How to Manage 3PL Rider Payout Accounts?
If you run a third-party-logistics (3PL) operation — leasing vehicles or equipment to gig riders who earn on delivery platforms — money flows in two directions. The rider owes you rent on their lease, and you owe the rider the payouts they earn on the platforms. The Rider Account tab keeps both sides in one running account so you always know the true net position: who owes whom, and how much.
Why Use a Rider Account?
Instead of juggling spreadsheets per rider, the Rider Account gives you one place to:
- See the net position at a glance — one figure that says whether the rider owes you, you owe the rider, or you’re settled.
- Record every payout the rider earns on each delivery platform as an amount payable to them.
- Settle payouts against rent — apply what you owe the rider to what they owe you on their lease invoices, and pay out only the remainder.
- Keep an auditable ledger — every payout, settlement, and reversal is logged with who recorded it and when.
Accounts-payable model. A payout is recorded as the full amount payable to the rider — money you owe them. Settlement is a separate, deliberate step where you choose to apply that credit against their open rent. Recording a payout never silently reduces what the rider owes.
Before You Start
The Rider Account tab is only available for 3PL customer types — customer types configured to capture end clients. If you don’t see the tab on a customer, their type isn’t a 3PL type. Customer types are configured by your organisation in settings, so the exact label may differ from “3PL.” See How to Manage Customers? for how customer types work.
You also need to add the rider’s platform Client IDs first. A Client ID identifies the rider on a specific delivery platform (for example, a rider code on a food-delivery app). Every payout is tied to one Client ID, so the Client IDs tab must have at least one entry before you can record a payout. The Client IDs tab appears on the same 3PL customers, right beside Rider Account.
Reading the Rider Account
Open the customer profile and select the Rider Account tab. Across the top you’ll see the running position:
| Figure | What it means |
|---|---|
| Net position | The headline number — labelled We Owe Rider (pay), Rider Owes (collect), or Settled |
| Open Rent (lease) | Unpaid rent on the rider’s lease invoices — click it to expand the list of open invoices |
| Security Deposit Held | Any deposit you’re currently holding for this rider |
| Payout Payable | The total of recorded payouts not yet settled or paid |
The net is worked out as Open Rent − Security Deposit Held − Payout Payable. A positive result means the rider still owes you; a negative result means you owe the rider.
Below the summary, the Payout Ledger lists every payout entry with its date, platform / Client ID, amount, status (Payable or Paid), any invoices it cleared, the settlement reference, and who recorded it.
Recording a Payout
Each time a rider earns on a platform, record it as a payout so the account reflects what you owe them.
Step 1: Open the Record Payout form
On the Rider Account tab, click Record Payout. (You need write access to customers for this button to appear.)
Step 2: Fill in the payout
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Client ID (platform) | Required — pick the platform / Client ID the rider earned on. If the list is empty, add a Client ID on the customer first. |
| Payout Date | Required — the date the earning relates to. |
| Gross Earning / Payout | Required — the amount payable to the rider. Must be greater than zero. |
| Reference | Optional — a note or platform reference for your records. |
Step 3: Save
Click Record Payout. The entry appears in the ledger with status Payable and is added to Payout Payable in the summary.
Recording a large batch of payouts across many riders at once? Your organisation’s dedicated Rider Payouts hub under Financials supports uploading a single platform file that matches payouts to riders by Client ID. That hub requires the Financials module and payments permissions.
Settling Payouts Against Rent
Settlement is where you reconcile the two sides — applying what you owe the rider (payouts) against what the rider owes you (open rent), and paying out only the balance.
Step 1: Open Map & Settle
Click Map & Settle. This button is enabled only when there’s a positive Payout Payable to work with.
Step 2: Select what to reconcile
The dialog shows two columns:
- Open Rent — rider owes (left): tick the lease invoices you want to clear.
- Payouts Payable — we owe (right): tick the payouts you want to apply.
As you select, the summary updates live to show Selected rent, Selected payouts, Applied to rent, and Net paid to rider.
Step 3: Map & Settle
Click Map & Settle. The selected payouts are applied to the selected invoices oldest first (FIFO), capped by the total payout. Any remainder after rent is cleared is the net paid to the rider. Settled payouts move to status Paid, and the invoices they cleared show against those ledger rows.
You can settle payouts even when there’s no open rent to apply them to — in that case the whole selected amount is simply paid out to the rider and marked Paid.
Viewing and Reversing a Settlement
Every settlement creates a reference you can open from the ledger. Click the Settlement Ref link on a ledger row to see exactly what that settlement did — the payment reference, the rent invoices it cleared, and the payouts it settled.
If a settlement was made in error, click Reverse in the settlement detail. Reversing restores the invoice balances and puts the affected payouts back to Payable, so you can redo the reconciliation correctly.
Reversal is your undo. Rather than deleting ledger entries, reverse the settlement — this keeps a clean audit trail while returning the account to its pre-settlement state.
Permissions & Availability
- The Rider Account tab appears only for 3PL customer types (types that capture end clients).
- Viewing a customer’s Rider Account requires access to customers; recording payouts and settling requires write access.
- The separate cross-rider Rider Payouts hub under Financials additionally requires the Financials subscription module and payments permissions.