Every Cash on Delivery order carries a cost that prepaid orders don’t: the risk of a return shipment, the cost of the carrier’s COD collection fee (where applicable), and the operational overhead of handling a cash payment. A COD handling fee makes that cost visible to the customer — and nudges them toward prepaid alternatives.
The Psychology of COD Fees
When a customer sees “Cash on Delivery + ₹40 handling fee” next to “Pay Online — Free,” the comparison is clear. A small fee doesn’t need to cover your actual COD cost — it just needs to make the prepaid option look more attractive. Many stores report a 15–25% shift toward prepaid payment after adding a modest COD fee.
Setting Up the Fee in Smart COD Control
Go to WooCommerce → Smart COD → Fee Settings. You can configure the fee as:
- Fixed amount — e.g. ₹40 or $2.00 regardless of order value
- Percentage of order total — e.g. 2% of the cart value
- Combined — a fixed base plus a percentage component
The fee label shown to the customer is fully customisable. “COD Handling Fee”, “Cash Payment Surcharge”, or a more neutral “Service Fee” — whatever fits your store’s tone.
Fee Exemptions
Smart COD Control lets you configure fee exemptions. You might waive the COD fee for:
- Customers with a positive order history (rewarding loyalty)
- Orders above a certain value (high-value COD customers are often lower risk)
- Specific product categories (where COD is a strategic requirement)
- Specific geographic areas (where prepaid infrastructure is limited)
Minimum and Maximum Order Value for COD
Alongside the fee, you can set a minimum and maximum order value for COD eligibility. Small orders (under ₹500) might not warrant the overhead. Very large orders (over ₹10,000) carry enough RTO risk that you’d prefer to require prepayment or additional verification.
Tax Treatment of the Fee
The COD fee can be configured as taxable or tax-exempt. In most jurisdictions, a payment processing surcharge is not subject to GST/VAT — check your local tax rules and configure accordingly.
Testing the Fee
Before going live, place a test order using COD and verify the fee appears correctly on the order review, order confirmation email, and the WooCommerce order record.
Full setup documentation is available at the ThePluginForge support page.