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Escrow

Escrow & disputes

How escrow protects both sides of a deal — and what happens when something goes wrong.

Why escrow?

Most influencer / talent disputes come down to payment timing: brands want deliverables done first; creators want to be paid first. Escrow solves this by locking funds upfront and releasing them on milestone completion.

Lifecycle states

  1. CREATED — escrow record exists; brand hasn't funded yet. Talent shouldn't start work.
  2. FUNDED — brand has transferred money. Money sits with the platform (us), not yet released. Talent can begin work.
  3. LOCKED — talent submitted deliverables. Brand has the configured approval window to review.
  4. DELIVERY_APPROVED — brand approved (or auto-approved). Ready for release.
  5. RELEASED — money moved out: creator payout (after agency commission + TDS), agency fee, GST settled.
  6. DISPUTED — either side raised a flag; platform mediator intervenes.

Funding an escrow

  1. Open Escrows → + New Escrow
  2. Pick reference type (Booking / Contract / Deal / Milestone) + reference ID
  3. Pick currency + amount. If currency ≠ INR, you'll see a live FX preview showing the INR-equivalent.
  4. Submit — creates an escrow in CREATED state.
  5. Send the brand the funding link. Once they pay (Razorpay / bank transfer), escrow moves to FUNDED.

Releasing funds

Funds release automatically when:

  • Brand approves the deliverable (manual approval)
  • Auto-approval window expires (default 48 hours after submission) with no brand action
  • All milestones in a multi-stage contract complete

You can force a release manually as agency admin via Escrow → … → Release, but this is logged in audit and should only happen with talent + brand confirmation.

Disputes

If brand or talent flags an issue:

  1. Either party clicks "Raise dispute" on the escrow detail page
  2. Must provide reason + evidence (screenshots, chat logs)
  3. Escrow status flips to DISPUTED — funds frozen
  4. Platform mediator gets notified + opens a case in Disputes
  5. AI generates a preliminary recommendation (Phase 12 dispute drafter) based on contract + evidence — humans review
  6. Final decision: full release, partial release, full refund, or kicked to arbitration per dispute resolution clause

Refunds

If a deal cancels before talent starts work (still in FUNDED state), you can issue a full refund:

  1. Open the escrow → Issue refund
  2. Confirm — funds return to the brand's source account within 5-7 business days (Razorpay / bank rails)
  3. Escrow moves to REFUNDED state, locked from further actions

Commission & tax on release

When an escrow releases, the platform automatically:

  • Deducts agency commission per the contract's commission clause
  • Withholds TDS (Section 194C for services, 194J for professional fees) on talent payout
  • Calculates GST on agency commission (CGST+SGST or IGST based on registered state)
  • Generates settlement document + invoice (downloadable PDF)

See Payments & payouts for the full tax breakdown.