How do I manage my payouts with FreshBooks Payments?

Once FreshBooks Payments powered by Stripe is set up, you can start accepting online payments. All online payments processed through FreshBooks Payments are batched into payouts. Payouts, also known as payment settlements, are how money from your clients gets deposited into your bank account.

• Payout Schedule and Speed
  • The Payout Process
• Payout Balances
• Payout History
  • Check A Payout’s Status
• Payout Delays
• Payout Failures for Bank Transfers and PAD Payments

Payout Schedule and Speed

The payout schedule determines how often FreshBooks Payments sends money to your bank account. Standard payouts are set to daily automatic by default.

Payout speed is the amount of time it takes for your funds to become available, and is represented as T+X days:

• T - Refers to the transaction time, as in the time of the original payment confirmation or capture
  • Payments can be confirmed or captured anytime between 8 am - 5 pm ET, Monday to Friday
• X - Refers to the number of business days required before the funds can become available for payout
• When a bank receives funds sent by a payment processor like FreshBooks Payments, funds are usually posted on the same day, but some banks may take 1-5 additional business days to post funds
• Payouts on weekends or bank holidays won’t be accepted by your bank until the next business day
• First payments are subject to a mandatory 7 business day delay before funds are released, this is for risk mitigation purposes and cannot be waived under any circumstances

Payout speeds will vary depending on whether or not it’s your first payment, how your client paid, and when the payment was processed:

*Pre-Authorized Debit is only available for users that previously moved over from WePay to FreshBooks Payments powered by Stripe.

View your upcoming payouts by reviewing your Payout History and checking a payout's status.

The Payout Process

When you process online payments with FreshBooks Payments, your payment goes through several steps before you receive it in your connected bank account:

1. An online payment is received on an invoice
   1. If this transaction is part of your first payout, all transactions take T+7 to process instead
   2. For subsequent payouts, credit card payments go to Future payouts and will take T+2 to process
   3. For subsequent payouts, bank transfer payments that have finished processing after T+4 will go to Future payouts
2. If needed, credit card payments and settled bank transfers in Future payouts can be used to request Instant Payouts
   1. If an instant payout is requested, the balance decreases from Future payouts and a confirmation email notification is sent to the owner of the FreshBooks ​​Payments account
3. When a standard payout goes out, funds move from Future payouts to In transit to bank
4. Once the standard payout reaches the bank, the balance decreases from In transit to bank.

Payout History

The Payout History section displays details on each payout being sent to the connected bank in your FreshBooks Payments account. Payouts can be comprised of multiple invoice payment transactions that were processed in the same period. Payouts includes both standard payouts and Instant Payouts.

To access the Payout History section, use these steps:

1. Select the Payments section
2. Then select the Online Payments sub-section underneath.
   
3. Next, select the View Payout History link.
   

Your payouts will be displayed with the following information:

• Date - The date and time of your payout in your account' date format and time zone
• Destination - The last 4 digits of the bank account the payout was sent to
• Delivery Method - Displays as either Standard for standard payouts or as Instant for Instant Payouts
• Status - Displays as either:
  • Processing - Payout has been triggered and is in transit
  • Paid - Payout successfully submitted to the bank
  • Failed - Payout as either been cancelled or failed
• Fees Paid - Any applicable fees for the payout 
• Amount - The total amount paid out to your bank account
  • Negative amounts are withdrawals to cover negative balances 

Check A Payout’s Status

If you want to check the status of a payout, use these steps:

1. Go directly to Online Payments here, or select the Settings section
2. Under Payments and Client Billing, select Online Payments
3. In the FreshBooks Payments section, select the Visit Stripe Dashboard link
4. Log into the Stripe account if needed
5. In your Stripe dashboard, select the Balances section
6. Under Recent Activity for Payouts, all recent and upcoming payouts are listed
   
7. Select any processing payout to review its timeline and details.
   

Payout Statuses

Each payout has its own status: 

• Upcoming - Used only for upcoming payouts, these will only have an Arrive by date, and details won’t be available until the payout starts processing
• Processing Payouts 
  • Initiated - Automatically triggered, usually between 12-1am UTC
  • In Transit - The same date as initiation, once in transit, the money has left Stripe and your bank controls when it lands in your account
    • When a bank receives funds sent by a payment processor like FreshBooks Payments, funds are usually posted on the same day, but some banks may take 1-5 additional business days to post funds
    • Payouts on weekends or bank holidays won’t be accepted by your bank until the next business day
  • Completed - Usually the same date as initiation, dependent on when your bank processes incoming batches in the morning, evening, or the next day
  • Failed - There was an unexpected problem with this payout, select the payout to review details

If a payout hasn’t arrived yet, or it’s arriving later than expected, use the below checklist to troubleshoot your payout:

1. First Payout - If this is your first payout on FreshBooks Payments, this takes 7 business days before funds are released due to reviews, no further action is needed if your first payout is still within this 7 business day timeline
2. Payout Timeline - Otherwise, check the payout’s timeline to confirm its status
   1. Upcoming - The payout hasn’t been sent yet, review the Arrive By date and wait until then
   2. In Transit - The money has left Stripe and your bank controls when it lands in your account
      • When a bank receives funds sent by a payment processor like FreshBooks Payments, funds are usually posted on the same day, but some banks may take 1-5 additional business days to post funds
      • Payouts on weekends or bank holidays won’t be accepted by your bank until the next business day
3. Payout Hold or Account Restrictions - Log into your Stripe dashboard and review any banners or notices that may be pausing your payouts
   1. Once you’ve actioned on the requirement(s) in the notification, your payouts will be released
4. Bank Details - Confirm your bank account details are correct and up-to-date, an incorrect account or routing number can cause a payout to fail or bounce back
5. Reach Out - If you’ve reviewed the previous steps and the payout is still missing, or the timeline displays an Error or Failed status, reach out to our FreshBooks Support team with the following details:
   1. The payout ID from your Stripe dashboard
   2. The expected Arrive by date
   3. A screenshot of the payout’s timeline.

Payout Delays

Payouts can be delayed or paused for a variety of reasons:

• Account verification requests - More information is required from you and your business before payouts can resume, these can include any of the following:
  • Bank account ownership verification
  • Business address verification
  • Identity verification
  • Tax ID verification
  • Website details
• Bank account details incorrect or updated - Updates made to your bank account information will not retroactively apply to payouts already in transit, these are paid out to the old bank account information
• Incomplete payout due to reserves - If your payout is not paid out in full, this may indicate you have a temporary reserve on your account to ensure coverage for refunds and chargebacks to process
• Negative balance - Payouts can be paused if your account has a negative balance from refunds or chargebacks until this balance is replenished
• Payout date has been changed or postponed - Expected payout dates can be updated to a future date if there are any account verification issues
• Payout is missing - Banks can add extra days, including weekends and holidays to process payouts
• Risk or compliance review - Payouts can be paused while the account is undergoing review

Payout Failures for Bank Transfers and PAD Payments

Bank transfers and PAD payments can fail any time after the payment is initiated. These failures can occur for any of the below reasons:

• Insufficient funds
• Invalid account number
• Client disabling debits from their bank account

Payment Failure Notes:

• Payment failures fees are charged for each payment failure
• If a payment failure occurs after funds have been made available in your FreshBooks Payments balance, the funds are immediately removed from the balance
• If a payment failure is sent by the bank after payment was successful, a dispute is created with a reason of either insufficient funds, incorrect bank account details, or bank cannot process