Marketplace commission that fits every deal.

When vendor plans stop being enough

Core Multi-Vendor gives each vendor plan a percent plus a fixed fee, and the bundled Commissions by category add-on gives a percent per category and plan. For a young marketplace that is plenty. Then the first real deals arrive: a key vendor negotiates 8%, expensive electronics cannot carry the same rate as accessories, a new category needs a launch promo for six weeks, and high-volume sellers ask for a better tier.

Each of those can be forced into a new plan or a manual correction. Plans multiply, and corrections are how accounting drifts: the order page says one thing and the payout says another. Advanced Commission Rules lets you describe only the exceptions. A product without a matching rule keeps the plan commission or category rate exactly as before.

How a commission is calculated, line by line

When a vendor order is placed, core calculates its commission as usual. The add-on then looks at every product in the order and picks one rule for it. Each rule contributes the sum of its products' bases times its percent, plus its fixed amount, limited by its minimum and maximum per order. Products without a rule contribute their core rate. The total never exceeds the order total, and the result is stored on the vendor payout, so the balance and Accounting need no special handling.

Which rule wins when several match?

By default the most specific rule wins. Each condition scores points, shown in the rule list and the simulator:

So an "Apparel 12%" category rule (16) beats an "ACME Corp 8%" vendor rule (8) for an ACME Corp jacket, while ACME Corp’s electronics get 8%. If you prefer a plain first-match list, switch the setting to lowest priority number. On a tie, the lower priority number wins, then the older rule.

A rule replaces the plan commission for the products it matches, including the plan’s fixed fee. The plan fixed fee is charged only when at least one product in the order has no rule.

Commission rules marketplaces actually set up

• Negotiated rate: Vendors = ACME Corp, 8%.
• Lower rate on expensive items: Categories = Electronics, Product price from 1,000, 6%, maximum per order set.
• Launch promo: Categories = Garden with subcategories, Order date from and to, 3%. Ended rules show as Expired, future ones as Scheduled.
• Volume tiers: two rules on Vendor sales this month, for example 10% below 5,000 and 8% from 5,000.
• Minimum fee on small orders: a rule with a minimum commission per order.
• Commission on shipping or not: include shipping and taxes per rule, and calculate before or after discounts.

Before you save, the simulator shows the result for any product: commission with rules, what the plan alone would charge, what the vendor receives, and every matching rule with the applied one highlighted. Nothing is saved, and taxes are not simulated.

Past orders, edits and refunds

Creating, editing or deleting a rule affects new orders only. Vendors should never find that last month’s commission moved because someone tidied a rule. If you do want to apply current rules to earlier orders, the Recalculate orders tab previews up to 500 orders per run, then adds one Order changed entry per difference. Earlier entries are not rewritten, and running it twice changes nothing.

Edited orders are recalculated with the rules as of the original order date. On refunds through RMA, commission is returned at the order’s effective rate, and a full refund returns everything charged. Vendors see the calculation on their order pages and a read-only My commission rates page, unless you turn those off. Rule management is never available in the vendor panel.

The report lists every payout entry calculated by rules, with what the plan alone would have charged, and exports to CSV. That comparison tells you what each exception actually costs or earns.

Rules, extra plans or manual fixes?

If all your sellers really pay the same rate, you do not need this add-on: vendor plans are enough. It earns its place at the first exception you would otherwise fix by hand.

It pairs with Vendor Payouts Automation, which pays out the balance these rules produce, and with Commission Invoices & Vendor Statements for monthly invoices to vendors. See Advanced Commission Rules on the store.

Versions and requirements

Multi-Vendor 4.17.2 to 4.21.x on PHP 7.4 to 8.3, as your version supports. The bundled Vendor plans add-on must be active, which it is by default. Commissions by category is optional. Payment add-ons that split by the payout commission use the rule result. CS-Cart Standard and Ultimate refuse the installation.