How to keep marketplace fee assumptions with a pricing decision

Save the circumstances as well as the percentage

A rate becomes useful evidence when you know which marketplace, account country, category or programme it covers. Keep the fixed charge, tax basis, applicable advertising and any manual override too. A note containing only ‘fees 10%’ may be impossible to interpret a few months later.

Record where the information came from and when it was checked. The date a policy takes effect is different from the date you read it. If an effective date is not established, mark it as unknown rather than inventing one.

Keep the original calculation intact

A saved report should explain the assumptions used when the decision was made. If a platform changes its fees, create a new scenario for comparison. Replacing the old rates inside an old report would make it look as though the original decision used information that was not available then.

Clear Takings report snapshots retain inputs and the entered fee version and are immutable. Product assumptions can be updated for future work, but an existing report remains a record. Use a meaningful manual-version note where no source preset applies.

Review changed rules before activating them

Read the official documentation for conditions, exceptions and start dates. Test ordinary transactions and any affected thresholds or caps. A material fee change should be validated before it becomes a default, rather than silently copied from a notice into every calculation.

Fee changes are reviewed before source presets change through a tested release. This release has no authorised live fee feed, and a source review date does not promise that fees remain unchanged indefinitely.

Use reminders as prompts to verify

The website warns when source checks are older than 90 days. That is a reminder to recheck current charges, not evidence that a fee changed on day 91. An official notice or a different statement line may justify checking sooner.

For an important quote or stock decision, verify the relevant rule at the time you make it. Keep a statement or official estimate with the input notes. The few minutes spent documenting it can save a longer investigation when the result later needs explaining.

Before you use the result

• Record country, account/category and applicable conditions.
• Keep source URL, verification and effective dates distinct.
• Name manual overrides and their tax basis.
• Preserve historic reports and compare a new scenario.
• Validate material changes before updating defaults.

Common questions