A port-of-entry request carries the fees CBP collects at admission, while a Form I-129 petition carries the USCIS filing fee set in the G-1055 fee schedule. Check both against the current schedule rather than a figure quoted from memory.
Match the fee to the procedure you actually use
Hypothetical example: the dealer asks whether it should file Form I-129 or simply send the applicant to the border. The costs differ by procedure. At a port of entry the applicant pays what CBP charges for the TN admission and any Form I-94 issuance. A Form I-129 petition filed by the employer carries the USCIS fee in the current G-1055 schedule, plus any optional premium-processing fee the employer chooses. Neither route requires a visa stamp for a Canadian citizen. Separate from government fees, budget for a credential evaluation only if part of the education was completed outside Canada, Mexico or the United States, and for certified translations only of documents not already in English. Keep receipts; the employer and the applicant should agree in writing who pays which item so the arrangement does not look like the applicant paying to create their own job.
Hypothetical example: an aquaculture systems engineer and the employer each assume the other will pay for translations, travel, and the selected filing procedure. Make a dated budget that names the admission fee or petition fee, optional premium-processing cost if chosen, translation charges, evaluation expense when genuinely needed, and travel costs. The current government fee schedule, not an old client checklist, settles the public charge. The practical decision is whether the employer needs a petition timetable badly enough to pay for it, or whether a complete direct-admission file better fits the start date. Record the reimbursement arrangement in writing so later payment questions do not undermine the employment narrative.