When payouts are released and what can delay them
How contractor payout timing follows completed billing, which statuses show where money is in the flow, and what blocks release in the current repo.
- +A payout is not ready just because the job is active or in closeout. The job has to reach completed billing before homeowner payment and downstream payout can move.
- +Open disputes, restricted Stripe onboarding, failed payments, and failed or manual-required transfers can all delay release.
- +Read homeowner payment status and contractor payout status together before assuming the payout is late.
What has to happen before payout can move
The repo only opens homeowner payment after a job reaches the completed state and the billing snapshot exists. That means payout does not become a real downstream step while the job is still active or only waiting on closeout proof.
In practice, payout timing is tied to the completed billing flow: the job reaches completed review, homeowner payment moves through Stripe, and then the contractor payout can move into its own transfer status.
Read payment status and payout status together
Homeowner payment and contractor payout are related but they are not the same field. The homeowner-facing payment state can sit in completed pending payment, payment pending, payment failed, or paid. The contractor payout field separately reads not started, pending, paid, failed, or manual required.
If payout is still not started or pending, first check whether the homeowner payment flow has actually finished. If the homeowner payment failed or is still processing, contractor payout should not be treated as late yet.
- +Payment pending: Stripe payment is still processing.
- +Payment failed: homeowner checkout needs another attempt before payout can move.
- +Payout pending: transfer was started but has not fully settled yet.
- +Payout failed or manual required: the transfer path now needs follow-up before the job can be treated as paid out.
The most common payout blockers in this repo
Three blocker types already show up in the codebase. First, an open dispute blocks homeowner payment initiation. Second, contractor Stripe onboarding or a restricted payout account can still interrupt readiness. Third, Stripe transfer failures or manual-required payout states can stop the last step even after homeowner payment succeeded.
That is why payout troubleshooting starts with both the contractor profile and the job billing record. One shows whether the payout account is ready, and the other shows whether the job has actually moved far enough for payout release.
If the job is completed, payment already cleared, and payout still reads failed or manual required, that is the moment to contact support with the job record in hand.