds to what someone is paid rather than to the commission figure itself, so a seller's bonus shows on the agent's disbursement without changing the deal's gross.

How It Works

One list of fee names, two possible collectors, and a payer named per transaction.

Where Client Fees Live

The list lives in Admin / Settings, under Client Fees in the Financials section of the left menu. Only master admins can see or change it. Client fees are part of the Commission Module, so offices without the module don't have the page.

What Fills In Automatically

The Default Fee Amount auto-fills when you collect the fee, and you can change or clear it on any transaction. Leave it blank for fees that differ every time.

Dollars or Percent

Each fee is a flat [$] amount or a [%]. If it's a percentage, the Fee % Basis column sets what it runs against: Gross Commission, Sale Price, Distributable Commission, Broker Gross, Agent Gross, or Gross Commission less Referral Commission. Hover over the fee's [%] while entering commissions to see which one is set.

Who Pays, and Who Collects

Every client fee names a payer — Buyer or Seller. Where you collect it decides the recipient: collect it under Broker's Fees & Deductions and it goes to the brokerage; collect it under an agent's Fees & Deductions and it goes to that agent, riding along in their payable.

Enter the Whole Amount

When a client fee and an agent fee offset each other — the agent collects $500 from the buyer and owes the office $250 of it — record both in full rather than netting them. Collect the $500 as a client fee, charge the $250 as an agent fee, and the reports show what actually happened.

Where They Show Up

Pipeline includes client fees in the broker and agent payable totals on the CDA, so title doesn't miss them, and itemizes them in the summary section for context. In reports Pipeline keeps them apart from commission — not every office counts client fees as commission income.

Add a Client Fee

To add a client fee:

1. Click the [Gear] in the upper-right corner, then [Admin / Settings].
2. Click [Client Fees] in the Financials section of the left menu.
3. Type the fee's name in the Fee Name column.
4. Enter the standard amount in the Default Fee Amount column, or leave it blank if the amount varies.
5. Choose [%] or [$] to set whether that amount is a percentage or a dollar figure.
6. If you chose [%], pick the Fee % Basis the percentage should be calculated on.
7. Click [Save Settings].

The fee name now appears in Step 3 — Fees & Deductions on any transaction.

Delete a Client Fee

To delete a client fee:

1. Click the [Gear] in the upper-right corner, then [Admin / Settings].
2. Click [Client Fees] in the Financials section of the left menu.
3. Clear the Fee Name of the fee you want to remove.
4. Click [Save Settings].

The fee stops appearing on new commission entries. Amounts already collected on past transactions stay as they were.

Collect a Client Fee Paid to the Brokerage

To collect a client fee paid to the brokerage:

1. Open the transaction and click [Manage Commissions] or [Update Commissions] in the left menu.
2. Work through to Step 3 — Fees & Deductions, then in the Broker's Fees & Deductions section click [+ Collect Client Fee].
3. Click [- Select payer -] and choose [Buyer] or [Seller].
4. Click [- Select fee -] and choose the fee name.
5. Confirm the default amount or enter a different one, as a dollar figure or a percentage.
6. Continue through the remaining steps and save.

Pipeline adds the fee to the brokerage's payable on the CDA, and it appears as brokerage income in your financial reports.

Collect a Client Fee Paid to an Agent

To collect a client fee paid to an agent:

1. Open the transaction and click [Manage Commissions] or [Update Commissions] in the left menu.
2. Work through to Step 3 — Fees & Deductions, then in that agent's Fees & Deductions section click [+ Collect Client Fee].
3. Click [- Select payer -] and choose [Buyer] or [Seller].
4. Click [- Select fee -] and choose the fee name.
5. Confirm the default amount or enter a different one, as a dollar figure or a percentage.
6. Continue through the remaining steps and save.

Pipeline adds the fee to that agent's payable. If it was meant for the office instead, remove it here and collect it in the Broker's Fees & Deductions section.

Client Fees FAQ

Client fees are paid by a buyer or seller on top of the commission, and the section you collect them in decides who gets the money. Answers to the common questions about payers, payees, and how client fees land in reports.

See Client Fees FAQ