To ensure your payments are processed smoothly, it’s important to understand eligibility requirements and quality expectations. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know for a seamless payment experience.
Steps to complete before getting paid
To ensure we can process your payments, there are a few important steps you'll need to complete as part of onboarding.
Set up tax details as described in Filling Out Tax Forms (W-8 or W-9).
Payout method configuration–steps and screenshots available in How to Set Up Stripe.
Payment processing
When should I expect pay to arrive?
Handshake typically sends payouts to our partner pay platforms by Wednesday afternoon. Payouts cover the period from Monday at 12:00 am PST - Sunday at 11:59 pm PST of the previous week. It can often take 48 hours for the payment to process and appear for withdrawal to your preferred method. You can track the status of payment in our Pay Processing Tracker.
Some projects may follow a different payment schedule. If so, that will be explicitly specified in your Project Terms.
What does "pending" mean?
A pending status means your payment has been initiated but has not yet fully processed through the platform.
My pending earnings or tasks have disappeared from my dashboard
If your earnings, tasks, or hours appear to have disappeared or reset to zero, there is no need to worry. This typically happens while pay is being processed. Earnings should move to "Paid" status within 24 hours, and funds should appear in your bank account within 3 days, depending on your bank's processing time.
What should I do if I haven’t received a notification on my pay?
If you haven’t received a notification on your pay, please wait until Friday at noon PST to reach out. If it is past noon on Friday, you can contact us for additional support.
What if I would like to dispute the amount of pay?
Please wait until the funds have been deposited into your payout account, as payment funds can often be disbursed in multiple payments (e.g. your hourly earnings and your incentives earned).
If you do not see all expected payments by noon PST on Friday, please fill out this pay dispute form. The form covers discrepancies in your payment amount, including missing hourly earnings or incentives that you expected but did not receive.
Once submitted, our team will review your dispute and follow up with you regarding the outcome. Please allow time for our team to investigate before expecting a resolution.
What about taxes?
You are responsible for taxes on your own income.
If Handshake is required by applicable law to collect or withhold any taxes, we may deduct those taxes from amounts otherwise owed to you and pay those taxes to the appropriate taxing authority.
If you are exempt from paying, or are otherwise eligible to pay a reduced rate on, those taxes, you may provide us with an original certificate that satisfies applicable legal requirements attesting to your tax-exempt status or reduced rate eligibility, in which case we will not deduct the taxes that certificate covers.
Learn more about Filling out Tax Forms (W-8 or W-9).