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Marketplaces, platforms and fintech

Online marketplace financial model, built free.

A three-statement Excel model for an online marketplace, built from your own figures and checked to balance.

  • Free account
  • No card
  • Usually ready within the hour

We use generative AI in parts of our process, so mistakes can occur. Every model should be checked by a person before it is relied on. Read more

The business

Matches buyers and sellers of goods, services, travel, rides or freelance work and earns a take rate on gross merchandise value, plus advertising and value-added services.

See the sampleHow the model works

In short

  • 01

    Three linked statements

    Income statement, balance sheet and cash flow, linked in every period.

  • 02

    Valued two ways

    Discounted cash flow and trading multiples, side by side.

  • 03

    Monthly to annual

    Monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual periods, for up to 30 years.

  • 04

    Checked every period

    A Checks sheet shows the balance sheet balances and the cash reconciles.

The sample

The sample, as Excel draws it.

Built by the same system and checks as yours, on illustrative figures: every sheet as Excel draws it, or live.

Annual · 10 years · Low detail
Online marketplace sample model.xlsx
The Summary sheet of the sample online marketplace model

Illustrative figures: the sample describes no real business. The live preview shows values; your model’s Excel file has every formula.

How it works

How the model works for an online marketplace.

  1. How it earns revenue3 formulas
    Take rate and net revenue · All transaction platforms
    Transaction revenueTransaction volume (gross merchandise value)from transaction volume (GMV or TPV)Take rate (revenue as a share of volume)
    Take rate and net revenue · All transaction platforms
    Transaction costsTransaction volume (gross merchandise value)from transaction volume (GMV or TPV)Transaction costs (basis points of volume)
    Take rate and net revenue · All transaction platforms
    Transaction revenue less transaction costsTransaction revenueTransaction costs
  2. What drives its costs3 formulas
    Operating expenses · Across the business
    Total FTEsOperations and deliverySales and marketingTechnologyFinance, HR and administration
    Operating expenses · Across the business
    Total average FTEsOperations and deliverySales and marketingTechnologyFinance, HR and administration
    Operating expenses · Across the business
    Total staff costsSalariesOn-costsOther costs per FTE
  3. What it invests in3 formulas
    Corporate fixed assets
    Capital expenditureRevenuefrom statementsCapex as % of revenueAdditional planned capex
    Corporate fixed assets
    DepreciationDepreciation of the opening asset baseDepreciation of new capex
    Corporate fixed assets
    Closing net book valueOpening net book valueCapital expenditureDepreciation
  4. How it is funded1 formula
    Equity raising
    Equity raisedDistributions reinvested under the DRPOther equity raised (net of costs)Equity from an offer, milestone funding, conversions and creditor shares
  5. How profit becomes cash3 formulas
    Working capital
    Trade receivablesRevenuefrom statementsDebtor daysDays in period
    Working capital
    InventoryDirect costs (positive)from statementsInventory daysDays in period
    Working capital
    Trade payablesCash operating costs (positive)from statementsCreditor daysDays in period
What it covers

16 parts, each one tested.

Every part is a tested building block with its own checks: yours is put together from the ones your business needs.

  • CPI forecastConsensus curve with long-run anchor
  • Operating expensesHeadcount build by function
  • Working capitalFull working capital
  • Income taxCorporate rate with tax losses
  • Corporate fixed assetsStraight-line over remaining life
  • Equity raisingDistribution reinvestment plan
  • Discounted cash flow valuationDCF on free cash flow to the firm
  • Multiples valuationEV / EBITDA multiple
  • Key-metric summaryLast-twelve-month and run-rate metrics
  • Case selectionStackable stress toggles
  • Unit economicsLTV, CAC and payback from averages
  • R&D and capitalised developmentGross R&D × capitalisation rateResearch and development expense after capitalisation, with the capitalised software asset and its amortisation.
  • Headcount plan by functionHiring plan by functionEmployees and staff cost by function (cost of revenue, sales and marketing, R&D, G&A).
  • Sales and marketing not attributed to plansPercentage of revenueEntity-level sales and marketing for businesses without product plans (marketplaces, payments, ad platforms, game studios) and for central brand spend deliberately not allocated to plans.
  • Transaction volume (GMV or TPV)Active buyers × frequency × order valueGross merchandise value or total payment volume and transaction counts for a platform.
  • Take rate and net revenueBlended take rateRevenue earned on transaction volume and the pass-through costs (interchange, scheme and processing) netted against it.
Key numbers

The numbers it tracks.

  1. 01GMV
  2. 02take rate
  3. 03active buyers
  4. 04orders per buyer
  5. 05contribution margin per order
  6. 06adjusted EBITDA
Used for

What it is used for.

Also used for
  • Scenarios and sensitivities
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Looking for an online marketplace financial model template? Ours arrives built for your business, with your figures in it.

See a finished model, sheet by sheet

The sample is built on illustrative figures and describes no real business. Models are calculations prepared from the information you provide. They are not financial advice and must be independently verified. See our terms.