How it works
From handshake to payout.
A deal on Microhired is three steps: write it down, get every signature, and let the money route itself. Here is each step, honestly — including the identity check.
01
Record the deal
Name the deal, its value and cadence, and who's in it — the wizard walks basics, parties, and terms in three steps. Splits are set in exact percentages, equal by default. Terms come from our standard template, a draft you write (with AI assistance if you want it), or your own contract uploaded as a PDF and sealed into the agreement by its exact bytes.
02
Every party signs the same page
Each party reviews the exact terms and accepts. The acceptance is a binding electronic signature (ESIGN/UETA): we record who signed, when, from where, and a cryptographic fingerprint of precisely what they agreed to. When the last signature lands, the agreement locks — it can be amended later, but only by a new version every party signs again. Nothing changes quietly.
One honest step before money can move: each party connects a Stripe account, and Stripe verifies their identity. Usually minutes, occasionally a day.
03
One bill in, every split out
The client receives one Stripe-hosted invoice and pays by ACH or card. When the charge settles, Microhired computes each party's share to the cent against the locked agreement and instructs Stripe to deliver it — after a short settlement hold — straight to each party's bank. Nobody invoices anybody else. Nobody chases anybody. Recurring deals can draft the next bill for you.
Under the hood
Money moves payer → Stripe → each party's bank. It never passes through a Microhired account: no escrow, no balances, no advances. Out of each collected bill, Stripe's processing fee and the 1% platform fee come off the top, and the remainder is split per the agreement using largest-remainder arithmetic, so the cents always add up. Every movement is recorded on a double-entry ledger that is reconciled against Stripe — each journal sums to zero, every disbursed bill ties back to its settled charge.
| Stage | What happens | The ledger records |
|---|---|---|
| Bill paid | Client settles the Stripe invoice (ACH or card) | gross collected |
| Fees | Stripe processing fee + 1% platform fee | net distributable |
| Split | Each share computed against the locked agreement | per-party payable |
| Payout | Stripe transfers each share to each party's bank | payable settled |
The edges, plainly
If someone doesn't sign
The deal stays a draft. No bill can be sent and no money can move until every party has accepted the same terms.
If a payment is reversed
Refunds and disputes claw back proportionally from everyone who was paid, and payouts tied to a disputed charge pause until it resolves.
If terms need to change
Amendments create version N+1, which every party signs again. The deal can also be closed — bills already in flight still disburse.
More edge cases answered in the FAQ.
See what it costs — there's one number
1% per disbursed bill · Payouts by Stripe · We never hold your funds