---
title: Understand automated payment timelines
slug: understand-automated-payment-timelines
description: Automated payments follow a predictable monthly cycle. Covers payment schedule, commission cutoff details, monthly timeline, and more in Roster.
docTags: 
createdAt: 2025-12-09T18:04:57.907Z
---

Automated payments follow a predictable monthly cycle. This article explains when each step happens, what notifications you'll receive, and what your ambassadors experience leading up to each payment.

## Payment Schedule

Automated payments are sent on the **first Tuesday of every month**. This schedule is fixed and applies to all brands using automated payments.

**Commission cutoff:** The last day of the prior month. For example, commissions earned on or before October 31st are included in the December payment batch. Any commissions earned *after* the cutoff roll into the following month's batch.

**Pending commissions:** If you have commissions still in "Pending" status when the batch runs, they are automatically approved and included — unless you've manually rejected them before the payment date. This ensures ambassadors aren't penalized by delayed approvals.

## Commission Cutoff Details

The commission cutoff is the **last day of the month two months before the payment month**. All pending and approved commissions created on or before the commission cutoff are included in the payment batch. Here's how this works in practice:

| Payment Date                 | Commission Cutoff |
| ---------------------------- | ----------------- |
| February 4, 2026 (first Tue) | December 31, 2025 |
| March 4, 2026 (first Tue)    | January 31, 2026  |
| April 1, 2026 (first Tue)    | February 28, 2026 |

## Monthly Timeline

Here's what happens each month, counting backward from the payment date:

### 25+ Days Before Payment

**Ambassador wallet setup reminders begin**

Ambassadors who haven't set up their payment wallet start receiving reminders:

| Days Before Payment | Channel             |
| ------------------- | ------------------- |
| 26 days             | Email               |
| 25 days             | In-app notification |
| 20 days             | Email               |
| 14 days             | Email               |
| 13 days             | In-app notification |
| 8 days              | Email               |
| 3 days              | Email               |

- Reminders are sent automatically — no configuration needed
- Only ambassadors without a wallet set up receive them
- Ambassadors who have already set up their wallet are not contacted
- If you've configured a [Getting started with automated payments](docId\:kxkTbRhvkt85lgCgCosWF), ambassadors below the minimum are also excluded from reminders (since they won't be paid in this batch)
- Each reminder email is logged as a timeline entry on the ambassador's contact record so you can see reminder history

### 17 Business Days Before Payment

**ACH transfer notification email with PDF invoice**

You (and all team admins) receive an email containing:

- Projected payment amount for the upcoming batch
- Number of ambassadors who will be paid
- ACH transfer date and amount
- PDF invoice attached with full payment details
- If a minimum payment amount is configured, the invoice notes how many ambassadors are excluded

If you've added additional email recipients in Payment Settings, they also receive this notification.

**What to do:** Review the projected amount and ensure your bank account will have sufficient funds on the ACH transfer date.

### 10 Business Days Before Payment

**ACH transfer initiated**

Roster automatically initiates an ACH transfer from your connected bank account to your Roster payment wallet. The transfer amount covers the projected payment amount plus any applicable fees.

- You don't need to initiate this — it happens automatically
- ACH status moves from **Scheduled** → **Processing** → **Completed**
- If your wallet already has sufficient funds, the transfer is **Skipped**
- Failed transfers are retried automatically

See [Prepare for ACH funding transfer](docId\:UUkDum8GREAZTqlLTsogg) for details on monitoring transfers.

### 4 Business Days Before Payment

**Upcoming payment batch notification email**

You receive a second email confirming:

- Payment date
- Final list of eligible ambassadors
- Total payment amount
- ACH transfer status

### Payment Date (First Tuesday)

**Payments are sent automatically**

- Processing begins early morning (times displayed in Eastern Time)
- Payments are sent to all eligible ambassadors who have wallets set up
- Ambassadors without wallets are skipped (their commissions roll to the next batch)
- Ambassadors below the minimum payment amount (if configured) are excluded
- A "processing" banner appears on the Automated Payments page while the batch runs

### After Payment

**Confirmation and records**

- You receive a confirmation email with the payment summary
- Payment details appear in the Brand Portal under **Sent Payments**
- A timeline event is created on each ambassador's contact record
- Ambassadors receive a "Payment sent" email notification (if email notifications are enabled for the program)
- A new batch record is automatically created for the following month

## Key Dates Reference

| Event                       | Timing                                | Who's Notified                                |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| Ambassador wallet reminders | 26, 20, 14, 8, 3 calendar days before | Ambassadors without wallets                   |
| ACH notification + invoice  | 17 business days before               | Team admins + additional recipients           |
| ACH transfer initiated      | 10 business days before               | Automatic (check Payment Settings for status) |
| Upcoming payment email      | 4 business days before                | Team admins + additional recipients           |
| Payment sent                | First Tuesday of month                | Ambassadors (via email) + Brand (via email)   |

## Time Zone

All dates and times in automated payments are displayed in **Eastern Time (ET)**. This applies to:

- Payment processing times
- Email notification timestamps
- Dates shown in the Brand Portal
- Dates shown in the Ambassador Portal

## What Happens to Missed Payments?

**Ambassadors without wallets:** Their approved commissions remain in the system and are included in the next batch after they set up their wallet.

**Ambassadors below the minimum:** Their commissions accumulate and are included in the first batch where their total meets or exceeds the minimum.

**Failed ACH transfers:** Automatically retried. If the retry fails, contact [support@getroster.com](mailto\:support@getroster.com).

**Skipped batches:** If no ambassadors are eligible (no wallets set up, or no approved commissions), the batch is marked as **Skipped** rather than showing $0 completed. A new batch for the following month is still created automatically.

## Related Articles

- [Getting started with automated payments](docId\:kxkTbRhvkt85lgCgCosWF)
- [Prepare for ACH funding transfer](docId\:UUkDum8GREAZTqlLTsogg)
- [View upcoming automated payments batch](docId\:rJTesg7Nf9Gd9lxy-FlHl)
- [Understand the ambassador payment experience](docId\:uK6AMUTnRfLPz0vCgCXPJ)