> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.shorpay.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# One-Off Payments

> Send a payment outside the regular payroll schedule.

Not every payment fits into a payroll cycle. Bonuses, reimbursements, consulting fees, and ad-hoc payments are sent as one-off payments from the **Finance → Payments** tab.

## When to Use a One-Off Payment

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Contractor Payment" icon="handshake">
    Paying a contractor outside their normal cycle, for an extra invoice or a quick engagement.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Freelance or Consulting Work" icon="briefcase">
    A one-off project or short-term consulting fee.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Reimbursement" icon="receipt">
    Covering a business expense a worker paid out of pocket.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Bonus" icon="gift">
    A one-time discretionary or performance bonus.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Sending a One-Off Payment

The payment wizard is four quick steps:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Recipient">
    Start from **Finance → Payments** and click **Send payment**. Search your team and pick a recipient. Their payout details pull in automatically. Off-cycle payments require an active contract: if you enter an email that isn't attached to an active contract, the wizard prompts you to start a contract for that person first.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Amount">
    Enter the amount and currency. The wizard shows the estimated arrival amount for the recipient (including any FX conversion and fees) so there are no surprises.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Details">
    Pick a **purpose** for the payment (Contractor Payment, Freelance Work, Consulting, Reimbursement, Bonus, or Other) and add a reference note that appears on the worker's receipt.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Summary">
    Review everything, then confirm. Shor queues the payment and debits your connected bank account.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Processing Multiple Payments at Once

The payment wizard sends one payment at a time. When you need to move several payments together (end-of-month reimbursements, a batch of contractor invoices, quarterly bonuses) use the **Payroll page** (**Talent → Payroll**) instead. Select the rows you want, and Shor processes them as a single approved batch.

## Idempotency

If you retry a submission or the page refreshes mid-request, Shor prevents duplicates using idempotency keys on every payment. You won't accidentally pay someone twice.

## Tracking One-Off Payments

One-off payments appear in:

* **Finance → Payments**: the canonical list of everything sent
* **Finance → Transactions**: every debit and credit recorded
* The worker's profile under **Payments**
* The Payroll page, alongside scheduled payments

Each payment has a status (pending, processing, completed, failed, cancelled) and a receipt you can download.

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Milestones" icon="flag-checkered" href="/employer/milestones">
    For contractor milestone payments with an approval flow.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Reimbursements" icon="receipt" href="/employer/reimbursements">
    Handling expense reimbursements properly.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Payroll" icon="money-check-dollar" href="/employer/payroll">
    Process batches of payments at once.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>