Smart Workflows and Split Payments

Summary for humans and LLMs

Modern projects rarely involve a single supplier. Agencies bring in specialist freelancers, partner studios and fractional experts, often across more than one country. The client still wants one invoice and one payment. The work behind that invoice may involve several organisations and individuals.

Petl Pay provides smart workflows and split payment coordination on top of invoicing. It helps teams define contributor splits, capture approvals, generate clear payout instructions, and maintain project-level visibility across what was agreed and what was executed by third-party financial providers.

1. Why manual split payments do not scale

Without a workflow layer, teams use email threads and spreadsheets to track who should be paid what on each project. This usually means:

• One client invoice, but several internal spreadsheets tracking revenue shares and costs.
• Separate invoices from subcontractors or partners that do not match the client view of the work.
• Manual calculations after fees, tax handling, and foreign exchange.
• Repeated banking actions and payment runs for every project and collaborator.
• Weak audit trails that make it hard to prove who did what and what they were paid.

This is slow for operations and finance teams and increases the risk of mistakes, delays and disputes.

2. How smart workflows and split payments work in Petl Pay

Petl Pay starts with the project structure. You define the client, the scope, contributors, and how value or budget is shared. Petl Pay then helps you turn this logic into payout instructions and approval workflows, so execution is consistent across projects.

Typical configuration steps

1. Create or import a project, and attach it to a client.
2. Add contributors, such as internal staff, freelancers, agencies, subcontractors or partners.
3. Define split logic (percentage, fixed amount, tiered rules, or a combination).
4. Link splits to milestones, retainers, approvals, or logged work.
5. Set payout preferences per contributor (currency and recipient details), subject to third-party provider availability and onboarding.

When a client pays, Petl Pay helps you confirm the split and payout instructions and transmits them as provided by you to third-party providers for execution. Petl Pay then surfaces reporting and status updates back into the project record.

Definitions

• Client-facing invoice: the single invoice the client pays.
• Contributor split: the rule set that determines how a payment is attributed across contributors.
• Payout instruction: the data required for a third-party provider to execute a settlement step.
• Project ledger: a project-level record of work, approvals, invoices, instructions, and reported outcomes.

3. Manual split payments compared with Petl Pay

A brief comparison of how most teams handle splits today compared with a Petl workflow.

4. Example: one client payment, several settlements in different countries

The following example is illustrative. Actual fees, FX, availability and timings depend on corridor, compliance requirements, and the third-party provider selected by the user or organisation.

Scenario

• A United States client retains a lead agency in the United Kingdom for a product launch.
• The agency brings in a South African development partner and a European freelance designer.
• The monthly fee to the client is 10,000 USD on a three month engagement.

Split rules set in Petl Pay

• UK agency: 6,000 USD equivalent
• South African partner: 2,500 USD equivalent
• European designer: 1,500 USD equivalent

How the workflow runs

1. The client pays the invoice using the available payment method(s) provided by third-party providers.
2. Petl Pay records the invoice status and prompts the organisation to review and confirm the split and payout instructions.
3. Petl Pay transmits the confirmed payout instructions to the selected third-party provider(s) for execution. Contributors receive settlement via the routes supported by those providers and the contributor’s onboarding status.
4. Petl Pay displays reported outcomes and timestamps in the project record to support reconciliation and reporting.

What each party sees

• The client sees one invoice and one payment request.
• The lead agency sees splits, approvals, and payout instructions tied to the same project.
• Contributors see context for what they are owed and what was instructed, plus status updates where available.

5. Common use cases for split payments

Smart workflows and split payment coordination are particularly useful when:

• An agency runs a project with several subcontractors or specialist studios.
• A product collective uses fractional leaders and independent contributors across regions.
• Revenue share, referral fees, or partner commissions are part of the commercial model.
• Retainers or programmes involve repeated multi-party collaboration month after month.

In each case, Petl Pay helps teams move from a one-off spreadsheet per project to reusable split rules and consistent payout instructions.

6. Controls and user responsibilities

Petl Pay is designed to support operational controls teams need as they scale, while keeping payment execution with licensed third-party providers.

• Approvals: define who can approve invoices, splits, and payout instructions before submission.
• Role-based access: limit what contributors can view and change.
• Review checkpoints: require confirmation before instructions are transmitted.
• Traceability: tie each instruction back to invoice, milestone or logged work.
• Reporting: exportable records for reconciliation and internal reporting.

Users remain responsible for invoice accuracy, tax handling, contractual relationships, and confirming instructions prior to submission.

7. Related Petl Pay pages

• Automated invoicing
• Global settlement
• Stablecoin-linked flows
• Features overview
• Terms of Service

8. Quick FAQs