1 How Getting Paid Works

Understanding the full payment lifecycle will help you anticipate when funds arrive and what triggers each step. Here's the end-to-end flow for a standard sale transaction:

What Triggers the Payment

If You Received the Payment Directly

All commission payments must flow through Side as the brokerage before being disbursed to agents. If a commission was deposited directly to you, you must remit the funds to Side — Side will then disburse per your commission plan. When remitting, always reference your name and property address. Email help@side.com to notify Side of the incoming deposit. If you're frequently receiving checks directly, ask your Business Manager about setting up a mobile check deposit app.

2 Bank Account Setup

You must have a verified bank account on file with Side before any commission payment can be issued. This is set up during onboarding, but can be updated at any time in the Side App.

Adding or Updating Your Bank Account

1. Log into the Side App and navigate to the Account section.
2. Any bank account already on file is displayed securely for review.
3. To add or update, click "Manage Bank Accounts."
4. As a security measure, you'll be prompted to re-authenticate (log in again) before saving any new bank details.
5. Optionally, add a nickname to the account for future reference.

Team Bank Accounts (Partners & Team Leads)

Only Partners and Team Leads can view and update bank account details for their team's commission payments. Navigate to the Account section of the Side App, and click "Manage Bank Accounts" for your team account. After any team bank account is added or updated, all partners and team leads will receive a notification confirming which account was changed and which user made the change.

Payment Notifications

By default, Side sends a Commission Summary email after every payment. You can also opt in to receive SMS or push notifications when your payment has cleared and is available in your bank account. These are configured in the Notification Preferences section of your Account screen. Partners and Team Leads can additionally opt in to a "Your Team Got Paid" notification for team-level payments.

3 The Commission Form

The commission form is how you tell Side how to distribute the commission on each transaction. It must be submitted before Side can process payment — and it becomes available 10 days before the Close of Escrow (COE) date.

How to Access the Commission Form

There are two ways to access the commission form for a transaction:

Completing the Form

1. Open the commission form. Pre-populated fields (sale price, agent names, commission %) are drawn from your Cover Sheet and Compliance Review — verify these are accurate before proceeding.
2. Select the correct Commission Lead Source from the dropdown. This determines which commission split applies per your pricing plan. Only Partners can update pricing plans.
3. Add the Settlement Company contact — this is your escrow officer, title company, or closing attorney depending on your state. Start typing and Side will suggest validated contacts from its database.
4. Add any fees that need to be collected or disbursed (see Fee Types below).
5. Add any referrals if applicable (see Referral section).
6. Click "Preview Commission" to review the full statement before submitting.
7. Click "Submit." All parties receive a commission statement reflecting the submitted form.

Fee Types on the Commission Form

Referral Options on the Commission Form

Correcting or Editing a Submitted Form

If something needs to change after submission, reach out to your Partner or the person responsible for the commission form for your team. They can revise and resubmit — all agents on the transaction will automatically receive an updated commission statement reflecting the revision.

Simplified Commissions & Who Can Submit

Side's Simplified Commissions feature allows agents themselves — not just TCs — to submit and manage commission forms. Here's how access is structured:

Dual Representation: Both Buyer & Seller

When you represent both sides of a sale transaction, the Listing file's commission form automatically generates two separate commission forms — one for each side. Access both from the Commission Form tab within the Listing file. Submit both before COE.

4 Payments Center

Payments Center is your dashboard for tracking commission status across all your transactions. It surfaces the transactions that need your attention and lets you monitor payment progress in one place.

Who Can See What

A transaction first appears in Payments Center once the minimum compliance requirements are met — the transaction must be submitted for Compliance Review with all required action items complete and at least one document uploaded.

Tabs in Payments Center

Payment Status Column — What Each Status Means

5 Instant Pay Feature

Instant Pay allows you to receive your commission on the day of close — before Side has received funds from escrow. Side pays all parties upfront and then collects from escrow on the back end.

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for Instant Pay on a transaction, all of the following must be true:

• Compliance has been met on the file
• The commission form has been submitted
• Commission statements have been reviewed by Side

Instant Pay does not apply to: Lease transactions, new construction transactions, internal transactions (between Side partners), or incoming referral transactions.

How to Certify for Instant Pay

6 RTP vs ACH — Payment Speed

Once Side disburses your payment, how quickly it appears in your bank account depends on which payment network your bank participates in. This is determined by your bank — not by Side.

If you want faster access to funds, check whether your bank supports RTP. Switching to a bank that participates can make a meaningful difference on closing day.

7 Payout Summary & Financial Reports

Your Commission Summary Email

After every payment is issued, Side sends a Commission Summary email with a PDF attachment. The email subject follows this format: Commission Summary - Side Inc: [Your Name]_$[Amount]_[Date].pdf

The attached PDF includes:

• Payment date and total amount
• A breakdown of how the net amount was calculated (including any deductions for outstanding fees or prior adjustments)
• Property address(es) associated with the payment

Financial Reports in the Side App

You can access a full transaction and earnings history in the Reports section of the Side App. Navigate to Reports → Financial Reports. From there you can filter by date range and download your report as a CSV. This is available to all Partners and Associate Agents.

8 Lease Commissions Lease

Lease commissions follow a different payment flow than sale transactions — the payer (landlord, tenant, or other brokerage) sends funds directly to Side rather than through escrow.

The Lease Payment Flow

1. Create the lease transaction in the Side App and complete Compliance Review.
2. Upload all required documents to the compliance checklist — this must be done before the move-in date. You cannot request additional signatures after tenants have moved in.
3. In the Documents step of the Side App, create the lease invoice for payment processing.
4. Forward the lease invoice to the payer via email or in person. Ask them to reference your full name and property address (including unit number) when remitting — this is critical for fast processing.
5. In the Side App, open the property, click "Commission Form" on the left panel, attach the lease invoice, and submit to initiate the payment request.
6. Once Side receives the funds from the payer, your commission is disbursed.

New York — Expected Payment Date

The Expected Payment Date field in the lease Cover Sheet represents when you expect to be paid. For New York agents specifically, Expected Close Date reflects when you expect the contract to be accepted by the building's governing body (HOA, Co-op, etc.).

9 Referral Payments Referral

If You Are the Transacting Agent (Receiving a Referral)

Once the Referral Fee Agreement (RFA) is fully executed, provide it to your TC to load into the compliance audit tool. As the transaction approaches closing, the TC should include the RFA when submitting the payment distribution request via the commission form — this ensures your referrer gets paid from the same disbursement. Do not wait until after close to add the referral.

If You Are the Referring Agent (Sending a Referral)

Follow up with the transacting agent to confirm the transaction has closed and validate the amount you expect to receive. Once you have that confirmation, email help@side.com to check on payment status. Side disburses referral commissions upon receipt of funds from the other brokerage — your timeline depends on when they pay out.

Referral Payment Status

You can check the current status of your referral from the Client Referrals section in the Community tab of the Side App. The referring agent can see the transaction status once the transacting agent creates the transaction — but no other transaction data is visible to the referring side.

10 1099 & Tax Documents Tax

What Is a 1099?

A 1099-NEC (Nonemployee Compensation) is the IRS form documenting the commissions Side paid you during the calendar year. Anyone who receives a commission from a real estate transaction is considered an independent contractor and receives a 1099 if the eligibility criteria are met.

Will You Receive a 1099?

How to Access Your 1099

1099s are issued each January for the prior tax year. There are two ways to get yours:

Differences & Common Questions

11 Commission Advances

If you need access to commission funds before a transaction closes, commission advance programs are available through the Side Marketplace. Side has partnered with two providers:

Side does not directly participate in or approve commission advance authorization forms — these are handled entirely between you and the third-party provider.

Common Questions