Publication Fee Policy

1. Overview

The Journal of Business and Data Analytics (JBDA) is a fully open-access journal. Readers pay nothing to access, download, or reuse its content. The costs of managing peer review, copyediting, typesetting, online hosting, DOI registration, indexing, and long-term preservation are covered by an article processing charge (APC) paid by authors, their institutions, or their funders for manuscripts accepted for publication. This policy explains the charge, when and how it is paid, who is eligible for a waiver or discount, and how fees are kept separate from editorial decisions.

2. Article Processing Charge

The APC for JBDA is USD 500 per accepted manuscript, regardless of article type or length. The charge is the same for all accepted article types: Original Research Articles, Review Articles, Case Studies, and Expert Commentaries.

The journal charges nothing else. In particular, there are:

  • no submission fees;
  • no charges for manuscripts that are rejected or withdrawn before acceptance;
  • no page charges and no charges for color figures, tables, equations, or supplementary material;
  • no charges for corrections initiated by the journal;
  • no charges to readers, libraries, or institutions for access.

The APC is quoted in US dollars. Any transaction fees or currency conversion charges associated with payment are borne by the payer. Where taxes apply under the law of the payer's country, they are added to the invoice and shown separately.

3. When and How the APC Is Paid

The APC becomes payable only after a manuscript has been accepted for publication following peer review. On acceptance, the Editorial Office issues an invoice to the corresponding author, who may pass it to their institution, funder, or another payer.

Payment is made through PayPal. The invoice contains a secure PayPal payment link; a PayPal account is not required, as PayPal also accepts major credit and debit cards. Payers who need an alternative arrangement, for example because PayPal is not available in their country, should contact the Editorial Office before the payment deadline.

Payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date. Production of the article (copyediting, typesetting, and proofs) proceeds in parallel, but the article is not published until payment has been received or a waiver has been confirmed. If payment is not received within 60 days and no arrangement has been agreed with the Editorial Office, the journal may treat the manuscript as withdrawn.

Authors who need a formal quotation, a purchase order reference on the invoice, or a pro forma invoice for their institution's procurement process should contact the Editorial Office at editorial@inatgi.net. A PayPal receipt is issued automatically on payment, and an official receipt from the publisher can be provided on request.

4. Waivers and Discounts

JBDA is committed to ensuring that the APC is not a barrier to publishing high-quality research. In line with international practice, the journal offers the following:

4.1 Country-based waivers and discounts

  • A full waiver (100%) is granted automatically to manuscripts whose corresponding author is based at an institution in a country classified by the World Bank as a low-income economy (corresponding to Research4Life Group A).
  • A 50% discount is granted automatically to manuscripts whose corresponding author is based at an institution in a country classified by the World Bank as a lower-middle-income economy (corresponding to Research4Life Group B).

Eligibility is determined by the affiliation of the corresponding author as given at submission and by the World Bank classification in force on the date of submission. Changing the corresponding author after submission in order to obtain a waiver is not permitted.

4.2 Commissioned articles

Expert Commentaries and other articles commissioned in writing by the Editor-in-Chief are exempt from the APC. Unsolicited manuscripts and manuscripts submitted in response to a general call for papers or a special issue announcement are not considered commissioned.

4.3 Discretionary waivers for financial hardship

Authors who do not qualify under Section 4.1 but have no access to funds for publication may apply for a discretionary waiver or discount. Applications must be made at or before submission by e-mail to editorial@inatgi.net, giving the manuscript title, the corresponding author's affiliation, and a brief explanation of the circumstances. The Editorial Office responds to waiver applications before the manuscript enters peer review. Requests made after a decision has been reached, or after acceptance, cannot be considered.

4.4 How waiver decisions are made

All waiver and discount decisions are made by the Editorial Office on behalf of the publisher and are recorded separately from the editorial file. Editors, reviewers, and the Editor-in-Chief are not informed whether a waiver has been requested, granted, or refused. A waiver decision has no effect on the handling, review, or outcome of the manuscript.

5. Refunds and Withdrawal

Because the APC is charged only after acceptance and covers services performed in preparing the article for publication, it is not refundable once the article has been published. If authors withdraw a manuscript after acceptance but before publication, the journal may charge a proportion of the APC to cover work already completed. An APC is not refunded if an article is subsequently corrected or retracted, whether at the authors' request or following an investigation.

If an article is withdrawn by the journal before publication for reasons unconnected with the authors, any APC already paid is refunded in full through the original payment method.

6. Changes to Fees

The publisher reviews the APC annually. Any change is announced on the journal website at least 30 days before it takes effect. The APC applied to a manuscript is the rate in force on the date of its original submission, so authors are not affected by changes introduced while their manuscript is under review.

7. Independence of Fees from Editorial Decisions

Revenue from article processing charges is managed by the publisher, INATGI, and is entirely separate from the editorial process. Manuscripts are accepted or rejected solely on the basis of their scholarly merit and compliance with the journal's policies, as described in the Peer Review Policy. The ability or willingness of authors to pay is never a factor in editorial decisions, and the number of articles accepted is not set by financial targets.

8. Contact

Questions about fees, invoices, or waivers should be addressed to the Editorial Office at editorial@inatgi.net.