In short
- Your fee is credited to your balance the moment the label for an order is bought. It becomes definitively yours when the parcel is scanned at the parcel point.
- It then sits for 3 days. That hold exists because an order can still be cancelled in that window, and a fee for a parcel that never shipped goes back.
- You trigger the payout yourself, with a button, once your available balance is at least €10.00. There is no fixed payday.
- 3% commission comes off at payout, VAT included, with an invoice. It is the only thing we earn from a sender, and nothing is deducted from the fee itself.
- The money goes to a bank account in your own name, linked during sign-up. British senders are paid in pounds; everyone else in euros.
- Every order, every hold and every payout is a line in your account. That ledger is your proof — and what you show your tax office.
The failure mode of home-based work is not the work. It is the payment: late, short, or never, with a chat thread as the only evidence you were owed anything. So "when do I get paid?" is not a detail. It is the whole question.
This article follows the money from the moment an order arrives to the moment it lands in your bank account. Five steps, each with the number attached to it and the reason the number is there.
The chain at a glance
A fee is held before it becomes available
3 days
Minimum available balance to trigger a payout
€10.00
Commission at payout, VAT included
3%
1. You claim an order and buy the label
The label is paid from the shop’s balance, never yours. The moment the label exists, your fee for that order is credited to your balance. You see the amount immediately.
2. The parcel is scanned at the parcel point
The scan is the proof the parcel is on its way. From then on the fee cannot be reversed for "the order did not happen" — it did.
3. The amount is held for 3 days
A shop can still cancel an order shortly after creating it, and a label that is never scanned lapses. In both cases the fee goes back. The hold exists so that can happen before the money has left for your bank.
4. Your available balance reaches €10.00
Everything out of the hold adds up to your available balance. Once that is at least the threshold, you can pay out. The threshold exists because a bank transfer has a cost and a two-euro payout does not carry it.
5. You press pay out
3% commission comes off and the rest goes to the account in your name. No fixed payday — you choose the moment. In pounds if your account is British, otherwise in euros.
Booked at the label, yours at the scan
The amount appears on your balance when the label is bought, but it is only really earned once the carrier has scanned the parcel. An order cancelled before that scan, or a label that is never scanned, goes back to the shop — and so does the fee. That is why you drop a parcel off on the day you pack it.
A worked example: 30 small parcels in a month
| Amount | Note | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee per small parcel | €2.25 | The guide rate; you set your own |
| Gross over 30 parcels | €67.50 | What lands on your balance over the month |
| Commission 3% | − €2.03 | Only at payout, VAT included, with an invoice |
| To your bank | €65.47 | If you pay out once at month end |
What a month adds up to depends on your volumes and parcel sizes: less for letterbox parcels (guide €1.50), considerably more for a large parcel (€5.50). The full sum including your time is in how much can you earn packing parcels from home.
Why three days?
The hold is the most-asked question, and the honest answer is that it prevents a mistake that would otherwise cost money.
A shop can cancel an order shortly after creating it — because its own customer cancelled, say. A label that was bought but never scanned lapses after a few days. In both cases the money goes back to the shop, your fee included, because nothing was shipped.
Without the hold you could already have paid that fee out, and we would be left with a negative balance to net off against your next order. Nobody enjoys that. 3 days is long enough to catch those cases and short enough not to feel like "pay later".
In practice: a fee for a parcel you drop off on Monday is available on Thursday. If you pay out weekly you are never more than a week behind your own work.
The commission: what it is and is not
| How it works | |
|---|---|
| How much | 3% of the amount you pay out |
| VAT | Included. Nothing is added on top |
| Fixed part | None. 3% of €10.00 is €0.30, and that is all |
| Cap | None |
| Invoice | Yes, per payout, in your account |
| On the fee itself | Nothing. What the shop pays you lands on your balance in full |
| On balance you topped up yourself | Nothing. That goes back to your card and costs nothing |
British senders: pounds, not euros
If your payout account is in the UK, you are paid in pounds. The fee you agree with a shop is still recorded in euros, and the conversion happens at payout. That is one conversion per payout rather than one per parcel, which is the cheaper way round.
Everything else — the hold, the threshold, the commission, the invoice — is identical. Where domestic services exist today, and therefore where this work exists, is read from the live rate card on /en/senders rather than written here.
What you see in your account
- Per order: the fee, the date of the label, the date of the scan, and whether the amount is held, available or paid out.
- Your balance in three lines: what is still held, what is available, and what you have paid out in total.
- Per payout: gross, commission, net, the account it went to, and the invoice.
- A yearly summary: everything together, for your tax return. We give you the summary; we do not give tax advice.
That ledger is also the answer to the scam question. If the only place you can see what you are owed is a chat message, you have a hope, not a claim. Here it is a ledger with an invoice next to it — which is one of the five things a forwarding scam cannot offer, as set out in is packing parcels from home a scam?.
Five questions we get most
- "My balance says €7.50, why can't I pay out?" Because the threshold is €10.00. One more order and you can.
- "The amount was there and now it is gone." The order was cancelled or the label was never scanned. Open the order; it says what happened. This is exactly what the hold is for.
- "Can it go to my partner’s account?" No. The account must be in your name — that is the other half of the identity check.
- "Do I get an invoice?" Yes, for the commission, per payout. The fee itself is not our invoice; it is an amount the shop pays you.
- "Is tax withheld?" No. You receive gross minus commission and declare it yourself. We withhold nothing and advise on nothing.
Everything you need in place before a first order can reach you at all — printer, space, ID check, payout account — is on /en/earn-from-home.
Frequently asked questions
When do I get paid for a parcel?
The fee is credited when the label is bought and becomes final when the parcel is scanned. It is then held for 3 days; after that it is available, and you can pay out once your available balance is at least €10.00.
Why is my fee held for three days?
Because an order can still be cancelled in that window, or a label can turn out never to have been scanned. The fee then goes back to the shop. The hold makes sure that happens before the money has gone to your bank.
Is there a fixed payday?
No. You pay out with a button whenever you like, as long as your available balance is above the threshold.
What does a payout cost?
3% of the amount, VAT included, with no fixed part and no cap. On €10.00 that is €0.30. You get an invoice.
Which account does the money go to?
The bank account in your own name that you linked during sign-up. A British account is paid in pounds; any other in euros. Someone else’s account is not possible.
Is tax deducted?
No. You receive gross minus commission and declare it to your own tax authority. Your account has a yearly summary; we do not give tax advice.
What if a parcel is lost after the scan?
Your fee is already final — the parcel was on its way. The shop then has a claim with the carrier, which we help with, but that does not touch your fee.
Sources
A fee you can only see in a chat message is a hope. A fee in a ledger with an invoice beside it is a claim.
See what you earn per parcel and how to start
Earn from home