In practice, this does not make sense, as the loss is very difficult to measure, and calculating compensation raises complex interpretation issues. For this reason, almost all SaaS service providers (including AI Commerce Cloud) resort to a clear availability percentage-based refund or service credit model, which is ultimately more affordable and clearer for the customer.

1. Measurement problems and sales uncertainty

It is almost impossible to accurately determine the lost sales. The purchase transaction may be postponed to a later date or take place in an alternative channel (for example, over the phone through a salesperson). At best, it may even result in an additional sale if the customer has to contact the salesperson directly. This makes it very difficult – or practically impossible – to estimate when and how much actual sales were lost.

2. Why a monthly payment credit benefits the customer more

AI Commerce offers a model where service availability is defined at a very high level (99.999%). If service availability falls below this limit, 10% of the monthly fees are refunded for each missing percentage. This is often more valuable to the customer than compensation for theoretical lost sales, which could be lower and would be very laborious to verify. As a result, customers often get more benefit from the availability and refund model already in place.

3. The SaaS provider is not an insurance company

Both AI Commerce and other SaaS providers operate as software and service providers, not insurance companies. If a service provider were to try to compensate for all theoretical sales losses, there would be a lot of bureaucracy and legal disputes, because it is difficult to verify the actual damage. Most large cloud and SaaS solutions rely on a clear SLA (Service Level Agreement) model, which defines the availability level and refunds of monthly fees or service credits if the level is exceeded.

4. High service availability is a common interest

AI Commerce platform is used by multiple customers in a shared service environment. Even small outages affect the business of many customers and cause reputational damage to the service provider. That is why AI Commerce has a strong internal motivation to ensure high availability. On the Status Page pages, you can monitor the availability readings of the services (Backend, Frontend, Ageneo, Kassa, Name) and verify the level of historical performance.

5. Practical examples

For example, if the service is down for two hours at night, no sales may be lost at all, as customers can buy again later or order by phone. In such situations, calculating lost sales would be full of assumptions. Therefore, the current reimbursement model, based on the percentage of availability, is clear and often provides better compensation than verification of lost sales would allow.

6. Why is this model “best practice”?

In the SaaS environment, it is an internationally established practice to offer refunds of monthly or service fees if the agreed availability is not achieved. Payment of damages for actual lost sales is extremely rare and typically excluded from the contract terms. A clear availability limit (such as 99.999%) and a direct percentage refund reduce disputes, reduce bureaucracy and ensure that the interests of the customer and the service provider – the maintenance of the service – are strongly aligned.