# Earnings

URL: /systems/payouts · Id: `system:payouts`

> Earnings pays Suppliers, Partners and affiliates their earnings through Stripe, holds disputed amounts, and sends statements and year-end tax filings.

Earnings pays [Suppliers](/business/nouns/supplier), [Partners](/business/nouns/partner) and affiliates what they earned through Stripe, holds disputed amounts, and sends statements and year-end tax forms. Each payout traces to the accepted work or the [Referral](/business/nouns/referral) that earned it.

## Summary
| Part | This System |
| --- | --- |
| Group | Finance |
| Status | Beta: it works, and its Verbs may still change |
| Shelf | Front: offered from a Startup’s first days |

You can ask:

- “Pay my suppliers”
- “Hold this payout”
- “Release the held payout”
- “When do my suppliers get paid?”

## What you get
| Part | This System |
| --- | --- |
| Starts | Opt-in: it wakes with the Product Templates that need it ([Marketplace](/products/templates/marketplace), [Licensed-human marketplace](/products/templates/licensed-marketplace), [E2E managed service](/products/templates/managed-service)). |
| Built from | [Payment rails](/systems/finance/payments), [Contractor payments](/systems/finance/contractor-payments), [Workflows](/code/platform/workflows) |

## Nouns it owns
None.

## Verbs
| Verb | Object | Approval | Event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Human.remit](/business/nouns/human/remit) | [Human](/business/nouns/human) | Asks first; waits 1 business hour | [`Human.remitted`](/business/events/Human.remitted) |
| [Human.hold](/business/nouns/human/hold) | [Human](/business/nouns/human) | None | [`Human.held`](/business/events/Human.held) |
| [Human.release](/business/nouns/human/release) | [Human](/business/nouns/human) | None | [`Human.released`](/business/events/Human.released) |
| [Company.submit](/business/nouns/company/submit) | [Company](/business/nouns/company) | Asks first; waits 1 business hour | [`Company.submitted`](/business/events/Company.submitted) |

## Events
| Direction | Event | How |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Emits | [`Human.remitted`](/business/events/Human.remitted) | By [Human.remit](/business/nouns/human/remit) |
| Emits | [`Human.held`](/business/events/Human.held) | By [Human.hold](/business/nouns/human/hold) |
| Emits | [`Human.released`](/business/events/Human.released) | By [Human.release](/business/nouns/human/release) |
| Emits | [`Company.submitted`](/business/events/Company.submitted) | By [Company.submit](/business/nouns/company/submit) |
| Consumes | [`Order.paid`](/business/events/Order.paid) | Acts on it |
| Consumes | [`Transaction.settled`](/business/nouns/transaction#transactionsettled) | Acts on it |

## States
None.

## Who operates it
| Part | This System |
| --- | --- |
| Accountable | [Treasurer](/agents/finance/treasurer) |
| Team | [Finance Team](/agents/finance) |
| Seat | A role agent holds it until a Human is seated. |
| Autonomy | `assist` |
| Also calls its Verbs | [Supply Manager](/agents/operations/supply-manager), [Finance Lead](/agents/finance/finance-lead), [Billing Specialist](/agents/finance/billing-specialist), [People Lead](/agents/people/people-lead), [Payroll Specialist](/agents/people/payroll-specialist) |

## Approvals and limits
| Verb | Rule | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Human.remit](/business/nouns/human/remit) | A person says yes first | Waits 1 business hour |
| [Company.submit](/business/nouns/company/submit) | A person says yes first | Waits 1 business hour |

## Processes that use it
| Process | How it uses it |
| --- | --- |
| [Supply](/workflows/processes/supply) | A step calls [Human.remit](/business/nouns/human/remit) |
| [Books](/workflows/processes/books) | A step calls [Company.submit](/business/nouns/company/submit) |
| [Payroll](/workflows/processes/payroll) | A step calls [Human.remit](/business/nouns/human/remit) |
| [Hiring](/workflows/processes/hiring) | A step calls [Human.remit](/business/nouns/human/remit) |
| [Supplier payouts](/workflows/processes/supplier-payouts) | A step calls [Human.hold](/business/nouns/human/hold) |
| [Staffing](/workflows/processes/staffing) | A step calls [Human.release](/business/nouns/human/release) |

## Rail underneath
Stripe’s products (Stripe’s names): **Connect**, **Payments**.

| Capability | Runs on |
| --- | --- |
| [Contractor payments](/systems/finance/contractor-payments) | apis.tax |

## Views and dashboards
| View | Shows | Metrics |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Earnings | What each Supplier has earned, what is held, and what is on its way. | None. |
| The [Treasurer](/agents/finance/treasurer)’s view | The Metrics its accountable Role answers for. | [Runway days](/agents/finance#runway-days) |

## Access
What each Access level may call here.

| Access level | May call |
| --- | --- |
| `owner` | Every Verb (4) |
| `admin` | Only 2 of 4: `Human.hold`, `Human.release` |
| `member` | Only 2 of 4: `Human.hold`, `Human.release` |
| `viewer` | Nothing |

## Import and export
None.

## Fees and pricing
Stripe’s payout cost passes through at cost on each payout, booked as its own Entry; the platform fee was withheld once, from the sale.

## Availability and limits
| Part | This System |
| --- | --- |
| Status | Beta: it works, and its Verbs may still change |

## Compliance notes
Stripe verifies each payee before the first payout; confirming a payee’s tax status stays the founder’s.

Controls it carries:

- [Action completion](/systems/trust-and-governance/controls/action-completion)
- [Bank detail changes](/systems/trust-and-governance/controls/bank-detail-changes)

## Related Systems
- [Supplier onboarding](/systems/supplier-onboarding)
- [Matchmaking](/systems/matching)
- [Billing](/systems/billing)

## Example
A [Marketplace](/products/templates/marketplace) of freelance translators pays each translator weekly, seven clearance days after the buyer accepts a job. One job is in [Dispute](/business/nouns/dispute), so `Human.hold` sets that amount aside and `Human.remit` pays the rest. When the Dispute closes in the translator’s favor, `Human.release` frees it for the next payout.