Commission & Platform Fee Funds Flow and Overview

We operate as a marketplace that sells race entries on behalf of Race Organisers. Customers purchase entries through our platform, and we manage the collection and distribution of funds to all relevant parties.

Our role is split into two distinct parts:

Commission we earn as the marketplace
Third-party platform fees we pass through as an agent

Each is treated differently for VAT and accounting purposes.

1. Race Entry Sale

A customer purchases a race entry through our marketplace.
The full race price is paid by the customer at checkout.
We temporarily hold the funds and then distribute them according to agreed fees.

Example race price: £20.00

2. Find a Race Commission

We charge the Race Organiser a standard commission of 15% + VAT for selling the entry on their behalf.

This commission is deducted from the race price
VAT is charged because this is a service we provide to the Race Organiser

Example calculation:

Commission (15%): £3.00
VAT on commission (20%): £0.60
Total commission deducted: £3.60

This £3.60 represents our full marketplace fee, including VAT.

3. Third-Party Platform Fee (Pass-Through)

Some Race Organisers use third-party event management platforms to run their events.

These platforms might charge the Race Organiser a separate fee for their services.

When a booking is made via our marketplace:

We collect this platform fee from the race price
We pass it directly to the platform
We act purely as an agent in this part of the transaction

Because the fee relates to a service between the Race Organiser and the platform, and we do not add any markup:

No VAT is charged by us on this amount
It is treated as a pass-through cost, not our revenue

Example platform fee: 3.8%

Platform fee: £0.76

4. Funds Distribution Summary

Using the £20.00 race entry example:

Recipient	Amount	VAT Treatment
Marketplace (commission)	£3.00	VATable
VAT on commission	£0.60	VAT
Platform provider	£0.76	Pass-through (no VAT charged by us)
Race Organiser	£15.64	Net payout
Total	£20

5. Final Outcome

The Race Organiser receives £15.64
The platform provider receives £0.76
We retain £3.00 + £0.60 VAT as our commission
VAT is applied only to our marketplace service, not to pass-through fees

Key Principles

Find a Race charges a marketplace commission direct to the Race Organiser
Find a Race acts as an agent for third-party platform fees
VAT is charged only where Find a Race provides a service
Pass-through fees are collected and passed on without markup