Donated funds and commission
Settlement modes, commission, moving funds to the wallet, withdrawals and commission invoices.
Donations belong to your campaign. How they reach you depends on the donation channel the Sauti team sets for your organisation. Both options attract a commission to Sauti at the rate agreed for your organisation.
The two settlement modes#
| Sauti default channels | Your own channels | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it suits | Campaigns without their own Paystack account, Paybill or Till | Campaigns with a tested Paystack account and/or M-PESA Paybill or Till |
| Where donations land | Sauti's collection accounts, held for you | Directly in your own account |
| Commission | Deducted before funds become available to you | Invoiced to you on a regular cycle |
| Using the money | Funds tab: move to wallet or withdraw | Already in your account |
Wallet top-ups always go to Sauti's accounts, whichever mode you use.
The commission rate (a percentage and/or a fixed fee per donation) is frozen on each donation at the rate in force when it was received, so a later rate change never alters past donations.
Sauti default channels: the Funds tab#
Open Finance › Donations › Funds. You see:
- Available donated funds
- Commission charged
- Pending withdrawals
- the full history of donations, commission and movements.
Move funds to your wallet#
Choose Use for wallet top-up, enter an amount up to the available balance and confirm. The money moves to your messaging wallet at once, with a ledger entry and a receipt. No approval is needed.
Withdraw to a bank account or M-PESA#
- Choose Withdraw to bank or M-Pesa.
- Enter the amount and choose the destination: Kenyan bank account, M-PESA phone, M-PESA Till or M-PESA Paybill.
- Enter the recipient name and account or number.
- Confirm.
What happens next depends on your organisation's withdrawal mode, set by the Sauti team:
- Operator approval: the request waits for a Sauti operator to approve or reject it with a reason. Only then is the money sent.
- Direct: the transfer runs after you confirm your own identity again.
You can follow each withdrawal's status. If a transfer fails or is reversed, the amount returns to your available balance once.
Your own channels: commission invoices#
When donations settle to your own accounts, Sauti issues a commission invoice at the end of each billing cycle (daily, weekly or monthly, as set by the Sauti team). It lists, per channel, the number of donations, the gross amount, the rate and the commission. Periods with no commission produce no invoice.
Pay it from Finance › Invoices or the Funds tab, either from your wallet or by M-PESA or card through Sauti's checkout. A receipt is issued when it is paid.
Reminders and late payment#
Sauti sends reminders on the schedule set for your organisation (in the app, by email to finance and owner users and, where set, by SMS to their staff phones). If an invoice stays unpaid past the agreed threshold, your donation pages close automatically and show a neutral "temporarily unavailable" page; no reason or amounts are shown publicly. Paying the invoice in full reopens them automatically.