Using a fee calculator properly

A fee calculator is only as honest as its inputs. Used casually it confirms whatever you already believed; used properly it finds crossover points that change real platform decisions. Here's the method — and the traps.

The four numbers that matter

1. Effective rate — total fees ÷ total face value, at your price. Headline rates are marketing.
2. Fan total — what your buyer actually pays; the number conversion depends on.
3. Your net — what lands in your account, and when.
4. The crossover — the ticket price where platform A overtakes platform B. Fixed-fee platforms win above crossovers; percentage platforms win below them (rarely — usually zero-fee wins everywhere).

Traps that skew results

• Comparing a VAT-inclusive rate against a VAT-exclusive one (our tables gross up automatically; many calculators don't).
• Running one price when you sell tiers — model each tier at its expected volume.
• Ignoring minimum fees: Skiddle's £1 floor changes everything under £10.
• Forgetting free tickets: some platforms charge for them, some cap them.
• Treating quote-only platforms as comparable — they aren't, until you have your quote in writing.

A worked method

1. List your real tiers: 50 × £10 early, 120 × £15 standard, 30 × £18 late.
2. Run each tier through the calculator; sum fees per platform.
3. Add payout timing: money-after-event has a financing cost if you carry deposits.
4. Decide who bears fees, and re-check the fan total against your scene's price expectations.