Before you start
Five things must be true before a payout leaves. Check them before you launch, not after your first approval.
| Requirement | Who does it | What happens if it is missing |
|---|---|---|
| An active subscription | Owner, from Settings → Billing |
While the workspace is suspended the run skips every payout for it. They wait, and go out on the first run after you resubscribe |
Payer identity saved (EIN, legal name, address) under Settings → Payout Identity |
Owner or Admin | New earnings are recorded as held and the run skips them |
| A payment method on file for your workspace | Owner, from Settings → Billing |
The run skips every payout for your workspace |
| Advocate W-9 verified | The advocate, from Tax Info (W-9) in their account | The run skips that advocate |
| Advocate Stripe Connect account active | The advocate, from their account | Cash rewards only. The run skips that advocate; they show as Not connected |
- Role. Any active team member can view the payouts screen. Process payment on a single payout needs the Owner or Admin role, and so does saving payout identity. Adding a payment method is Owner only.
- Bank details. Advocates connect their own Stripe account. Kindling never stores their bank details, and you never handle them.
Approving a submission is final. There is no undo in the dashboard, and the payout is created the moment you approve. Check the impressions figure before you click.
How a payout is calculated
Kindling pays on reported impressions at your program's CPM rate, limited by your post cap and by the advocate's monthly cap.
payout = (impressions ÷ 1,000) × CPM rate
If that result is higher than the program's post cap, the advocate is paid the cap instead. The cap is the ceiling on any single post, no matter how far it travels. The result is then limited to what remains of the program's monthly advocate cap for that advocate in the calendar month the post was submitted in; once that is used up, further posts that month are approved with nothing owed and no payment is created. A charity reward is the exception: it is raised to the program's charity minimum, so it always creates a payment.
Worked example. A program pays $5.00 CPM with a $500.00 post cap.
| Reported impressions | Calculation | Advocate is paid |
|---|---|---|
| 18,800 | 18.8 × $5.00 | $94.00 |
| 92,556 | 92.556 × $5.00 | $462.78 |
| 400,000 | 2,000.00, above the cap | $500.00 |
All three values are set per program. You can change them at any time; the change applies to submissions approved afterward. Posts already approved keep the amount they were approved at.
A pending submission's card shows an estimate from the program's current rate and post cap, without the monthly cap. Approval applies the monthly cap and the settings in effect at that moment, so the approved amount can be lower than the card.
When payouts run
Payout runs happen on the 1st and the 15th of each month at 09:00 UTC. The run picks up every payout in Pending or Failed, groups them by workspace, and for each workspace:
- Skips the whole workspace if it is suspended, or if there is no payment method on file.
- Skips any payout that is held for missing payer identity, whose advocate's W-9 is not verified, or, for cash, whose advocate's Stripe Connect account is not active.
- Creates one Stripe invoice for the payouts that have not been charged before and charges your payment method. Each line is one payout at the gross amount: the advocate's payout plus the platform fee. A payout that was charged on an earlier run but failed to disburse is never invoiced again; it goes straight to step 4 against the invoice it already has, even if this run's invoice fails.
- Pays each advocate and marks the payout Completed. Cash goes to their Stripe Connect account. Gift cards and charity donations go out through Tremendous with an email to redeem. Company-defined rewards are marked completed with a notice to you to fulfil them. The advocate is notified.
An approval on the 2nd waits until the 15th unless you pay it by hand. Telling advocates the two dates up front prevents most "where is my payment" questions.
Reminders to advocates. An advocate who has an approved enrollment for more than 24 hours and no active Stripe Connect account gets one reminder email. It is sent once, not repeated.
Pay one advocate now
You do not have to wait for the run. On the program's Submissions tab, under Approved → Payment pending, an approved cash submission whose payout is pending or failed shows a Process payment button with the total charge. It needs the Owner or Admin role. Confirming it:
- creates and charges a Stripe invoice to your payment method for that one payout (advocate's share plus the 15% platform fee), and
- transfers the advocate's share to their Stripe Connect account immediately.
The button appears only when nothing blocks the payout. Otherwise the card shows a disabled button naming the first blocker and lists every blocker with who has to act:
| Label | Who acts |
|---|---|
| Awaiting W-9, W-9 under review, W-9 rejected | The advocate |
| Awaiting Stripe setup, Stripe account restricted | The advocate |
| On hold | You: finish payout identity |
| Add a payment method | The Owner, in Settings → Billing |
| Scheduled run only | Nobody. Gift card, charity, and company-defined rewards are fulfilled by the run, not by hand |
When the blocker is on the advocate's side, a Send reminder button emails them what they still owe. Any team member can send it, at most once every 72 hours per advocate. A payout that is already processing or completed cannot be processed again.
What an advocate has to do
- Connect Stripe. They do this from their Kindling account. Until they do, their approved earnings accumulate and show as Not connected on the payouts screen. Nothing expires.
- Complete a W-9. From Tax Info (W-9) in their account. The run pays an advocate only once their W-9 is verified.
Kindling files 1099-NEC forms for your advocates against your EIN. That is why payer identity is required before money moves. Gift card and charity rewards need the W-9 but not a Stripe account.
Holds and blocks
Three different things stop a payment, and they have different fixes.
Held: your workspace has not finished payout identity
If your EIN, legal name, or address is missing, every new earning is recorded as held. Nothing can be disbursed against an incomplete payer of record.
Fix: an Owner or Admin saves the details under Settings → Payout Identity. Everything held for that reason is released automatically and goes out on the next run. You do not need to re-approve anything.
The EIN locks once saved. Legal name and address stay editable but require a reason, and the change is logged with who made it. If the EIN itself is wrong, contact support@kindlinghq.com.
Skipped: the advocate's W-9 is not verified
The run skips an advocate whose W-9 is not on file, is still being verified, or was rejected. The payout stays Pending and is picked up on a later run once the W-9 is verified. The advocate resolves it from Tax Info (W-9) in their account.
Blocked: the advocate has not finished Stripe onboarding
An advocate is blocked when they have money waiting, that money is paid by bank transfer, and their Stripe Connect account is not active. The payouts screen shows a Blocked banner with the advocates affected, longest-waiting first, and a link to view them.
| Cause | What it means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Not onboarded | They have not started or finished Stripe onboarding | They complete onboarding from their Kindling account |
| Restricted | Stripe has restricted their account | They resolve it with Stripe directly. Kindling cannot lift it |
A blocked advocate at your workspace is not blocked elsewhere. The state is specific to the money you owe them.
Blocked is not the same as failed. A failed payout is a Stripe problem, not an onboarding problem, and is retried on the next run.
Reading the payouts screen
Three counters across the top: Pending with a running total, Processing, and Completed all time. Failed payouts are not counted there; they get their own section below when any exist.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Approved and waiting for the next run |
| Processing | In flight with Stripe during a run |
| Completed | Paid |
| Failed | Stripe could not complete it. It is retried on the next run. Shown in a Failed section that appears only when there is one |
Pending payouts lists each advocate, their program, the impressions the payment is based on, the amount, their Stripe status, and when it was created. The Amount column is what you are billed: the advocate's payout plus the 15% platform fee. Expand a row to see the advocate's share, a link back to the submission, and a link to the post. Not connected in the Stripe column is the flag to act on; that person will not be paid on the next run.
Recently completed shows the ten most recent completed payouts.
Export CSV downloads every payout with program, advocate, submission, platform, impressions, status, advocate payout, platform fee, total charge, and dates.
What your company is billed
Two separate charges. Detail is on Billing and pricing.
Platform subscription. $299 per month, or $2,990 per year. Monthly plans add $1.49 per month for each approved advocate enrollment. Annual plans have no per-advocate charge.
Advocate payouts. Billed at each run, and immediately when you use Process payment. You are charged the payout amount plus a 15% platform fee, so a $462.78 payout bills at $532.20.
Other reward types. Programs can pay in gift cards, charitable donations, or a company-defined reward instead of cash. Those carry their own fees: 15% on gift cards, $5.00 flat on charity, $25.00 flat on company-defined rewards.
Troubleshooting
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| An advocate says they have not been paid | Check the payouts screen. If they are pending, tell them the next run date, the 1st or the 15th, or pay them now with Process payment. If their Stripe column says Not connected, they need to finish onboarding. If Stripe is active and they are still skipped, ask whether their W-9 is verified |
| Everything is sitting unpaid, not just one person | The workspace is suspended, payout identity is incomplete (Settings → Payout Identity), or there is no payment method on file (Settings → Billing) |
| An advocate reports a failed payment | Open the Failed section on the payouts screen. It is retried on the next run, or an Owner or Admin can retry it now with Process payment. If it fails again, send the advocate name, program, and amount to support@kindlinghq.com |
| Process payment says the advocate has not connected Stripe | They must finish Stripe onboarding first. The run will pick the payout up once they are active |
| Process payment says there is no payment method on file | The Owner adds one under Settings → Billing |
| Process payment is disabled and reads Scheduled run only | The reward is a gift card, charity donation, or company-defined reward. The scheduled run fulfils those |
| The amount looks wrong | Recalculate as impressions ÷ 1,000 × CPM, then check it against the post cap and against what the advocate had already earned that month under the monthly cap. Remember the payouts screen shows the gross amount including the fee. Also check whether the rate changed after approval; payouts hold the rate they were approved at |
| I approved a submission by mistake | Review cannot be undone in the dashboard. Contact support@kindlinghq.com before the next run |
| An advocate's Stripe says restricted | Stripe has restricted their account. They resolve it with Stripe. Kindling cannot lift it |
FAQ
Do I have to trigger payouts?
No. Approved submissions pay out on the next run if the five requirements are met.
Can I pay someone early?
Yes, for cash rewards, if you are an Owner or Admin. Use Process payment on the approved submission. It charges you and transfers to the advocate immediately.
What if I change a program's CPM?
New approvals use the new rate. Payouts already created keep the amount they were approved at.
Does the post cap apply per post or per month?
Per post. It is the maximum any single submission can earn. The monthly advocate cap is the per-month limit, per advocate, per program.
Who is the payer of record for taxes?
Your company, under the EIN you save in payout identity. Kindling files the 1099-NEC forms against it.
Can advocates be paid in something other than cash?
Gift cards, charitable donations, and company-defined rewards are supported. The program sets which types it offers; each advocate picks one when they apply. They carry their own fees, and they are paid only by the scheduled run.
Where do I report a problem?
support@kindlinghq.com. Include the advocate name, the program, and the amount.