Earnings and Payouts
Money moves through four states before it reaches your bank, and each one exists for a reason. This page explains the ledger, what makes a balance withdrawable, and how to get it out.
What you will learn
- How a completed session becomes money you can withdraw
- What each column of the ledger means
- Why your balance is lower than your completed sessions suggest
- How to set up a payout account and request a withdrawal
The path money takes#
Nothing becomes an earning until a paid session is marked complete. That single fact explains most balance questions.
- 1
The mentee pays
The booking becomes paid; the session can now proceed.
- 2
The session happens and you mark it complete
This is the trigger. An incomplete session, however long ago it happened, produces nothing.
- 3
An earning is created
It lands as pending - recognised as yours, but not yet withdrawable.
- 4
It becomes available
Once the holding period passes and no dispute or refund is outstanding, it moves to available.
- 5
You withdraw it
A withdrawal request is reviewed and then paid out to your registered account.
Reading the ledger#
| Column | What it counts |
|---|---|
| Received | Everything that has come in from completed sessions |
| Refunded | Money returned to mentees from cancellations or disputes |
| Disbursed | Money already paid out to you |
| In pipeline | Withdrawals requested but not yet completed |
| Available | What you can withdraw right now |
Available balance is not total earned
The four cards at the top answer different questions. ‘Total earned’ is your history; ‘Available balance’ is what you can act on today. They are rarely the same number and are not supposed to be.
Why your balance looks low#
In order of how often each one turns out to be the cause.
- Sessions that happened but were never marked complete - the most common cause by a distance
- Earnings still inside the holding period, showing as pending rather than available
- A refund from a cancellation reducing the total
- A withdrawal already in pipeline, which leaves available but has not landed yet
- Sessions that were never paid for, which never create an earning at all
Start with your past sessions
Before raising a balance query, filter Bookings to past sessions and look for anything still open. Closing those out fixes the majority of ‘my money is missing’ cases.
Getting paid out#
- 1
Add a payout account
Do this early. Setting up banking details while staring at a balance you cannot move is a bad time to discover a verification step.
- 2
Wait for the account to be verified
Payout accounts are checked before they can receive money.
- 3
Request a withdrawal
From Earnings. The amount moves from available into pipeline.
- 4
It is reviewed and paid
Withdrawals are approved and then processed. You are notified as the state changes.
| Withdrawal state | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Requested, awaiting review |
| Approved | Cleared for payment |
| Processing | Being sent to your account |
| Completed | Paid |
Check the payment badge on that booking. A session can be marked complete while its payment never cleared, and an unpaid session produces no earning by design.
Refunds depend on how close to the session the cancellation came. The refunded amount is reflected in the ledger and reduces what is available.
Yes. Withdrawals are for an amount you specify, up to what is available.
Through the same ledger, at the rate agreed in that association rather than your public price list. A retainer settles per its own terms.
