How SeatMax Billing Works: A Complete Guide

SeatMax charges a flat 25% fee on verified ride savings. That's it. No subscription, no per-seat license, no setup fee.

The formula is simple:

Savings = (Cost of solo rides for each Rider) − (Cost of shared rides SeatMax coordinated)

Your fee = Savings × 25%

If SeatMax doesn't save you money, you don't pay anything. If every Rider ends up in a solo car (no grouping possible), the fee is $0.

The baseline assumes every Rider would take an individual UberX from the airport to your venue. SeatMax uses real-time Uber fare estimates for each airport route when available, or a standard per-route rate.

For example, if 4 Riders are arriving at PHX and each solo UberX costs $24:

• Solo baseline: 4 × $24 = $96
• Shared ride (1 UberX with 4 seats): $24
• Savings: $96 − $24 = $72
• SeatMax fee: $72 × 25% = $18

The savings come from grouping — the more Riders share a vehicle, the more everyone saves.

You can verify these estimates yourself on the event page under "Uber Estimates by Route," which includes Google Maps links for each airport-to-venue route.

A ride is billable when coordination was completed — meaning SeatMax did its job of grouping Riders, confirming they landed, and providing the Uber dispatch link. Specifically:

The key principle: if SeatMax coordinated the ride (all Riders landed, group text sent, Uber link provided), the ride is billable regardless of whether the captain used our Uber link. Your Riders may have arranged transport another way, but the coordination work was done.

A "stalled" ride means:

1. All Riders in the group confirmed they landed ✓ 2. All bags were collected (or skipped) ✓ 3. SeatMax sent the group coordination text with the Uber link ✓ 4. The Ride Captain did NOT tap the Uber link within 10 minutes ✗

This happens when the captain arranges transport outside SeatMax — maybe they called an Uber directly, hailed a cab, or got picked up by a colleague. The coordination was completed: SeatMax grouped the right people, confirmed everyone was at the airport, and provided the dispatch mechanism.

Think of it like a restaurant reservation: if you book a table for 4, the restaurant holds it for you. If you don't show up, the reservation fee still applies — the restaurant did its job.

If you believe a stalled ride was charged incorrectly (e.g., the Riders never actually arrived), contact support@syncromate.com with the event details.

When a flight lands, SeatMax sends each Rider an SMS: "Did you land? Reply Y." Most Riders reply within a few minutes.

If a Rider doesn't reply after 30 minutes and the flight API confirms the plane has landed, SeatMax auto-confirms their landing. This prevents one unresponsive Rider from blocking the entire group's ride.

Auto-confirmed Riders are marked on your invoice with "(auto-confirmed)" next to their landing time. They are not eligible to be Ride Captain since we can't verify they're actually at the airport and ready.

Common reasons for auto-confirmation: - Rider's phone was off or in airplane mode - Rider didn't see the SMS - Rider was in a poor cell coverage area (common in some terminals) - Rider changed their phone number

Auto-confirmed landings do NOT affect billing — the ride is still billable if coordination was completed.

Your invoice (available at the "View Invoice" link on any billed event) shows:

Summary section: - Total Riders, flights, and shared rides - Baseline cost (what solo rides would cost) - Grouped cost (what shared rides actually cost) - Your savings amount and percentage - SeatMax fee (25% of savings for ≤50 Riders, 22% for 51+ Riders; minimum $149) - Payment method and charge date

Per-ride breakdown: Each ride is shown as a card with: - Ride label (e.g., "Arrival 1: PHX Terminal 4") - Status badge (Dispatched, Stalled, or Ready) - Vehicle type and cost - Every Rider in the group: name, flight number, ETA, and when they confirmed landing - Solo → Grouped → Saved calculation showing exactly where the savings came from

Non-billable rides: Rides that weren't charged are shown in a separate section with an explanation of why. This is for full transparency — you can see that SeatMax only charges for coordination that was actually completed.

You can download your invoice as a PDF using the "Download PDF" button at the top.

Billing is triggered automatically after your event ends:

1. Auto-charge: When all rides for a direction (arrival or departure) are resolved, SeatMax charges the card on file. This typically happens the night after your event day. 2. Invoice generated: A detailed invoice is created with the full breakdown. 3. Receipt email: All Planners on the event receive an email with the savings summary and a link to the full invoice.

If the charge fails (expired card, insufficient funds), your organization is temporarily locked until the payment is resolved. You can update your card and retry from the Organization Settings page.

Arrival and departure legs are billed separately. The departure leg won't be charged until the arrival leg is resolved.

Organizations with large events (151+ Riders) or 4+ events per year may qualify for Enterprise pricing with custom rates below 22%. Contact support@syncromate.com for details.

Enterprise accounts also get: - Dedicated account manager - Priority support - Custom billing terms (NET 30 available) - Volume discounts on large events

Q: What if a Rider cancels last minute? Only the Planner can cancel a Rider — Riders cannot cancel themselves. If the Planner cancels a Rider before the flight takes off, the Rider is removed from grouping and the ride is not billed (coordination didn't happen). If the Planner cancels after the flight has departed or landed, the coordination was already in progress and the ride remains billable.

Q: What if all Riders are on the same flight? SeatMax still groups them by terminal and arrival time. Even if everyone is on the same plane, sharing rides saves money vs. everyone taking solo UberX.

Q: What if I have a dispute? Email support@syncromate.com with your event name and the specific ride you're questioning. We'll review the coordination logs and resolve it within 48 hours.

Q: Can I get a refund? Refunds are handled on a case-by-case basis. If SeatMax made an error (charged for a ride that was never coordinated), we'll issue a full credit. Contact support.

Q: Is there a minimum charge? No. If your savings are $4, your fee is $1. If savings are $0, you pay $0.

Q: What about tips for the Uber driver? Tips are between the Rider and the driver. SeatMax's fee is based on the base fare estimate, not including tips.

Q: Do you charge for test events? No. Events with only test email addresses (test.com, example.com) are detected automatically and never billed.