Payments, PayLinks & Payouts

How Money Moves Through DJfindr

This is the map of how you get paid. Each stage links to the detail. The path Client pays → Payment collected → Fees deducted → Transfer scheduled → Money in your bank 1. A payment is created When a client accepts your proposal, a payment appears at Due Now. Its type depends on your payment structure — a Deposit or a Full Amount. On a deposit booking a second payment, the Remainder, is created for 7 days before the event. Extensions and PayLinks create their own payments. 2. The client pays The payment moves through Processing to Payment Received. Your booking becomes Event Confirmed and the date is blocked on your calendar. At this point the money is yours — it just hasn't moved yet. 3. Fees come off Two deductions, in order: 1. Processing Fees — the card processing cost 2. Platform Fee — our percentage, set by your plan: 20% on Lite, 10% on Pro, 5% on Platinum What's left is the Transfer Amount. See Reading a Payment's Fee Breakdown. 4. A transfer is scheduled After your plan's payout delay — 6 days on Lite, 4 on Pro, same day on Platinum — a transfer is created at Scheduled. The clock starts when the payment reaches Payment Received, not when the event happens. A deposit paid six months early is released six months early. 5. It reaches your bank The transfer moves to Completed and the payment moves to Transferred. Your bank then takes its own day or two to post it. Where to look | Question | Where | |---|---| | Has the client paid? | Finance → Payments | | What will I actually receive? | The payment's Transfer Amount | | When is it coming? | Finance → Payouts | | Has it left? | Transfer status Completed | Payments and payouts don't match one to one Several payments can be released together, so one arrival in your bank may cover a deposit from one event and a PayLink from another. Use the Linked Payment column on Finance → Payouts to break it down. What can interrupt it - A refund — reverses a payment. See Issuing a Refund - A cancellation — cancels any transfer still at Scheduled - A review or dispute — a payout can be held while it's looked at Before any of it works Payment setup has to be complete. Until it is, you can receive requests but not money. See Setting Up Payments and Payouts.

Setting Up Payments and Payouts

You can build a profile and receive booking requests before payment setup is done — but you can't take money until it is. Until then a banner sits across the top of your dashboard: Complete payment setup to continue receiving bookings and payouts, with a Setup Payments button. Getting set up 1. Select Setup Payments from the banner, or go to Finance → Settings. 2. Work through the setup form. 3. When you're done you'll see Your details have been submitted! Approval isn't always instant. If more information is needed, you'll be told — the banner stays up until you're cleared to accept payments. What you'll need - Your legal name and date of birth - Your address - A government ID - Your bank account details - If you operate as a business, your business details and tax ID Use your real legal details, not your stage name. These are checked against your ID, and a mismatch is the most common reason setup stalls. Where things live afterwards Finance → Settings has two sections: - Business Profile — your details, bank account, and payout settings - Documents — anything you've been asked to supply, and any tax documents generated for you If setup is stuck The usual causes are a name that doesn't match your ID, an address that can't be verified, or a document that was too blurry to read. Open Finance → Settings and look at Business Profile — outstanding requirements are listed there. If it's still stuck after resubmitting, contact [email protected] with your account email and what you're seeing. Changing your bank account Update it under Finance → Settings → Business Profile. Do it between bookings where you can. A payout already scheduled will go to the account on file when it's released, so changing details mid-cycle can send money to the old account. What happens next Once you're cleared, client payments flow automatically: the client pays, the payment is recorded under Finance → Payments, and a transfer is scheduled to your bank based on your plan's payout delay. See How Money Moves Through DJfindr.

Payment Statuses, Explained

Every payment on your account sits at one of six statuses. Find them on Finance → Payments, and on the Payments tab of any proposal. | Status | What it means | |---|---| | Due Now | The payment has been created but the client hasn't paid it yet | | Processing | The client has paid and the payment is clearing | | Payment Received | Collected successfully. It hasn't reached your bank yet | | Transferred | Released to your bank account | | Failed | The client's payment didn't go through | | Refunded | The payment has been refunded | The two that get confused Payment Received means the client's money has cleared — the booking is confirmed and the money is yours. It's sitting in your balance waiting for its payout delay to elapse. Transferred means it has actually left for your bank. Depending on your plan, there's a gap of up to six days between the two. See Payout Timing by Plan. So a confirmed booking with everything at Payment Received is completely normal. Nothing is wrong and nothing needs chasing. Due Now A payment sits at Due Now until the client pays it. You'll see this on: - A proposal the client has accepted but not yet paid — the booking status will read Awaiting Payment - The remainder on a deposit booking, before its due date - A PayLink you've created but nobody has paid Failed The client's card was declined or the payment couldn't be processed. They're shown the reason and can retry with the same or a different card. You don't need to do anything — but if it's the remainder on a deposit booking and the due date is close, a message is worth sending. See Deposit vs Full Amount. Seeing the detail Select any payment to open Payment Details, which shows the type, the client, the fee breakdown, and links to the related event and transfer. See Reading a Payment's Fee Breakdown.

Payment Types: Deposit, Remainder, Full Amount, Extension, PayLink

Every payment has a type, shown on Finance → Payments and in the payment detail panel. There are five. | Type | Where it comes from | |---|---| | Deposit | The first payment on a deposit-structure booking | | Remainder | The balance on a deposit booking, due 7 days before the event | | Full Amount | The single payment on a full-amount booking | | Extension | Extra hours added while an event is running | | PayLink | A standalone payment link, not attached to a booking | Deposit and Remainder These always come as a pair on a deposit booking. The deposit confirms the date; the remainder falls due 7 days before the event. Worth watching the remainder. If it isn't paid by its due date the event is canceled and the deposit is forfeited. A remainder sitting at Failed or Due Now close to its date is worth a message to the client. See Deposit vs Full Amount. Full Amount One payment, and the booking is confirmed when it clears. Nothing to track afterwards. Extension Created when a client requests extra time during an event and you approve it. Separate from the original booking payment, at whatever rate you set when accepting. See Event Extensions: Approving Extra Time. PayLink Not tied to a booking. Created by you for anything outside the normal flow — equipment rental, a payment for a gig arranged elsewhere, a tip. See Creating a PayLink. They all behave the same way Whatever the type: - The same platform fee applies, set by your plan - The same payout delay applies - Each is a separate deduction and a separate transfer So a deposit and a remainder on the same booking are two payments, two fee deductions, and potentially two separate arrivals in your bank. Reading your ledger The type column is the fastest way to make sense of Finance → Payments at a glance. Filtering mentally by type also tells you something useful: a lot of PayLink income means much of your work is coming from outside DJfindr, which is worth knowing when you're weighing a plan upgrade against your fee rate.

Reading a Payment's Fee Breakdown

Open Finance → Payments and select any payment to see Payment Details. This panel explains exactly how the client's payment becomes the amount that reaches you. The money figures | Field | What it is | |---|---| | Amount | What the client was charged | | Total Collected | What was actually collected | | Processing Fees | The card processing cost | | Platform Fee | Our percentage, set by your plan | | Transfer Amount | What reaches your bank | | Collectible | What's still outstanding on this payment | | Transferred | Whether it's been released to you yet | The order matters: processing fees come off first, then the platform fee is taken from what's left. Transfer Amount is the number to use for your own accounting. The reference figures - Payment Type — Deposit, Remainder, Full Amount, Extension, or PayLink - Payer Client — who paid - Payment ID — the reference to quote if you contact support - Linked Source — View Event opens the booking this came from - Linked Transfer — View Transfer opens the payout that carried it - Description and Status Following the money end to end To trace a single payment all the way to your bank: 1. Open the payment and note the Transfer Amount. 2. Select View Transfer under Linked Transfer. 3. The transfer shows its Status, Scheduled Date, and Completed Date. If there's no linked transfer yet, the payment hasn't reached Payment Received or its payout delay hasn't elapsed. Why a payout doesn't match a payment Several payments can be released together, so one transfer into your bank may cover a deposit from one event and a PayLink from another. Work from Finance → Payouts and its Linked Payment column to break a payout back down. See Reading Your Payout History. Refunding The Refund button is on this panel. See Issuing a Refund. For your tax records Total Collected is your gross. Transfer Amount is what you actually received. Processing Fees and Platform Fee are costs of doing business. We don't withhold tax — that's on you.

Payout Timing by Plan

When a client pays, the money doesn't move to your bank immediately. It's held for a period set by your plan, then released. | Plan | Payout delay | |---|---| | Lite | 6 days | | Pro | 4 days | | Platinum | Same day | How the clock works The delay starts when the payment reaches Payment Received — not when the client hits pay, and not when the event happens. So a deposit paid three months before a wedding is released on your plan's schedule, months before you play. Once the delay elapses, a transfer is created and sent to your bank. Your bank then takes its own time to post it, usually a business day or two. Tracking a payout Finance → Payouts shows three figures at the top: - Balance — collected, not yet released - Scheduled — released and on its way - Paid Out — completed The Transfers table below lists each one with its Date, Status, Amount, and Linked Payment. Why it works this way The delay covers the window in which a card payment can be disputed or reversed. A shorter delay means we're carrying more of that risk on your behalf, which is why it improves with paid plans rather than being the same for everyone. Changing plans Upgrading applies the faster delay to payments collected from then on. It doesn't accelerate transfers already scheduled under your old plan. When a payout is delayed beyond the schedule Occasionally a payout is held longer — for a fraud review, a dispute on a payment, or a compliance check. You'll see the transfer sitting at Scheduled past its date. If that happens and you haven't heard from us, contact [email protected] with the Transfer ID. Planning around it If you're on Lite and you need money faster for a specific booking, upgrading before the client pays is what changes the timing — upgrading afterwards doesn't. Worth knowing before a big deposit lands.

Transfer Statuses: Scheduled, Completed, Reversed, Failed

A transfer is a movement of money from your DJfindr balance to your bank. Find them under Finance → Payouts. | Status | What it means | |---|---| | Scheduled | Queued and will be sent once the release conditions are met | | Completed | Successfully sent to your account | | Reversed | Returned due to an issue or adjustment | | Failed | Couldn't be completed, because of a processing or account issue | Scheduled The normal state between a client paying and your payout delay elapsing. Nothing is wrong. Your Scheduled Date on the transfer tells you when to expect it. If a transfer is still Scheduled well past its date, that's worth asking about — occasionally a payout is held for a review. Contact [email protected] with the Transfer ID. Completed The money has left us. Your bank then takes its own time to post it, usually a business day or two. The Completed Date on the transfer is the date to give your bank if you're chasing. Failed Usually your bank details. An account closed, a digit wrong, or a name that doesn't match the account. Check Finance → Settings → Business Profile and confirm your bank account is current and correct. If it looks right and the transfer still failed, contact support with the Transfer ID. The money isn't lost — a failed transfer stays in your balance. Reversed Money that went out and came back. The usual causes are a refund on the underlying payment or a chargeback from the client's bank. The transfer detail shows Amount Reversible and Reversal Amount so you can see how much was affected. If you didn't issue a refund and a transfer is reversed, contact support — that's usually a disputed payment, and there may be something you can supply to help resolve it. Reading a transfer Select any transfer for its Status, Description, Scheduled Date, Completed Date, Transfer ID, Amount Transferrable, Amount Transferred, and Linked Payment. View Payment opens the payment it came from. Cancellations If a booking is cancelled while its transfer is still Scheduled, that transfer is cancelled too. See What Happens to Scheduled Payouts When an Event Is Canceled.

Reading Your Payout History

Finance → Payouts is where you see money on its way to your bank. It's headed Payout History. The three figures Balance — collected from clients, not yet released. Money that's yours but still inside its payout delay. Scheduled — released and on its way. Paid Out — completed transfers. A healthy account with active bookings shows a figure in all three. A large Balance and an empty Scheduled usually just means you've recently taken deposits and they're inside their delay window. The Transfers table | Column | What it shows | |---|---| | Date | When it was scheduled or sent | | Description | What it covers | | Transfer ID | The reference for support | | Status | Scheduled, Completed, Reversed, or Failed | | Amount | What moved | | Linked Payment | The payment it came from | Tracing a payout back One arrival in your bank rarely maps to one booking. To break it down: 1. Find the transfer in the table. 2. Select it, then View Payment under Linked Payment. 3. The payment shows its type, the client, and the event via View Event. Going the other way — from a booking to its money — start at the booking's Payments tab and follow Linked Transfer. For your accounts Finance → Payments gives you gross income and your costs. Finance → Payouts gives you what actually arrived. You'll usually want both: - Total Collected across payments — your gross revenue - Platform Fee and Processing Fees — deductible costs - Paid Out — what reached your bank We don't withhold tax. Reporting and paying it is yours. Documents Finance → Settings → Documents holds anything generated for you, including tax documents where they apply. If a payout hasn't arrived In order: 1. Check the transfer status. Scheduled means it hasn't been sent yet 2. Check the Completed Date. Banks take a day or two after that 3. Check your bank details under Finance → Settings → Business Profile 4. Still missing after a few business days? Contact support with the Transfer ID See Payout Timing by Plan for what to expect on your plan.

Creating a PayLink

A PayLink is a standalone payment request. You set a description and an amount, and you get a link that anyone can pay — no account, no proposal, no booking attached. Creating one 1. Go to Finance → PayLinks. 2. Select Create PayLink. 3. Enter a Description — this is what the payer sees, so make it specific. "Speaker rental, Saturday" beats "Payment". 4. Enter an Amount. 5. Select Create. Getting it to the payer Each PayLink row has three actions: - Send — opens How do you want to send it?, with Email and SMS options. Enter the address or number and select Send. - Share Link — copies the URL so you can paste it into a message yourself. - Delete — removes it. What the payer sees A branded checkout page with your stage name, what they're paying for, and the amount. They enter an email address and pay by card or digital wallet. They never need a DJfindr account. Card details go straight to our payment processing and are never visible to you. When to use a PayLink instead of a proposal PayLinks are for money without a booking behind it — equipment rental, a deposit for something you're handling elsewhere, a tip, splitting a cost with another DJ. For an actual gig, use the proposal flow instead. A PayLink gives you no signed cancellation terms, no documents, no calendar block, and no payment schedule. If a client cancels after paying a PayLink, you have a payment and nothing agreed around it. See Sourced Events: Inviting an Off-Platform Client for bringing an outside client into the full flow. Fees and payouts A PayLink payment carries the same platform fee and follows the same payout delay as any other payment. It shows under Finance → Payments with the type PayLink. Statuses | Status | Meaning | |---|---| | Created | Made, not yet paid | | Paid | Someone has paid it | | Expired | No longer payable | A PayLink covers a single payment. Once it's paid or expired, create a new one for the next amount.

Sending a PayLink by Email or SMS

Once you've created a PayLink, there are two ways to get it to the payer. Sending it from DJfindr 1. Go to Finance → PayLinks. 2. Find the link and select Send. 3. Choose Email or SMS under How do you want to send it? 4. Enter the Email Address or Phone Number. 5. Select Send. The payer gets a branded message with the link. Sharing it yourself Share Link copies the URL so you can paste it wherever you like — a message thread, a chat app, an email you're already writing. Which to use Send by email when it's a business, a venue, or anything where the payer may need to forward it to someone who handles payments. Also better if they'll want a written record. Send by SMS when you want it paid now. A link on someone's phone at the end of a night gets paid; an email waits until Monday. Share Link when you're already in a conversation with them. Dropping the link into a thread you're both reading beats sending a separate message they have to go and find. Getting it paid A link with no context often doesn't get paid. Whichever route you use, say what it's for and by when. "Here's the link for the speaker rental we discussed — £75, whenever suits before Friday" works better than a bare URL. The Description you set when creating the link is what the payer sees on the checkout page, so make that specific too. What the payer experiences A branded page with your name, what they're paying for, and the amount. They enter an email address and pay by card or digital wallet. No account needed, no signup. Following up The PayLink status tells you where it stands — Created means nobody has paid it yet. See PayLink Statuses. Sending to the wrong address Use Send again with the right details. If you'd rather the original wasn't payable, Delete it and create a replacement. A note on scope A PayLink collects money and nothing else — no cancellation terms, no documents, no calendar block. For an actual booking, use a proposal instead. See Creating a PayLink.

PayLink Statuses: Created, Paid, Expired

A PayLink has three statuses. Find them under Finance → PayLinks. | Status | What it means | |---|---| | Created | Made but not yet paid. Ready to send | | Paid | Someone has paid it | | Expired | No longer payable | Created The starting state. The link exists and is payable, but nobody has paid it. You'll see This PayLink has been created. Send it to get paid! Use Send to deliver it by email or SMS, or Share Link to copy the URL. A link left at Created for a while usually means the payer never received it, or received it without enough context to act on. Worth a follow-up message rather than a second link. Paid Someone has paid. The payment appears under Finance → Payments with the type PayLink, carries your plan's platform fee, and follows your normal payout delay. Expand the PayLink for the full detail: the payer's email, the amount, and the fee breakdown, plus View Payment and View Transfer to follow the money. Expired No longer payable. You'll see This PayLink has expired. Create a new link to accept additional payments. If the payer still needs to pay, create a fresh link and send that one. One payment per link A PayLink covers a single payment. If you're collecting twice from the same person — a deposit now and a balance later — that's two links. For anything with a real payment schedule, a proposal handles it properly: two payments, a due date on the second, and terms behind both. See Creating a PayLink for where the line sits. Deleting one Delete removes a link. Do it if you sent one with the wrong amount, or if you'd rather an unused link stopped being payable. Deleting doesn't affect a payment that has already been made through it. Keeping the list clean Worth clearing out old Created links you're not chasing. It makes the ones you are chasing visible.

Issuing a Refund

You can refund any collected payment yourself. Refunds are your call — you're not required to issue one outside your cancellation terms, and you can choose to anyway. How to refund 1. Go to Finance → Payments. 2. Select the payment. 3. Select Refund in the Payment Details panel. 4. Confirm in the Refund Payment dialog. The money returns to the card the client originally used. It can't be sent anywhere else. Refund statuses | Status | What it means | |---|---| | Pending | Started and processing. Funds haven't returned yet | | Requires Action | Something else is needed before it can complete. Contact support | | Refunded | Complete. Funds are on their way back to the client's card | | Failed | The attempt didn't work and no money moved. Contact support | | Canceled | The refund won't be processed. No money returns | How long it takes Once the status is Refunded, the money is on its way. How quickly it shows on the client's statement is up to their bank — usually a few business days, sometimes longer. If a client says they haven't received it, the Refunded status is what to point them at. Refunds that happen automatically You don't have to issue these yourself: - A client dropping a booking within your cancellation window is refunded automatically - On a deposit booking cancelled after the window, a paid remainder is refunded and the deposit is forfeited See When a Client Drops or Cancels. Fees on a refunded payment Refunding returns the client's money. It doesn't recover the card processing cost on the original payment. Worth factoring in on a goodwill refund of a large amount. If the payout has already gone out Refunding a payment already transferred to your bank is deducted from your balance or from upcoming payouts. If your balance is empty, the deduction comes out of the next payments you collect. When to do it anyway Sometimes refunding outside your terms is the right call — a genuine emergency, a venue cancellation, or a mistake on your side. It costs you the booking, but a client who was treated well when something went wrong is the one who recommends you.

What Happens to Scheduled Payouts When an Event Is Canceled

A cancellation can happen while money from that booking is still on its way to you. What happens depends on when the cancellation lands. If the transfer is still Scheduled A transfer at Scheduled hasn't left yet. When a booking is cancelled, any scheduled transfer tied to it is cancelled with it. This is why a payout that was showing under Scheduled can disappear after a cancellation. If the transfer is already Completed Money that has reached your bank isn't pulled back automatically. If a refund is due on that payment, the refund is deducted from your balance or from your next payouts. With an empty balance, it comes out of the next payments you collect. What you keep depends on the cancellation This is the part that decides the outcome. Dropped, or cancelled within your window. The client gets a full refund. Nothing is retained, and any scheduled transfer is cancelled. Cancelled after your window closed. Payments are retained. On a full-amount proposal, the client forfeits what they paid, and the proposal shows you the retained figure. On a deposit proposal, the deposit is forfeited and any paid remainder is refunded. See When a Client Drops or Cancels. Why the window is the whole ballgame The Cancelable Until date you set in the proposal is what decides whether a late cancellation costs you the booking or costs you nothing. Setting it thoughtfully per booking is the single most effective protection you have. See Your Proposal Window: Expires On and Cancelable Until. Checking what happened After a cancellation: 1. Open the booking's Progress tab — it shows Payments Retained and the cancellation window 2. Check the Payments tab for what was refunded 3. Check Finance → Payouts for the current state of any transfer If it doesn't look right Contact [email protected] with the Event Proposal ID and the Transfer ID. Both are copyable from their screens. Planning around it On a large booking with a long lead time, remember that money released to you early can still be affected by a later cancellation. Worth not treating a deposit as fully spent until the cancellation window has closed.