Commerce Budgets
Part of Retail media during promotions
Reviewing a sale period after retailer fees and returns
Reconcile retained receipts, promotion funding, retailer charges, media spend and returns after a sale.
Close a retailer promotion using the advertiser’s retained receipts and costs for that sale period. The retailer’s headline sales and a media dashboard’s return on ad spend do not show what the supplier or seller kept after price support, fees, returns and media charges.
Identify the trading route
Identify the trading route
First establish whose money each report shows. A supplier may receive an agreed amount from the retailer rather than the shelf price paid by shoppers. A marketplace seller may receive the consumer payment and owe platform, transaction or fulfilment charges. Use the relevant agreement, settlement records and media invoices.
Fix the SKU set, sale dates and transaction status. Ask whether the retailer’s sales report is gross or net of returned, cancelled and refunded orders, and note its extract date. The retailer’s delivered figure still needs its own label; later returns can change a subsequent extract.
Build a contribution bridge
Build a contribution bridge
Agree the treatment with finance and the commercial owner. Use one consistent product, period and tax basis.
| Step | Question to settle |
|---|---|
| Retained receipts | What did the advertiser receive from qualifying completed sales after price support and refunds? |
| Variable costs | Which product, fulfilment and transaction costs apply, including the recoverable or unrecoverable costs of returns? |
| Retailer charges | Which fees, allowances and services relate to this sale period? |
| Media and production | What was invoiced for the campaign, and what committed amount remains outstanding? |
| Later adjustments | Which credits, returns or settlements may still change the result? |
If an allowance has already reduced net receipts, do not subtract it again as a fee. Do not treat an outstanding commitment as an invoice already paid; disclose it separately until its final charge is known. Keep a mixed retailer package unresolved until its trade, media and service components can be identified.
Keep attribution separate
Keep attribution separate
Place media delivery and the retailer’s attributed-sales report beside the commercial bridge, labelled with their product sets, sales channels and attribution rules. The populations may differ from the settlement ledger. A purchase credited after an ad interaction might have happened without advertising, so attributed sales cannot be substituted for incremental contribution.
A positive contribution for the sale period does not establish that the advertising itself was profitable. If that causal claim is needed, use a credible estimate of additional contribution and show its uncertainty. Otherwise, decide on the observed commercial result and describe the advertising evidence within its limits.
Attribution vs. Commercial Contribution
- Media attribution reportShows sales credited to ad interactions; may include purchases without advertising influence.
- Commercial contribution bridgeReflects actual retained receipts, costs, fees, and returns after settlement; based on agreed financial treatment.
Make the next booking decision
Make the next booking decision
Record approved and actual charges, the resulting contribution, delivery exceptions and data still outstanding. Note whether returns or settlements are final. Decide whether to repeat the combined promotion, change the offer, narrow the SKUs or renegotiate a fee. Keep the definitions attached so the next sale can be reviewed on the same basis.
