Use PaidRouter as a PayPal fee calculator Skill to estimate processing fees and net receipts for a defined payment scenario. Your assistant queries a hosted API for supported fee entries and alternative routes, then compares transaction, subscription and setup costs. The worked example covers a US merchant receiving USD payments through PayPal Checkout.
PaidRouter provides fee explanations and payment-route comparisons through a service API, with source references attached to returned entries. PayPal Checkout is one supported method. Running the Skill requires a PaidRouter key and compatible client; it does not contain an offline fee engine.
Use it to prepare a cost comparison, with the country, currency, payment method and expected volume kept explicit. Check returned coverage before applying a rate to another scenario. The analysis does not collect money, configure a gateway or establish the actual settlement amount of a past transaction.
PaidRouter suits merchants comparing how much they keep from a payment, especially when PayPal Checkout fees are hard to compare with bank-transfer or other payment routes. It returns fee explanations through an API; use the results to build a cost comparison, then check whether each route fits how your customers actually pay.
Request the gross amount, fee formula and estimated net receipt together, with the source and checked date. Keep Checkout, invoice and transfer scenarios distinct; similar payment labels can use different fee entries and should not be compared without matching their conditions.
Low processing fees can hide a required subscription or setup charge. Allocate recurring costs consistently across expected payments and keep one-time fees separate, then consider whether the proposed route changes how customers must pay.
Use the API for read-only fee research and comparisons. The completed example queried live responses and independently recalculated amounts without moving money; payment setup and payout reconciliation belong in the provider's integration and transaction workflow.
Prepare the following business inputs and software before starting the workflow.
Prepare an owner-approved PaidRouter key and a client able to make HTTPS requests.
Prepare a USD amount, US payment context and exact payment method.
Prepare a reviewer to check returned sources, dates, assumptions and net amounts.
Install the complete Skill package, then start with the merchant inputs listed above.
Send this request to the OpenClaw agent that will use the Skill. It installs the named publisher’s release and checks the workspace configuration.
Install @nhatdinh/paidrouter version 1.0.0 in my active OpenClaw workspace. Use the original ClawHub release, not a same-named substitute. First check whether it is already installed; do not force-overwrite local changes. Run:
openclaw skills install @nhatdinh/paidrouter --version 1.0.0
openclaw skills info paidrouter
Read SKILL.md and all setup references, identify required tools, dependencies and credentials, and report the actual version, path and readiness. Start a new session if needed. Do not describe package installation as a successful business-task test. Read the package’s PaidRouter MCP setup instructions for https://paidrouter.com/mcp. A separate PaidRouter service key and service charges may apply. Let me enter credentials through local configuration; do not put a real key in chat or run billable requests during installation.Starter prompts for the main use cases—copy and use them directly.
Explain a PayPal Checkout fee to produce a checked fee explanation with its source and assumptions. A positive, finite USD amount and configured service key.
Validate [INPUT] as a positive, finite USD amount before calling PaidRouter with platform=paypal and method=paypal_checkout. Check the returned amount, finite fee and net amount; HTTP 200 alone is insufficient. Report formula, verification date and source. Stop on authentication or invalid-output errors; do not replace results with a documentation example.[INPUT]Compare ways to receive a payment to produce fee-ranked options and net receipts with estimates labeled. Amount, accepted payment channels and current payment route.
With [INPUT], query PaidRouter cheapest routes. Preserve estimate and confidence fields, compare fees and you_keep, and explain that payout speed and chargeback risk are outside this ranking. Do not move money.[INPUT]Inspect the evidence behind a fee to produce a source/date audit and any unsupported assumptions. A provider/method and the service response.
Inspect PaidRouter fee entries for [INPUT]. Verify the cited pricing source and country, flag stale dates or missing methods, and do not generalize US fees to other markets. Do not promise reverse net-target calculation without an implemented endpoint.[INPUT]A simulated US merchant wanted fee and net-receipt figures for USD 100, 1,000 and 75.50, plus a comparison for four $1,000 payments per month.
Case input files: business-inputs.zip
Use the paidrouter Skill.
We receive four $1,000 USD invoices a month from US customers through PayPal Checkout. Use PaidRouter to explain the fee and net receipt for $100, $1,000 and $75.50, then compare card and bank-payment alternatives for the monthly invoices. Show the source and checked date, distinguish estimated interchange, and list any subscription or setup costs separately. Produce a decision brief and keep the API responses as supporting files; do not initiate a payment or change an account.
The attached business materials are:
- inputs/invoice-brief.json
Deliver a complete result.md report that the operations team can read, plus any finished files needed for this task. Keep supporting calculations and evidence with the deliverables. Write the report in English; use the requested target language for customer-facing copy. The business datasets are fictional examples unless the brief explicitly names a live public website.The primary file produced by this prompt is shown below in its original language.
The live PaidRouter responses identify bank-payment routes with lower processing fees than PayPal Checkout. First confirm that customers can pay by bank and that the relevant account and plan are available. Keep card payment as a separately priced option. No payment was initiated and no account was changed.
| Gross USD | Formula | Fee | Net receipt |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100.00 | 3.49% + $0.49 | $3.98 | $96.02 |
| $1000.00 | 3.49% + $0.49 | $35.39 | $964.61 |
| $75.50 | 3.49% + $0.49 | $3.12 | $72.38 |
The three API amounts were independently recalculated with decimal arithmetic. Four $1,000 invoices cost $141.56 per month and leave $3,858.44 before other business costs. At the same volume for 12 months, processing fees total $1,698.72. These are domestic USD examples; international, conversion and dispute charges are not included. PayPal source checked November 4, 2026: PayPal business fees.
| Route | Processing per $1,000 | Processing per month (4) | Fixed cost / qualification | Source checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal Checkout | $35.39 | $141.56 | Current route | 2026-11-04 |
| Helcim, card | $25.35 estimated | $101.40 | Interchange estimate; actual card mix changes cost | 2026-10-29 |
| Stripe, card | $29.30 | $117.20 | Standard rate in returned entry; extra products can add fees | 2026-11-04 |
| Melio, bank transfer request | $0.00 | $0.00 | Response mentions Core $25/month after 90 days; verify which plan is required | 2026-11-04 |
| Wise Business, USD account ($31 once) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $31 one-time account setup; domestic ACH receipt, not wires | 2026-11-04 |
| Stripe, ACH bank debit | $5.00 | $20.00 | ACH debit; requires customer authorization and account eligibility | 2026-11-04 |
| BILL (Bill.com) Accounts Receivable, invoice paid by bank (Essentials) | $0.59 | $2.36 | Essentials $49/user/month; assumes one user | 2026-11-04 |
| Shopify Payments, Basic plan ($39/mo) | $29.30 | $117.20 | Basic $39/month in response; account cost is additional if newly required | 2026-11-04 |
Helcim is the lowest card estimate returned: $25.35 per invoice, assuming interchange of 2% + $0.10 plus its quoted markup. That gives modeled processing savings of $40.16/month or $481.92/year versus PayPal Checkout; it is not a guaranteed rate. PaidRouter marks the underlying source as last confirmed October 29 because its November 4 automated check was refused. Stripe card is $29.30 per invoice at the returned standard formula, saving $24.36/month or $292.32/year before any additional services.
Melio is ranked first at $0 processing per incoming bank-transfer request. Its note also mentions a Core subscription. Do not treat the API ranking as a complete zero-cost account quote: if $25/month applies, steady-state savings become $116.56/month or $1,398.72/year, excluding any initial free period. Confirm the plan requirement before choosing it.
Wise domestic ACH receipt is also $0 in the response, with $31 setup. Under those returned assumptions, first-year modeled savings are $1,667.72; USD wires are a different priced route. Stripe ACH is $5 per invoice, or $20/month, yielding $121.56/month and $1,458.72/year processing savings. Customer authorization, settlement timing, failed-payment fees and dispute handling still matter operationally.
For comparison, BILL processing is $2.36/month, plus the stated one-user $49 subscription: $51.36 total, giving $90.20/month savings. Shopify card processing is $117.20/month plus $39 if a new Basic subscription is required: $156.20, which exceeds the $141.56 PayPal baseline by $14.64. Existing subscriptions should be treated as sunk or incremental costs consistently, not charged twice.
Ask the four customers whether bank payment is acceptable. The finance owner should verify account-specific terms, recurring plan charges, authorization and settlement needs, then trial one invoice only after approval. Reconcile the received amount and bank statement before changing the remaining invoices. This run only researched and calculated; it did not create a key, subscribe to a plan, send an invoice or move money.
The ZIP contains all five actual API JSON responses plus the independent calculation file. Each route carries its own source and checked date; the response-level oldest checked date is October 29 and must not overwrite fresher row dates. The fee schedule can change, so retain this as a dated comparison, not a permanent quote.
Merchant business data is synthetic. Website observations, when present, come from the public URLs listed in the report.
Review these limits before using generated files or estimates in your store.
Fee estimates depend on the returned country, method, dates and assumptions; the test did not verify current PayPal pricing.
Subscription and setup fees may be excluded from a route’s displayed processing fee.
A service key is required. This workflow does not transfer money or demonstrate reverse net-target calculations.
Work through gross-to-net fees, reverse calculations, invoice payments, international costs and fair comparisons between receiving routes.
First identify the account market, payment method, currency and whether the transaction is domestic. For a percentage-plus-fixed-fee formula, the fee is gross payment × percentage + fixed charge, and the net is gross payment minus that fee. Use the fee entry for your actual receiving method, not a personal-transfer rate.
In our US PayPal Checkout test, PaidRouter returned 3.49% + $0.49: a $100 payment produced $3.98 in fees and $96.02 net. That is a dated calculation example. Ask it to show the formula, source date and excluded charges alongside each amount, then compare the estimate with the transaction details in your merchant account.
For a simple percentage-plus-fixed-fee model, required gross = (target net + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − percentage rate). Using the tested 3.49% + $0.49 example, a $100 target gives about $104.12; applying that same formula and cent rounding leaves $100 net.
Ask the assistant to retrieve the applicable fee first, perform the reverse calculation and then check it forwards. This is arithmetic built around the returned fee, not a verified native reverse-calculator endpoint. Currency conversion, caps or extra charges need their own model. Treat the result as a pricing calculation, not automatic permission to add a separate payment surcharge to a customer's invoice.
Do not assume they are interchangeable. An invoice is the request for payment; the customer can pay it through different supported methods. PayPal's US invoicing page says creating or sending the invoice is free, with processing charges when it is paid. That does not make every invoice payment free or identical to Checkout.
Tell PaidRouter how the customer pays, as well as the account market and currency. Compare the fee entry for that method with the current official schedule. If the service does not have an exact matching entry, retain the missing field instead of substituting another route because its label also contains “PayPal.”
Cross-border processing and currency conversion are different cost components. A buyer being in another market can affect the transaction fee even when the payment uses your currency. Conversion can also affect the amount ultimately credited or withdrawn. The domestic example on this page does not include every one of those costs.
Specify the sender and recipient markets, payment currency, settlement currency and who performs any conversion. Ask for each component and its source separately, with unknown charges left visible. Compare alternatives using the same final currency and receiving amount; otherwise an apparently cheaper percentage may simply exclude the exchange-rate cost that another quote includes.
For US commercial and invoicing payments, PayPal's current merchant fee page says the original receiving fee is not returned when the payment is refunded. Check the schedule for your own account market and payment product before applying that rule elsewhere. A refund is therefore not simply a negative sale with all costs reversed.
Keep gross revenue, the customer refund and retained processing costs on separate lines in your margin analysis. Our PaidRouter case queried fees without issuing refunds, so it does not establish refund execution or account-level reconciliation. Use the actual transaction and refund records to confirm what was retained, particularly for partial refunds or converted payments.
Use the same order amount, payment frequency and payer method for each route. Add required monthly plans, one-time setup, relevant transfer costs and any assumptions behind an estimated card rate. In our test, some returned totals omitted subscription or setup amounts described elsewhere in the response, so the displayed processing fee was not always the ongoing total cost.
For illustration, a required $25 monthly plan allocated over four payments adds $6.25 per payment before other charges. Then check the customer workflow: a bank-transfer request is not the same checkout experience as paying by card. Compare only routes your customers can use, and keep pricing arithmetic separate from claims about conversion or settlement speed.
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