The advisor always gets paid. The customer always gets what they paid for.
Every project on Rovvi runs on protected, milestone-based payments. A neutral third party — Rovvi — holds the money and releases it only when both sides agree the work is done. It removes the single biggest risk on each side of the table, so everyone can just get on with building.
“A neutral third party holds the money and releases it only when both sides agree — so the advisor always gets paid, and the customer always gets what they paid for.”
One mechanism, two guarantees. It's called escrow — the same idea that protects a home purchase — applied to AI project work, phase by phase.
How it works
Work is broken into phases — a scoped chunk of work with a fixed price (minimum $250 per phase). Each phase runs through the same four steps. Money moves only at the very end, and only when both people have said “yes.”
Fund
The customer funds the phase up front. The money leaves their account but does not go to the advisor — Rovvi holds it in escrow.
Deliver
The advisor does the work, knowing the money is already funded and waiting. When it's done, they mark the phase delivered.
Both approve
The customer reviews the delivered work and approves it. Both sign-offs are now in — the advisor's and the customer's.
Released
The instant the second sign-off lands, Rovvi releases the money to the advisor automatically. Done — on to the next phase.
If a phase is never delivered, the customer never approves it, so it's never released — and can be refunded. Nobody's money moves until both sides agree.
Why it's a win for both sides
This isn't a payment detail — it's the whole point. The same escrow removes the number-one fear on each side at the same time.
🧭 For the customer
Your money is safe — pay for results, not promises.
- Rovvi holds your payment and only releases it when you approve the work
- Pay-as-you-go, phase by phase — never one big lump up front
- If it isn't delivered, you're not out of pocket
- No chasing a freelancer who vanished — the platform enforces it
- Raise an issue instead of approving, and the money stays frozen until it's sorted
🚀 For the AI advisor
Never chase an invoice again — the money is already funded.
- The phase is funded and held before you start — no working on spec, no ghosting
- The moment the client approves, you're paid — automatically, same day
- No awkward “when will I get paid?” conversations — the platform handles it
- Clear, scoped phases mean clear expectations and fewer disputes
- Removes the #1 risk of independent work: doing the job and not getting paid
Governance — the rules that protect both parties
The protection isn't a promise; it's built into how the money can and can't move. These rules apply to every phase, automatically.
🤝 Two keys, one lock
A payment can only be released when both sign-offs are in — the advisor marks it delivered and the customer approves. Neither side can move the money alone.
🏦 A neutral holder
Funds are held by Rovvi as a neutral third party via Stripe — not by the advisor, not sitting in the customer's account where it could be clawed back. It's genuinely in the middle.
🧱 Scoped, fixed phases
Every phase has a written scope and a fixed price agreed before funding. There are no surprise charges, and each phase is small enough to stay low-risk (minimum $250).
🧊 Freeze on dispute
If either side raises an issue, the money is frozen exactly where it is — not released, not refunded — until it's resolved. No one loses their leverage.
🧾 A clear record
Every step — funded, delivered, approved, released, refunded — is timestamped on the engagement. Both sides see the same history, so there's never a “he-said, she-said.”
↩️ Refundable until released
Money that's funded but not yet released can be refunded to the customer. Once both sides approve, it transfers to the advisor and the phase is closed.
🪪 Verified before any money moves
No advisor can request or receive a payment until they've passed identity verification — a government ID for an individual, or an EIN and business details for a company — with bank details confirmed. You're paying a verified, real party.
⭐ Public ratings, both ways
After a project, the customer rates the advisor and the advisor rates the customer. Ratings are public on advisor profiles, so a track record of delivering — and of being a good client — actually counts.
🕊️ If there's a disagreement — Rovvi mediates
Most phases sail through: deliver, approve, paid. But when two people build something together, sometimes they don't see eye to eye on whether a phase is “done.” Because the money is still held in escrow, nobody has to fight to get their money back or wait to get paid — it's frozen, and Rovvi steps in as the neutral mediator.
- Either side raises an issue instead of approving. The phase moves to a frozen “disputed” state — no release, no refund — so nothing changes while it's being worked out.
- Rovvi reviews the facts. We look at the agreed phase scope, the delivered work, and the on-platform thread — the same record both sides can see. Because everything ran through Rovvi, there's a clear paper trail.
- We help both sides reach a fair outcome. Often that's a small fix and an approval. Where it isn't, Rovvi can direct a full release, a partial release (for work genuinely delivered), or a refund of the held funds.
- The decision executes automatically. Whatever the resolution, Rovvi moves the held money accordingly — the customer isn't chasing a refund and the advisor isn't chasing a payment.
Our goal in mediation is always the same as the promise: the advisor is paid for what they delivered, and the customer only pays for what they actually got.
What it costs — and why it's still the cheapest way
Rovvi takes a 15% fee on a released phase, out of the advisor's payout. The customer pays exactly the phase price — no separate customer fee. And it's only ever charged on work that was actually delivered and approved.
15%
Rovvi's fee — only on delivered, approved work. Covers escrow, payment processing, the workspace tools, and mediation.
15–25%
What a contingency recruiter charges — of first-year salary, paid up front, before anything ships.
30–60%+
The markup a staffing agency or VAR adds to contractor rates — ongoing, on top of their own margin.
So even at 15%, protected payments are the lowest-cost, lowest-risk path to getting the work built — pay-as-you-go, escrow-protected, and released only on your approval. No big placement fee, no long contract, no paying for work you didn't get. See how it compares →
Questions
Who actually holds the money?
Rovvi does, as a neutral third party, using Stripe's marketplace payments. When you fund a phase the money leaves your account but doesn't go to the advisor — it's held by Rovvi until both sides approve. Stripe handles the regulated money movement and the advisor's bank onboarding; we handle the hold-and-release logic and the mediation.
When exactly does the advisor get paid?
The instant both sign-offs are in: the advisor marks the phase delivered, and the customer approves it. There's no manual step and no waiting on Rovvi to “process” it — the release fires automatically the moment the second approval lands.
What if the advisor never delivers?
The customer simply never approves, so the money is never released. Funded-but-unreleased money can be refunded back to the customer. You're never out of pocket for work you didn't receive.
What if the customer approves but then changes their mind?
Approval is the release trigger — once you approve a phase, it pays out and closes, the same way accepting a delivery does. That's why the model is phase-by-phase and each phase stays small: you approve only what you've actually reviewed, and you're never approving the whole project at once.
Why is there a $250 minimum per phase?
Very small phases get eaten by fixed payment-processing costs and create needless back-and-forth. A $250 floor keeps each phase meaningful and keeps more of the money with the advisor. Break a larger project into as many phases as you both like, as long as each is at least $250.
Is the 15% fee negotiable?
15% is the standard rate at launch, taken from the advisor's side. It may be adjusted per-advisor over time. The customer never pays a separate platform fee.
How do I know the advisor is a real, verified person or company?
Before an advisor can request or receive a single payment, they complete identity verification through Stripe: an individual uploads a government photo ID (such as a driver's license) and confirms their details; a company provides its EIN and business information. Bank details are verified so payouts go to the right account. Until that's done, the advisor simply can't be paid. On top of that, every advisor carries a public rating built from real completed projects.
Do customers get rated too?
Yes — ratings go both ways. After a project, the advisor rates the customer just as the customer rates the advisor. A history of clear scopes, prompt approvals, and good communication helps you attract the best advisors.
Are you the one who builds AI? Protected payments mean you always get paid — become an AI Advisor →
Read the full Marketplace & Protected Payments Agreement →
Protected Payments roll out with the marketplace escrow release. Rolling out