Make driver pay clear and consistent
Turn an agreed pay formula into a record your team can explain, without tying every customer price change to the same driver-pay formula.
Choose the basis for earnings
| Component | What it uses | Useful when |
|---|---|---|
| Base | A flat amount per job. | Each completed job has a consistent handling value. |
| Per Distance Unit | Recorded driver distance, using the site’s miles or kilometers. | Travel distance should affect pay. |
| Per Minute | Recorded time from arrival to completion at stops. | Time working at the address should affect pay. |
| Per Stop | The number of stops in the job. | Additional visits should add an amount. |
| Percentage of Job | Actual customer price when available, otherwise the estimate. | Pay should scale with the customer price. |
Components are added together. Per Minute is on-site time, not planned service duration or the driver's whole shift. Per Distance Unit depends on recorded distance; check those records before choosing it as the main basis of pay.
Pricing rules determine the customer charge. Earning rules determine recorded driver earnings. See Pricing and driver earning rules for the relationship.
Create an earning rule
Use an account with permission to manage Earning Rules and Workers, in the correct site. Confirm the site's currency and distance units first.
- Open Settings → Earning Rules → Add Earning Rule.
- Enter a Rule Name that staff will recognize, such as “Local delivery — base plus stops.”
- Choose a Component Type and enter its Rate. Select Add Component for each additional part of the agreed formula.
- Set Minimum Amount if each job should earn at least that amount.
- Set Maximum Amount only when a cap is intended. 0 means no cap.
- Turn on Default Rule if this should cover drivers without a specific rule, then select Create.
Keep an active default so drivers without an individual assignment have a known formula. Review the formula with the people responsible for pay before relying on it.
Use the default or assign an exception
For a driver with a different agreed formula, open Workers, edit that driver, and choose the Earning Rule in the driver's general details. Save the worker.
A valid active driver-specific rule takes precedence over the site's active default. If there is no usable assigned rule, the site default is the fallback. Do not assume that naming a rule after a driver assigns it to them.
Check the arithmetic with one job
Suppose the agreed rule is a $7 base plus $1.50 per stop. A two-stop job earns $10 before any minimum or maximum. These are illustrative amounts, not a suggested pay rate.
| Step | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Base plus stops | $7 + (2 × $1.50) = $10 |
| If the minimum is $12 | Earnings become $12. |
| If the customer adds a $3 tip | Total becomes $15. |
The minimum and maximum apply to the component total. The customer's tip is added in full afterward, so an earnings cap does not cap the tip.
A percentage component is additive too. Adding a base amount and a percentage means the driver receives both components before the minimum or maximum is applied.
Verify the saved earning
An earning record is created when the job has a driver, reaches a completed workflow state, and its payment has succeeded. Completing a stop alone is not enough.
- Use a test environment with a known rule, driver, customer price, and stop count. If testing distance or minutes, record the actual inputs too.
- Complete the job and its test payment through the supported flow.
- Open Earnings, filter to the driver and date range, then open the job's earning record.
- Compare each component's input, rate, and amount with your calculation. Check the earning, tip, and total separately.
The saved breakdown keeps the formula used for that earning. Editing a rule later does not recalculate existing earnings; later customer tip increases can update the tip total.
It is not confirmation that money has been transferred to the driver. Keep your payout process and reconciliation explicit.
Troubleshooting
No earning appears
Confirm the assigned driver, completed job state, successful payment, and active driver-specific or default rule. Check the Earnings date and driver filters.
The time component is smaller than expected
Compare the recorded arrival and completion times. The component uses actual on-site time; it does not pay for planned duration, travel time, or an entire shift.
The percentage amount differs from the quote
Check whether an actual customer price exists. That price takes precedence over the estimate for percentage-of-job earnings.
Editing a rule did not change a past earning
Past earnings preserve the calculation already recorded. Review the original breakdown and handle any correction through your established reconciliation process.