Holdshake locks the payment in a neutral hold before the work starts — released by approval, on-time delivery, or a written referee ruling. Freelance gigs, deposits, marketplace sales: $50–$5,000, protected on both sides for 1.9%.
1.9% FLAT · PAYMENTS BY STRIPE · 5-DAY AUTO-RELEASE
One page both parties share: the hold, the clock, every action on the record. No dashboards to learn.
No 50%-upfront dance, no chasing invoices. The payer funds the hold first — you watch it lock before you lift a finger. Deliver, they approve, you're paid. And if they simply stop responding, the deal settles on schedule instead of stalling forever.
Start as the payee →No deposits sent on trust. Nothing releases until the work shows up — and you approve it, or a fair process does.
Start as the payer →One of you creates the deal. The other gets a link — it opens the exact terms, they approve or edit, and the deal is live. The link is the onboarding.
Sample ruling — the format every party receives. Names removed. Most deals never reach one.
Summary of dispute. The payer commissioned a logo with delivery of "final logo files." The payee delivered high-resolution PNG exports of an approved design. The payer disputed, stating the editable source files (AI/SVG) were never delivered and are required for future use.
What the terms said. The approved terms specify "final logo files" without enumerating formats. The design itself was approved in writing by the payer on the third revision.
Findings. (1) The creative work was completed and approved; the core value of the engagement was delivered. (2) "Final logo files," in ordinary professional usage for a commissioned logo, reasonably includes editable source formats; their absence is a genuine, partial non-delivery. (3) The payee offered the source files for an additional fee after the dispute began, which supports the payer's reading of the original terms.
Ruling. The hold of $600.00 is released 70% to the payee ($420.00) for the approved and delivered design work, and 30% to the payer ($180.00) reflecting the undelivered source files. If the payee delivers the source files within 7 days, the parties may open a new deal for the difference.
Note for future deals. Terms drafted on Holdshake now enumerate file formats for design work by default. Precision is cheaper than dispute.
Every ruling is written, reasoned, and shows its work. Both parties get the same document.
Then they have to put it in writing, with evidence, against your evidence. Solomon rules on what the approved terms say — not on who complains loudest. Frivolous disputes read as frivolous, in a document both of you keep. And a ruling can split: bad-faith disputes don't get a coin flip, they get a reasoned outcome.
We never hold it. Funds in a hold are processed by Stripe — the payment infrastructure behind millions of businesses — and sit with neither party until release. Holdshake can't spend your hold; we can only execute the outcome the two of you (or the ruling) determine. Our fee is 1.9%, taken at release, in the open.
A contract tells you who was right — after the money is gone, if you're willing to spend more than the deal was worth to prove it. A hold means the money is already secured before the work starts, and enforcement is automatic: approval, silence, or ruling. The contract is still there — Holdshake drafts it, both of you approve it. It just comes with its own enforcement.
Released the moment they approve — the clock only exists to backstop silence. Disputes cost nothing extra — rulings are included. Deals $50–$5,000 in v1. Most deals are boring — that's the point.
Drafting is free. Nothing is charged until both sides approve the terms.
You'll review the exact wording before anything is sent. Your counterparty joins by link — no account needed to read the terms.