Getting started with automated payments

This guide walks you through setting up Automated Payments for your Roster account. Follow these steps in order, then use the linked articles for ongoing management.

Before you begin, ensure:

Estimated Time: 5 minutes (initial contact)

Automated Payments must be enabled by Roster before you can begin setup.

What to expect: Your account manager will answer any questions and enable the feature typically within 1-2 business days.

Estimated Time: 5 minutes

Connect your bank account for automatic ACH transfers directly from Payment Settings in the Brand Portal.

If the save fails, the modal stays open with an error message so you can correct the details without re-entering them.

Requirements:

Optional: Add additional email recipients for ACH transfer notifications (e.g., your finance team) in the ACH transfer notification emails field on the same page.

Estimated Time: 5 minutes

Choose which referral programs should use Automated Payments.

Payments are sent on the first Tuesday of each month. The commission cutoff is the last day of the prior month — any commissions approved after that date roll into the following month's batch. Pending commissions are automatically approved at payment time if not manually rejected.

Tip: Start with one program to test the workflow before enrolling all programs. You can also enable Auto-enroll so future programs are enrolled automatically.

See: Enroll programs into automated paymentsEnroll programs into automated payments for details on auto-enroll, unenrolling, and what happens to commissions.

Estimated Time: 5 minutes

Optionally configure a minimum to prevent micro-payments where the $1.89 processing fee exceeds the payout.

The minimum is brand-wide across all enrolled programs. Ambassadors below the threshold are excluded from batches until their commissions accumulate enough — their balance rolls forward automatically. Below-minimum ambassadors won't receive wallet setup reminders, and they'll see a progress bar in their portal showing how close they are to the threshold.

Tip: Common thresholds are $10, $25, or $50. You can change or remove the minimum at any time — changes take effect starting with the next month's batch.

Estimated Time: 15 minutes

Roster sends automatic wallet setup reminders (at 26, 20, 14, 8, and 3 days before each payment), but we recommend also sending a personal heads-up when you first enable automated payments.

See: Understand the ambassador payment experienceUnderstand the ambassador payment experience for what ambassadors see during wallet setup, how they receive payments, and how the below-minimum experience works.

Estimated Time: Ongoing

With setup complete, here's what to watch as your first payment date approaches.

Click More Details on the Automated tab to open the Payment Schedule drawer. Check:

You'll receive an email with a PDF invoice 18 business days before payment showing the projected ACH amount. The ACH transfer happens automatically 10 business days before payment. Make sure your bank account has sufficient funds by that date.

Tip: Set up banking alerts for ACH debits so you're notified when the transfer occurs.

See:

On the payment date, the system processes everything automatically. You'll receive a confirmation email with a payment summary.

After payment, check:

Ambassadors who didn't have wallets set up are automatically included in the next month's batch once they complete setup. Nothing is lost.

See: