Reviews
Part of Marketplace seller software review method: Linnworks, ChannelEngine and four more on hold
Marketplace seller software checklist: four stop rules
Four stop rules for marketplace seller software: identity, account permission, service boundary and edition evidence end a review before credentials are sought.
A candidate that cannot be identified should never reach a score. These checks work as stop rules: the points at which a marketplace software candidate is rejected or held before credentials are requested, a fixture is uploaded or any price is entered.
Mark each line PASS, FAIL, UNRESOLVED or NOT TESTED and attach the evidence ID. The list is an evidence-gap gate for one fictional England seller, not a compliance certificate or product recommendation. Buyer weights, thresholds and prices remain blank.
What to take away
- Stop before requesting credentials or uploading a fixture when identity, account permission or service boundary is unverified.
- Evidence from another edition, territory or promotional period does not count for this candidate.
- A checklist total is not a verdict; only a named reviewer can issue a bounded pilot decision.
- Production stays disabled until every non-compensating gate passes for the exact tested configuration.
- Preserve rejected evidence and rerun history so a later team can see why the candidate stopped.
Four stop rules before any credentials
Each rule below ends the review at once if its condition holds. None of them needs a score, because a score would only rank a candidate that has not yet been identified.
| Stop rule | Triggered when | What lifts it |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Legal supplier, trading name or contract party do not match current evidence | A source document and access date for each |
| Account permission | The authorised marketplace account and permitted functions are not documented | Written permission for that account |
| Service boundary | The exact UK-available service and edition are not named, or exclusions are unclear | A named edition with explicit exclusions |
| Edition evidence | Records or prices belong to another edition, territory or promotional period | Records for the exact edition |
Where any of the four is unresolved, stop before requesting credentials or uploading a fixture. Mark the line UNRESOLVED and record what proof would reopen it.
Check identity without over-reading it
Companies House shows who a supplier is, and a buyer can set up free email alerts for when a company updates its details, for example a change of director or address. Registration is not quality, solvency, permission or fitness.
Attach the source document and access date to every PASS. A supplier statement can support only the claim it actually makes for that edition and territory. The vendor due diligence record is where identity evidence is kept once a candidate moves forward.
- Legal supplier, trading name and contract party match current evidence.
- Exact UK-available service and edition are named.
- The authorised marketplace account and permitted functions are documented.
- Included product, stock and order states have explicit exclusions.
- First-party service and technical records carry access dates and versions.
Hold rules for what the customer sees and the data behind it
Once a candidate is admitted, further lines can hold it. Reject or hold when consumer, safety, privacy, accessibility or security evidence is missing, because none of these can be bought back by a strong result elsewhere.
- The buyer can inspect the rendered seller identity, description, total price and genuine optional choices.
- Order placement, acceptance, authorisation, capture, fulfilment, cancellation, return, refund, dispute and settlement remain separate.
- Safety evidence, suppression, correction and withdrawal have named owners.
- Controller, processor or other UK GDPR role analysis is recorded for each data flow.
- Privileged access is least-privilege, logged, reviewable and revocable.
- Staff and customer tasks have an accessibility method and an unresolved-defect route.
Map any storage or access on user equipment separately, with the device access and data protection checks, and let qualified reviewers decide applicability. NCSC's managing and reporting incidents question asks whether the contract clearly states requirements for incident reporting, including timescales, who to report to and expected actions. The question does not verify a candidate.
Hold rules for money, support and exit
Commercial lines stay UNKNOWN until the reviewed contract supplies them. Do not enter a price from another edition, territory or promotional period, and keep supplier charges apart from marketplace, payment, implementation, labour, support and exit costs.
Record support as a defined contact route, event and evidence requirement. Leave response and availability thresholds blank unless the exact reviewed contract supplies them. A public help page does not establish contracted assistance or recovery time for this seller.
- Currency, VAT basis, charging unit, billing period, term, limits and refund conditions are stated, or the field is UNKNOWN.
- Tax and accounting treatment has an accountant-owned hold.
- Rollback, credential revocation, export, deletion and isolated restore are demonstrated.
- No live listing, payment, customer message or personal data is used in testing.
The budget built from list prices stays blank for any candidate that has stopped at an earlier rule.
Record the stop without erasing it
A rejected candidate leaves a record. Preserve the rejected evidence and the rerun history so that a later team can understand why the candidate stopped, and so that nobody repeats the same investigation without new proof.
The final line names the decision owner, verdict, failed or unresolved gates, evidence versions and expiry. It also states what new proof can reopen the review and who can keep production disabled. The review methodology lists the verdicts the line may use.
A checklist total is not a verdict. Only a named reviewer can issue a bounded pilot decision for the exact edition and tested configuration, and production stays disabled until every non-compensating gate passes.
Before you act
- Confirm legal supplier, trading name and contract party match current evidence.
- Document the authorised marketplace account and permitted functions.
- Attach source document and access date to every PASS.
- Leave any price, threshold or weight blank until the contract supplies it.
- Keep production disabled until every non-compensating gate passes.
- Record decision owner, verdict, failed gates, evidence versions and expiry.
Common questions
When must the review stop before credentials are requested?
When the account permission, contract party or service boundary cannot be verified. Mark the line UNRESOLVED, record what proof would reopen it, and do not upload a fixture. A supplier statement supports only the claim it makes for that edition and territory.
Can a public help page prove contracted support?
No. Record support as a defined contact route, event and evidence requirement. Response and availability thresholds stay blank unless the exact reviewed contract supplies them, so those fields remain unresolved until contract evidence exists.
What does the final decision line need?
The decision owner, verdict, failed or unresolved gates, evidence versions and expiry, plus what new proof can reopen the review and who can keep production disabled.
