Hard Dollars

Fees or payments paid to brokerage firms in return for their services.

Investopedia Says:
For example, let's say that Cory's Large Cap Value Fund wants to buy some research from XYZ brokerage. However, Cory’s doesn’t want to make any trades through the brokerage. In this case, the company could make a hard dollar payment (cash) and simply pay for the research outright. This is the opposite of making a soft dollar payment in which a brokerage firm is paid with the commission revenue from making trades.

A hard dollar payment can also refer to the fee that an individual investor pays to a brokerage firm for its services. For example, if an investor places a market order and pays the brokerage a $20 fee for that transaction, that is a hard dollar payment.

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Actual payments made by a customer for services, including research, provided by a brokerage firm. For instance, if a broker puts together a financial plan for a client, the fee might be $1,000 in hard dollars. This contrasts with Soft Dollars which refers to compensation by way of the commissions a broker would receive if he were to carry out any trades called for in that financial plan. Brokerage house research is sold for either hard or soft dollars.