---
title: "Paying your partner before the student pays"
description: "Advance a payout to a partner ahead of collecting from the customer, when your cash flow allows."
lastModified: "2026-06-13"
lang: "en"
wordCount: 439
url: https://qualyhq.com/training/payouts/paying-your-partner-before-the-student-pays
---
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# Paying your partner before the student pays

> Get a partner paid early without waiting on the customer.

## At a glance

- **Intended for:** Everyone
- **Available in:** All plans
- **Reading time:** 3 minutes
- **Last updated:** 31st May 2026

## Quick summary

You can pay a partner before the customer's money arrives by creating the payout (or invoice) and sending it manually, rather than waiting for the automatic, payment-triggered payout. This advances funds at your discretion while keeping the records linked.

## Overview

Sometimes you want to pay a school **now**—before the customer's money has arrived—to keep the relationship smooth or hit a deadline. Qualy lets you advance a payout at your discretion.

## The normal flow vs paying early

### Normal (automatic)

When the customer pays, Qualy generates the payout to the partner automatically based on the splits and the partner's payout settings.

### Paying early (manual)

You create and **send the payout (or invoice) manually**, advancing the funds before collection.

## How to do it

Open the relevant payout (or create the invoice), and choose to **send** it manually. The payout stays linked to the underlying payment and splits, so once the customer pays, everything reconciles cleanly.

Paying early means **fronting money you haven't yet collected**. If the customer doesn't pay, you'll need to recover those funds—use this where you're confident in collection.

Need to advance several at once? Use a **bulk payout / remittance** to send multiple partners together.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I pay a school before the customer has paid me?

Yes. Instead of waiting for the automatic payout that triggers when the customer pays, you can create and send the payout (or invoice) manually, advancing the funds yourself.

### Why would I do this?

To keep a school happy or meet a deadline when you're confident the customer will pay. It's a cash-flow decision you make per case.

### How is this different from the normal flow?

Normally a payout is generated automatically once the customer's payment lands. Paying early means you initiate the payout yourself, before collection.

### Is the early payout still linked to the payment?

Yes. The payout stays linked to the underlying payment and splits, so reconciliation remains clear once the customer pays.

### What's the risk?

You're fronting money before it's collected. If the customer doesn't pay, you'll have advanced funds you still need to recover—so use it where you're confident.

### Can I do this for several partners at once?

Yes. Bulk payout / remittance lets you advance multiple payouts together.

## Prefer doing this via the Qualy API?

Head over to our developer docs for everything you need—endpoints, examples, and simple how-tos.

[View API Docs](https://docs.qualyhq.com/docs)

## More on Qualy

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