How Payout Account Setup Differs from Workspace Roles

Workspace Roles Control What You Can Do in a Team

Your workspace role is about permissions. If you're a cleaner, you can see your assigned cleanings, confirm your attendance the day before, check in and out, and view messages related to your work. If you're an admin, you can assign work, switch crews, and maintain backup coverage. If you're an owner, you can invite people, manage the workspace, and handle payments. These roles keep the team organized and make sure each person can do their job without accidentally changing something they shouldn't.

Roles are tied to a specific workspace. You might be a cleaner in one workspace, an admin in another, and an owner in a third. Each workspace has its own set of people, houses, and schedules. Your role in one workspace doesn't carry over to another. When an owner invites you to join a workspace, they choose which role to give you. You can't change your own role—only an owner or admin can do that.

• Ask the workspace owner or admin what role they've assigned you.
• Check the Settings tab to see which workspaces you belong to and what role you have in each one.
• If your role needs to change, contact the owner or admin of that workspace.

Payout Accounts Are Personal and Independent

A payout account is where you receive money. It's personal to you, not to a workspace. Every signed-in person—whether they're a cleaner, admin, or owner—can add a payout destination to their account. This destination is yours alone. It doesn't belong to the workspace, and it doesn't change based on your role. You set it up once, and it stays with your account across all the workspaces you're part of.

Adding a payout destination is optional. You don't have to do it to join a workspace or to be assigned cleaning work. But if you want to receive payment through PlanAhead for completed cleanings, you'll need to add one. Without it, payment options may be limited, and you might need to arrange payment directly with the owner instead.

• Go to Settings and look for the payout or payment section in your account.
• Add your payout destination (such as a bank account or payment service) following the prompts.
• Verify that your payout information is correct before accepting any paid work.
• Update your payout destination if your bank account or payment method changes.

Why They're Separate: Flexibility and Safety

Separating roles from payout accounts gives you flexibility. An owner might also be a cleaner in the same workspace, or an admin might work on some jobs themselves. If payout were tied to role, an owner couldn't receive payment for their own cleaning work, or an admin would have to choose between managing the team and getting paid. By keeping them separate, you can have a role that controls your permissions and a payout account that handles your money independently.

The separation also protects you. Your payout information is sensitive financial data. It shouldn't be visible to everyone in a workspace just because you have a certain role. By keeping payout accounts personal, PlanAhead limits who can see your banking details. An owner can see that a payment is due to you and can process it, but they don't automatically see your bank account number or payment method. You control who knows your financial information.

• Review your account privacy settings to understand what financial information is visible in each workspace.
• If you're uncomfortable sharing payment details with a particular workspace owner, discuss alternative payment arrangements before accepting work.
• Remember that directly arranged payments happen outside PlanAhead and are not protected by the app.

Setting Up Payment When You're Ready

You don't need to add a payout account the moment you join a workspace. You can join, see your assigned cleanings, and communicate with the team without one. But before you complete your first cleaning and expect payment, make sure your payout destination is set up. If it's not, the owner may not be able to pay you through PlanAhead, and you'll need to arrange payment directly.

When a cleaning is completed, a payment-due card can appear in the Schedule view. This card shows the cleaner, the cleaning, the date, the property, and the amount. If you have a payout account set up, the owner can choose to pay you securely through PlanAhead. If you don't, the owner can still mark the payment as arranged directly, but the money won't flow through the app. You'll need to follow up with the owner to collect it outside PlanAhead.

• Add your payout destination before you complete your first cleaning.
• After a cleaning is marked complete, check the Schedule view for a payment-due card.
• If payment is arranged directly, confirm the amount and method with the owner in writing (text, email, or message) to avoid confusion.
• If payment is processed through PlanAhead, you'll receive a notification when it's sent.

Common Scenarios: Role and Payout in Action

Scenario 1: You're a cleaner in a workspace. Your role lets you see your assigned cleanings and confirm attendance. Your payout account is separate—it's where you receive payment for those cleanings. If you change workspaces or your role changes, your payout account stays the same. You don't have to set it up again.

Scenario 2: You're an admin managing a team of cleaners. Your role lets you assign work and manage the schedule. You also have a payout account, but it's not required for your admin duties. If you do some cleaning work yourself, your payout account is how you receive payment for that work. Your admin role and your payout account are independent.

Scenario 3: You're an owner with multiple workspaces. In each workspace, your role is owner, which gives you full permissions. You have one payout account across all workspaces. If you do cleaning work in any of them, payment goes to the same payout destination. If you want to receive payment differently in different workspaces, you'd need to arrange that directly with the other owners.

• Identify your role in each workspace you're part of.
• Confirm that your payout account is set up and current.
• If you work in multiple workspaces, verify that your payout destination is correct for all of them.
• If you need different payment arrangements in different workspaces, discuss that with each owner before starting work.