Measuring dependence on a single platform payout

To measure dependence on one platform payout, divide cash received through that payout route by all creator operating receipts collected in the same period. The result describes past cash concentration. It does not predict the next payout, nor capture every way the platform affects your business.

Calculate a comparable share

Choose a period that includes the payment cycle you want to assess. Use the same dates and currency throughout, and state how you treated GST. Exclude transfers between your own accounts, loans and owner contributions from creator operating receipts. Count a payment once: a platform earnings report and its later bank deposit are stages of the same payment.

Platform payout share = cash received through that platform payout route ÷ total creator operating receipts collected in the period × 100.

For example, if A$3,000 of A$5,000 in collected operating receipts came through one platform payout route, its share is 60%. Those figures are illustrative. If a client responsible for some of the remaining A$2,000 found you through the same account, note that discovery dependency separately. Do not add the client payment to the platform-payout numerator.

If total operating receipts were zero, the percentage is undefined. List pending amounts and buyer routes without reporting a concentration rate.

Reconcile the payout

Match the bank receipt to the platform’s statement and record its date, currency and identifiable adjustments. Keep estimated, finalised, transferred and received amounts in separate columns; a service may use different names for these stages.

Check the service’s current help pages and account records to confirm how its earnings, thresholds and payment stages work. Do not treat a reported balance as cash received until it reaches your account.

Record exposure the percentage misses

Ask whether other receipts depend on the same account for discovery, customer contact or delivery. Could buyers still find and access an offer if the account were unavailable? Do several monetisation types share one eligibility decision? Could you fulfil work already sold?

If a platform links several monetisation types to one eligibility decision, separate spreadsheet rows for those categories do not remove that shared risk. The cash-share figure and these dependency notes answer different questions; do not turn the notes into an invented percentage.

Decide what to review next

There is no universal safe payout share. Choose a review trigger based on your own payment obligations and tolerance for interruption.

If the exposure is mainly timing, plan for a later receipt date. If it is eligibility or discovery, assess whether an alternative can earn and reach buyers through another route. Recalculate after receipts arrive and keep the earlier period for comparison.