Collecting payments for gigs

When an event planner accepts your quote, they will pay the total amount (deposit and balance in one transaction) at the time of booking. We'll process the payment and send you the deposit in advance and the balance one or two business days after the event. This provides the event planner with a safe and secure way to book you for their event and guarantees you get paid all the funds owed to you. Learn more about how clients make payments.

⚠ Important: Once the client submits payment to GigSalad, you are booked. If the event occurs before receiving your deposit from GigSalad, you are still obligated to honor that booking and perform the event. If the client has already paid us, we can guarantee you will receive both the deposit and the final balance as long as you complete the gig.

Payout options

There are three ways to receive payments, depending on when you joined and what country you are located in.

Direct deposit

This is the easiest and fastest payout option. Provide us with your banking information (account and routing numbers), and we'll send money directly to your bank account.

Note: In April 2016, we switched payment processors to reduce the payout time. If you signed up for direct deposits prior to April 2016 and have not yet updated your payout info, be sure to do this so you can get paid faster!

PayPal

You must have an established PayPal account to be paid via PayPal. If you do, just provide us with the email address for your account, and we'll send your money there.

We've got you covered! PayPal charges a small fee to collect payments for goods and services through its platform. However, GigSalad is footing the bill, so you will receive your full payment without any additional PayPal fees.

Check

With the introduction of the direct deposit option, we are no longer offering checks as a payout option for members in the United States. For the foreseeable future, we will honor this payout option if you already had it prior to the discontinuation. If you switch to direct deposit or PayPal, you will not be able to return to check payments.

Attention Canadian members:

Because GigSalad operates in the United States, we've encountered issues sending payments outside the country via PayPal. However, Canadian members may receive payments via direct deposit and may also still choose to receive checks by mail. If you would like to receive your deposit and balance payments as quickly as possible, be sure to update your payout information to direct deposit.

Payout time frames

We collect full payment from the client at the time of booking and will disperse that payment to you in two separate installments (deposit and balance). Your cancellation policy and the payout method you've chosen will determine the timing for receiving these payouts.

Deposits

If you offer a non-refundable deposit, we will send the money as soon as we've processed the payment.

Direct deposit: The deposit will be in your bank account 2 business days after the client accepts your quote and makes a payment.
PayPal: The deposit will be in your PayPal account within 2 business days of the client accepting your quote and making a payment.
Check: The deposit will arrive in the mail 10-12 business days after the client accepts your quote and makes a payment. The time frame for check payouts is longer because it includes time for both processing and mail delivery. We strongly recommend switching to direct deposit or PayPal if you want to get your payments faster.

If you offer a refundable deposit, we will hold this payment until the end of your cancellation window. For example, if your cancellation policy says a client may cancel at least 14 days before the event and receive a refund of the deposit, we will not send your deposit until 13 days before the event.

Direct deposit: The deposit will be in your bank account 1 business day after we send the payment.
PayPal: The deposit will be in your PayPal account immediately after we send the payment.
Check: Depending on the speed of the postal service, the deposit may take 7-9 days to arrive in the mail.

Balances

Balance payments are not sent until the event is completed. Payments will be sent 1-2 business days after the event. We hold the payment slightly longer for these gigs to allow a full day after the event ends for you or your client to report any problems. So, for example, if your event is on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m., we will send the balance to you on Friday morning.

Direct deposit: The balance will be in your bank account 1 business day after we send the payment.
PayPal: The balance will be in your PayPal account immediately after we send the payment.
Check: Depending on the speed of the postal service, the balance may take 7-9 days to arrive in the mail.

Setting up your payout info

You must provide your payout info before you'll be able to send a quote through our booking platform. To choose your payout preference:

1: Log into your control panel and go to Account.
2: Select Payout Info from the menu.
3: Select a payout method and provide the required information.
4: Click Update Payout Info.

If you have not added your payout info prior to sending your first quote, you'll be prompted to do so before you can proceed.

If you have a free membership, you must provide payout info before you can see your first lead. When you receive your first lead, you will see a prompt and be directed to the Payout Info page. Once you've added payout info, you won't be asked to provide it again.

If you need to change your payout details or switch your payout option, you can do so at any time by going through the steps listed above.

About tax reporting:

If you are a U.S. taxpayer who receives payments via direct deposit or check, you must provide your W-9 information. To make it easier, we’ve built the form right into the site with secure encryption to be completed electronically. You may fill it out at any time or update it when needed. Failure to provide your tax info may result in delayed booking payments.

At the start of each year, if you had at least 200 payments and received over $20,000, we will use your W-9 information to generate a Form 1099-K, which will be sent to the IRS per their requirement. An electronic copy will be provided to you within your account.

IMPORTANT: GigSalad reserves the right to hold payments if a member has a history of suspect activity (such as not showing up for gigs or repeated cancellations) or if we determine that a booking is at high risk for fraud. We may also request that deposit and/or balance payments be returned to us if you fail to honor a booking agreement or we determine you've violated our Terms of Use. A failure to return payments when requested could result in your account being permanently removed from GigSalad.