Costs and pricing
Part of Building a marketplace software budget from verified prices and the cost of the current route
A blank marketplace software budget for one seller, with VAT review and exit built in
Use a blank marketplace software budget template for one England seller, with price evidence, VAT review, whole-life work, uncertainty, controls and exit.
This marketplace seller software budget template rejects unknown inputs instead of disguising them as estimates. It covers one fictional England merchant, authorised seller, named marketplace account and the movement of approved product and stock records, followed by later order events.
All fields are blank at the 6 September 2026 research date. The buyer must attach current evidence and obtain named accounting, tax, procurement and specialist review.
Scope and baseline
| Field | Buyer entry |
|---|---|
| Seller legal entity and establishment | [enter verified seller] |
| Marketplace and authorised account | [enter controlled account] |
| Product population and identifiers | [define eligible records] |
| Source system and current process | [describe observed baseline] |
| Start and end dates, timezone | [set period and zone] |
| Currency and price base date | [state currency and date] |
| Decision owner and approval ceiling | [name owner and limit] |
Describe the current process with observed work records. Do not assume it costs nothing because no external invoice exists.
Supplier price evidence
| Field | Buyer entry |
|---|---|
| Legal supplier, service and edition | [enter exact offer] |
| UK eligibility and marketplace permission | [attach direct evidence] |
| Amount, currency and VAT status | [enter reviewed value] |
| Charging unit and billable event | [define precise meter] |
| Billing period, minimum term and renewal | [enter contract timing] |
| Volume, limits, overage and promotion | [record offer conditions] |
| Cancellation, refund, dispute and credit treatment | [record reversal rule] |
| First-party source, access date and version | [cite current record] |
Define whether an order charge follows placement, acceptance, authorisation, capture, fulfilment or settlement. Record how cancellation, return, partial refund and dispute affect the meter. Leave the amount on hold if the evidence does not answer those questions.
Whole-life cost ledger
Add one row per cost. Never combine supplier cash with buyer labour.
| Cost row | Cash or economic | One-off or recurring | Unit and quantity | Period | VAT review | Source and confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery and product-data repair | [cash or economic] | [one-off or recurring] | [unit x quantity] | [covered period] | [VAT decision] | [source and confidence] |
| Configuration, interface and migration | [cash or economic] | [one-off or recurring] | [unit x quantity] | [covered period] | [VAT decision] | [source and confidence] |
| Supplier, hosting and extension charges | [cash or economic] | [one-off or recurring] | [unit x quantity] | [covered period] | [VAT decision] | [source and confidence] |
| Consumer, safety and accessibility review | [cash or economic] | [one-off or recurring] | [unit x quantity] | [covered period] | [VAT decision] | [source and confidence] |
| Privacy, PECR and security assurance | [cash or economic] | [one-off or recurring] | [unit x quantity] | [covered period] | [VAT decision] | [source and confidence] |
| Operation, reconciliation and support | [cash or economic] | [one-off or recurring] | [unit x quantity] | [covered period] | [VAT decision] | [source and confidence] |
| Correction, incident, export and exit | [cash or economic] | [one-off or recurring] | [unit x quantity] | [covered period] | [VAT decision] | [source and confidence] |
GOV.UK's online-selling guidance identifies product, price, correction and confirmation fields that can create evidence and testing work. NCSC supplier-assurance questions include recovery and exit considerations. Neither source supplies a budget amount.
Reforecast and variance fields
Add the approved budget version, actual reporting date, evidence owner and reason for variance. Reforecast when the supplier edition, charging meter, volume, marketplace interface, product scope, VAT view or assurance requirement changes. Record committed cash separately from incurred cash and forecast amounts. A favourable variance caused by skipped safety or accessibility work is not a saving; it reopens the relevant gate.
Set the buyer's tolerance and escalation owner in blank fields. Do not copy a threshold from another merchant or supplier case.
VAT and reconciliation review
HMRC's VAT records page covers supplies, adjustments, invoices and credit or debit notes. Enter supplier VAT and marketplace-transaction VAT on separate reviewed lines. Do not infer recoverability or tax treatment from the software's display.
Formula and uncertainty
Total cash = [setup cash] + [recurring cash] + [assurance cash] + [exception cash] + [exit cash] + [reviewed VAT cash effect]
Economic cost = [cash cost on reviewed basis] + [internal labour] + [displaced work] + [risk recovery cost]
For each symbol, enter source, owner, unit, period, low and high buyer scenario, confidence and recheck trigger. Keep a blank from silently becoming zero.
Approval gate
Record separate pass, rework, hold or stop decisions for consumer, product safety, tax, privacy and PECR, security, accessibility and exit. A favourable total cannot compensate for a failed gate. Freeze spending if a price lacks currency, VAT status, unit, period, term or dated evidence.