Need to decipher an old formula

Hi there, l need to update a spreadsheet of mine. This spreadsheet allowed me to extract the basic price of an item, by working backward from the given shop price, peeling off layers of transaction fees, packaging costs etc., and arriving at the base unit price, so that l can run with that price and build up to the retail price for another shop that uses different transaction fees.

So anyway, l cannot explain what each part means.

However, l can explain that there are 2 sheets referenced, one called "Template" (where the formula itself appears) and the other called "Variables" which is a reference sheet where l note the values of some variable fields e.g. transaction fee for a particular item category.

What l want to know is, could somebody write out in plain English, what the following formula is actually saying?

=IF($Variables.$A$11="Y",($Template.$F2-MIN($Template.$F2*$Template.$AA2%,IF($Variables.$A$6>0,$Variables.$A$6,9^9))-MIN($Template.$F2*$Variables.$A$3%+$Variables.$A$4,$Template.$F2*$Variables.$A$7%+$Variables.$A$8))-$Template.$AD2-$Template.$AE2,($Template.$F2-MIN($Template.$F2*$Template.$AA2%,IF($Variables.$A$6>0,$Variables.$A$6,9^9))-MIN($Template.$F2*$Variables.$A$3%+$Variables.$A$4,$Template.$F2*$Variables.$A$7%+$Variables.$A$8))-$Template.$AD2)


I know it looks messy, and l know you want to know more, everything there is to know about the formula. But please, try to put as much of the above, into plain English prose as possible, if you can? My pain points are the following functions:
"-MIN" and "9^9", but l don't just want to know what these mean in isolation, l would ideally like the entire formula written in prose :^)

That's a lot of formula to digest at 6am!

It would be easier to explain it if we could see it in context, i.e. actually in a workbook.

However I will tell you that -MIN is simply subtracting the minimum value calculated by that function within the formula from the value in F2 on the sheet called template.
Also it appears that 9^9 is just producing an arbitrary very large number. It's quite a common thing in spreadsheet formulas but quite why it's being used in this instance I couldn't say without seeing the file itself.

So, it reads a little something like this....

If A11 on Variables sheet = Y then show the value of F2 on Template sheet minus the minimum of:
a) F2 on Template multiplied by AA2 on Template
b) A6 on Variables (unless it's 0 or less in which case use the large number generated by 9^9)
Minus the minimum of:
a) F2 on variables multiplied by A3 on Variables plus A4 on Variables
b) F2 on Template multiplied by A7 on Variables + A8 on Variables
Minus AD2 on Template minus AE2 on Template
But if A11 on Variables does NOT = Y the show the value of F2 on Template minus the same as above but not subtracting AE2 at the end.



BSB

Thank you for your kind reply, l really wish you well for this. I give you 1 reputation point but please no need to give any reputation back, it's only you that deserves it for this thread buddy!