Sourced answer pages for operators. Each guide states assumptions and cites official sources with access dates. Start with the fee calculator if you want numbers first.
Sourced3 sources
How much do card fees actually cost an LA food truck in 2026?
At published standard US rates as of July 2026, in-person card fees on the big flat-rate processors run 2.7% + 5¢ per transaction (Stripe) or 2.6% + 15¢ (Square). On an example $14 ticket that works out to roughly 3.1% to 3.7% of each card sale once the fixed fee is counted - and the smaller your ticket, the bigger the fixed fee's bite. Run your own ticket size in the fee calculator; we do not publish an LA average ticket.
Open guide
Sourced4 sources
How to reconcile cash and card sales at food truck events
Close each event day by matching three places: the cash drawer (starting cash vs counted close), the POS sales/payment-method totals for that window, and the processor payout or settlement report that eventually hits your bank. Square documents cash-drawer sessions with starting cash, cash sales, cash refunds, and expected cash; Stripe documents payout reconciliation so you can see which charges, refunds, and fees sit inside each bank deposit.
Open guide
Sourced4 sources
How should a food truck set up card payments?
Choose hardware and pricing for the way a truck actually works: a reader or terminal that keeps taking taps when the network drops, published flat-rate pricing you have verified for your entry method, and a plan for the fees you can avoid - keyed-in cards cost more on both of the pricing pages cited below.
Open guide
Sourced3 sources
How do tips and staff payouts work for an LA food truck?
In California, tips are the employee's property: you cannot count tips toward minimum wage - unlike the federal FLSA scheme, which permits a tip credit - you cannot deduct card processing fees from tips, and you must pay out credit-card tips no later than the next regular payday after the charge. On the tax side, an employee who receives $20 or more in cash tips in a month must report them to you in writing by the 10th of the following month, and you withhold on wages plus reported tips.
Open guide
Sourced6 sources
Can a California food truck add a card surcharge or cash discount?
California Civil Code §1748.1 still says retailers may not impose a credit-card surcharge, but may offer a cash/check/non-credit-card discount to all prospective buyers. The California Attorney General states that after Italian Colors v. Becerra (9th Cir. 2018), the AG will generally apply that decision to similarly situated merchants - while still barring misleading price practices. Separately, Visa and Mastercard network rules that allow U.S. credit-card surcharging (with notice, disclosure, debit/prepaid bans, and amount caps) do not override state law, and processors such as Stripe say you remain responsible for legal and network compliance. This page is educational planning context, not legal advice - get counsel before changing window pricing.
Open guide
Sourced10 sources
LA food truck permits, commissaries, and health inspection basics
In Los Angeles County (outside Long Beach, Pasadena, and Vernon), a food truck is regulated as a mobile food facility (MFF): Los Angeles County Environmental Health permits and inspects MFFs, and California Retail Food Code defines an MFF as a vehicle used with a commissary or other permanent food facility to sell food at retail. Practically, operators usually need plan-check/construction approval when the vehicle is new or remodeled, a Public Health Permit after a passing final inspection, a current commissary (or other approved facility) relationship, daily cleaning/servicing and commissary reporting rules under state law, and an up-to-date route/schedule notice to Public Health under County Code. This page is a sourced planning map of those official steps - not a permit application, not legal advice, and not a substitute for talking to Plan Check / the Mobile Food Program about your exact menu and vehicle.
Open guide
Sourced5 sources
How should an LA food truck think about commissary cost math?
For most Los Angeles County mobile food facilities, a commissary or other enforcement-agency-approved facility is not just a back-office detail; it is part of the operating model. Do not use a made-up LA average commissary price. Model your own monthly base rent, storage/parking, potable-water/waste service, prep access, cleaning/service trips, and extra event fees, then divide the fixed monthly portion by realistic event days and expected tickets. That gives you a per-event and per-ticket burden you can compare with card fees, labor, food cost, and event fees.
Open guide
Sourced4 sources
Event-day cash vs card worksheet for food trucks
Use this as the worksheet companion to the broader cash/card reconciliation guide: five same-day columns for starting cash, counted cash, POS cash/card/tip/refund totals, processor payouts, and unresolved differences. The point is not to make the processor payout match the event instantly; Stripe and Square both document that payouts/transfers can batch transactions and fees. The point is to close the event with a clean cash count, a POS tender split, and a note explaining what should reconcile later when the payout lands.
Open guide
