Executive Brief

The Net-Positive Commerce Model

To: Chief Financial Officer
From: Relay Commerce
Subject: 2026 Tech Stack Profitability Audit

Executive Summary: Current e-commerce infrastructure operates as a significant drag on EBITDA. This audit demonstrates that by transitioning to the Relay Net-Positive Model, a brand of your volume ($50M GMV) can eliminate over $540,000 in annual operating expenses while simultaneously generating a new six-figure revenue stream. The net result is a $1M+ positive swing on the P&L.

1. The Problem: The "SaaS Tax" on Valuation

Legacy platforms charge a "Growth Tax"—typically 1% of GMV in transaction fees—on top of rising SaaS licensing costs. For a brand processing $50M GMV, this results in nearly $280,000 in transaction fee leakage annually. When combined with agency retainer fees for implementation, the retention stack becomes a massive cost center that depresses Enterprise Value.

2. The Solution: The Offset Mechanism

Relay Commerce consolidates fragmented tools (Subscriptions, Email, SMS, Support) into a single funded membership. By activating SavedBy protection, we generate approximately 1.05% of GMV in "Found Revenue." This revenue completely offsets the software costs and generates net-free cash flow.

3. Financial Analysis: The Ledger

The following table illustrates the annualized P&L impact for a brand with $50M Total GMV ($25M Subscription Volume).

Line Item Legacy Stack (Competitors) Relay Net-Positive Stack
SaaS Licensing Fees(Sub + Email + SMS + Loyalty) ($140,000) ($54,000)
Transaction Fees(1% + 19¢ on Sub GMV) ($281,500) $0 (0% Fees)
Agency Retainers(Implementation & Strategy) ($120,000) $0 (Included)
Ancillary Revenue(SavedBy Protection Revenue) $0 +$525,000
NET ANNUAL EBITDA IMPACT ($541,500) Cost +$471,000 Profit

4. Strategic Implications

Enterprise Valuation

+$6.07M
Increase in Exit Value (based on 6x EBITDA multiple of the $1.01M P&L swing).

Total P&L Variance

+$1.01M
Annual cash flow difference between Legacy Stack cost and Relay Profit.

5. Operational Risk Assessment

Migration Risk: Relay provides a dedicated Managed Services team to handle 100% of the data migration (including token transfer), eliminating the need for internal developer resources or 3rd party agency fees.

See the impact on your specific business volume.
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