Paying Through the Platform: The 5%, and Why You Pay It

If you are used to paying someone directly, adding a platform fee can raise an obvious question: what exactly am I paying for?

The answer matters because a fee should make sense in the context of the service the platform is providing.

The 5% Applies to Posted Work

Knomart's fee map includes a 5% cut on posted work. It is tied to paid work that a merchant posts through the platform, rather than being a charge on everything the merchant does inside Knomart.

That distinction is important. Knomart has a genuinely free tier, while paid posted work carries the 5% platform charge.

The Member's Amount Stays Clear

The 5% is not quietly removed from the amount advertised to the member.

If a merchant posts work with a payment of KES 5,000, the member's posted payment is KES 5,000. The business pays the 5% platform charge on top of that amount.

So the two amounts remain separate:

• Member payment: KES 5,000
• Platform charge: 5% paid by the business on top

This keeps the opportunity clear from the member's point of view. What they see as the payment for the work is not reduced because of the platform fee.

Why Put the Fee on the Business?

The merchant is the party using the platform to create and manage a paid opportunity. The platform charge therefore sits on the business side rather than reducing the member's advertised earnings.

That separation makes the economics easier to understand before someone applies.

What Are You Paying For?

The fee is part of using the platform's posted-work system: creating a funded opportunity, bringing it to members, supporting the application and selection process, and moving the payment through the platform's controlled workflow.

The value is not simply the movement of money. It is the structure around the transaction.

Calculate It Before You Post

A percentage becomes easier to evaluate when you put it against the actual work you want done.

Before publishing, look at the amount you want the member to receive and account for the additional 5% business-side charge. That lets you decide whether the opportunity still makes sense for your business.

There should be no surprise at the end. You should know the cost before the opportunity goes live.

A Simple Rule

Do not think of the 5% as something taken away from the worker. Think of it as a platform cost attached to the merchant's paid posted work.

The member gets the full posted amount. The business pays the 5% platform charge on top. Know the cost, understand the value, and post with the full economics in view.