Things to consider before you apply to be fiscally hosted by us:

When submitting an application to be hosted by Platform 6, please bear in mind two key criteria that guide us when you write your application message:

1. We're all about encouraging cooperative projects, so we'd normally expect your project to be explicitly cooperative in nature. You might be in the start-up phase of a new cooperative enterprise, doing cooperative development work, or something similar. Let us know.
2. While we're offering a zero fee approach, our focus is on supporting organisations for a relatively short period of time. We're expecting that you are on a pathway that will most likely see you with your own bank account within six months or so. Nothing hard and fast, but a rough guide. If you anticipate using the fiscal hosting service for much longer then let us know. We won't rule you out, but we might want to talk about some form of payment in respect of the not insignificant amount of work that we do behind the scenes to handle all of the accounting.

Any collective using our hosting facility on the Open Collective platform (OC) should be aware that funds paid in support of that collective through OC are subject to fees as set out below:

1. OC platform fee is zero. You are free to add a voluntary "tip" to your donation to fund the work of Open Collective.

2. Stripe payment processor fee: 1.4% plus 20p per transaction for European payment cards (2.9% + 20p per transaction for non-European cards). These fee rates were correct at the time of writing (as at May 12 2019) but you are advised to check against Stripe's current published rates on their website.

3. Platform 6 Development Co-operative charges no additional host fee at the moment. We reserve the right to alter these terms and conditions and charge an administration fee for our time and we are also subject to any changes that the Open Collective platform make in their overarching conditions. At the moment we run this service in a voluntary capacity as part of our contribution to early stage co-operative endeavours.

Funds can be paid in via other channels by agreement, for example directly into our bank account, and in those cases the Stripe fee and the OC fee do not apply.

All funds are paid in to the Platform 6 bank account. We hold those funds on behalf of the relevant collective, and all payments will be recorded in the OC user interface.

When a claim is made against those funds, e.g. for an expense relating to that collective, the coordinator of that collective first needs to approve that expense. We've set some guidelines about the paperwork that is required to claim an expense, and we are happy to discuss and clarify these at any time. Once the collective's coordinator has approved an expense, Platform 6 – as the host – will review the claim and assuming it meets the agreed criteria and there are funds to meet the claim, we will action payment.

By default, payments out will be made via Paypal, and the recipient of the payment will pay the Paypal transaction fees due. Payments out can be made via other channels by agreement.

Paypal transactions fees for expense payments at this time (August 2020) are as follows:

Expense in GBP: 2.9% + £0.30
Expense in other currency: 3.4% +£0.30

The collective that is hosted is essentially viewed as a project of the Platform 6 Development Co-operative, and is offered membership of Platform 6.

It's important to recognise that we are learning as we go with this, so essentially the service is in what we might call a "beta" mode. We're keen to co-operate closely with you and your colleagues to maximise our joint learning and address any issues that may crop up as we develop the service. Our goal is to deliver a useful and cost-effective service. Your input and feedback is highly valued.