Help Center · Payments
How escrow protects every order
Buyers pay up front, sellers know the money is secured, and funds only move when work is delivered and accepted. Here's how escrow keeps both sides safe.
6 min read
Escrow is the quiet engine of trust on Gigolance. The buyer's payment is held securely the moment an order starts, so a seller can begin work knowing the money is real — and the buyer knows it's only released once they've approved the delivery.
What escrow actually is
When a buyer places an order, their payment isn't sent to the seller right away. It's funded into escrow — a secured holding account governed by the platform's double-entry ledger. The funds belong to no one's spendable balance while the work happens; they're simply locked, in full view of both parties, until the order reaches its outcome.
Secured up front
The full order amount is captured before any work begins, so neither side is chasing payment.
Fair to both
The seller is guaranteed the money exists; the buyer is guaranteed it won't move until they approve.
Released on acceptance
Funds leave escrow only when the buyer accepts the delivery (or the order auto-completes after the review window).
Refundable if cancelled
If an order is cancelled before completion, the escrowed amount returns to the buyer's available balance — instantly, with no clearance wait.
The order's money lifecycle
- 1
Funded
The buyer pays; the amount is funded into escrow and shows as In Escrow on the seller's earnings (net of the platform fee).
- 2
In progress
The seller does the work and delivers. The money stays locked — protected for both sides — for the whole duration.
- 3
Released
On acceptance, the seller's net is released into Pending Clearance and the platform fee is taken. See your earnings for what happens next.
- 4
Refunded or settled
If the order is cancelled, escrow refunds the buyer. If a dispute is split, part is refunded and the rest released — see the Resolution Center.
Disputes and locked funds
If a dispute is opened in the Resolution Center, the order's escrow is locked while it's worked out — the funds can't be released or refunded until the dispute resolves. This protects both parties: nobody can move the money mid-disagreement. Once resolved, the funds release, refund, or split according to the outcome.
Milestones are protected stage by stage
On a milestone order, each stage is funded into its own escrow and released only when that stage is approved — so a large project is protected piece by piece instead of all at once.
Why it matters for your business
Escrow is what lets buyers commit to bigger, first-time, or higher-value orders with confidence — and it's why sellers can pour real effort into a brief without worrying whether they'll be paid. The whole marketplace runs faster because trust is built into the money flow, not bolted on afterward.
Frequently asked
They see it as In Escrow — secured and counted toward their balance — but it isn't withdrawable until the order completes and the funds clear.
The escrowed amount is refunded to the buyer's available balance immediately — no clearance or waiting period for buyer refunds. Any earlier, approved milestones on a staged order are unaffected and stay with the seller.
No. Once the buyer accepts the delivery, the funds are released and follow the normal clearing process. Genuine issues are handled through the Resolution Center, not by clawing back accepted work.
No. Escrow holds funds during the order; the clearing window is the safety period AFTER the order completes, before earnings become withdrawable.
See how it flows
Open an order to watch escrow, release, and clearance in real time.
Keep reading
Still have questions?
Back to Help Center