Prepaid Farm-Out Explained: How the Money Moves to the Chauffeur

When you take a farm-out job, the most important question is simple: where is the money right now? With an informal arrangement, the honest answer is often "nowhere yet". It's still in the client's account, or the operator's, waiting for someone to remember to send it.

Prepaid farm-out flips that around. On LimoFarmOut, the poster pays the full price by card before the job reaches the board, and LimoFarmOut holds it. By the time you accept, the money already exists. After the trip, it moves to you automatically.

This guide follows the money step by step, then covers the cases that cause most arguments: counter-offers, extras, late cancellations and disputes.

The money flow, step by step

Here's the full journey of the money on a single job.

1. The poster pays by card. An operator, owner-operator or chauffeur who can't cover a trip posts it and pays the full price by card at posting.
2. LimoFarmOut holds it. The money is held by the platform, not by the poster. No unfunded job ever reaches the board.
3. You see your payout. The job shows your payout before you accept. You keep the full amount, because drivers pay no fee on jobs. The platform fee is paid by the poster.
4. You drive the trip. You run it from your phone: En route, On location, Passenger on board, Trip complete.
5. The review window. After drop-off, there's a short window in which the poster can raise a problem.
6. Automatic release. Your payout is released automatically within 48 hours of drop-off.
7. The money reaches you. It goes to your bank through Stripe and arrives in 1-2 business days. Or you use instant cash-out and get it in minutes for a flat $2 fee.

No invoices, no reminders, no asking. For the whole driver journey, read How LimoFarmOut Gets Chauffeurs Paid.

Counter-offers: when the price changes before the trip

Sometimes the price on a job is too low for the distance, the vehicle or the time of day. You don't have to accept it as it is.

• Send a counter-offer with your own price.
• If the poster accepts, they pay the difference before the trip.
• The new, higher amount is funded and held, just like the original.

The key point: the price is settled and paid before you drive. You never find yourself arguing about the rate after drop-off.

Extras: paid through the platform, not promised

Trips rarely go exactly to plan. The flight is late, the passenger wants an extra stop, or there's a toll road you didn't expect. On LimoFarmOut, extras are added and paid through the platform:

• Waiting time, with free minutes and then a rate per extra hour, both set on the job
• Overtime when an hourly booking runs long
• Parking and tolls
• Extra stops
• Tips

Because the waiting terms are on the job before you accept, everyone knows the rules from the start. Hourly jobs also have clear minimums: 3 hours for sedan and SUV, and 5 hours for other vehicles. Our guide to waiting time, tolls and extras explains how to record each one so it lands in your payout.

Late cancellations

You blocked the time. You may have turned down other work. Then the trip is cancelled at the last minute.

On LimoFarmOut, if a poster cancels late, you're compensated according to the cancellation terms shown on the job. You can read those terms before you accept, so you know where you stand.

When something goes wrong: the review window

Even a well-run trip can hit a problem. The review window after drop-off is where they're handled.

• The poster has a short window after drop-off to raise a problem.
• If no problem is raised, the payout is released automatically.
• The job, the agreed price and the extras are all on the platform, not scattered across messages.

Compare that with an informal job, where a dispute might surface weeks later in a chat thread, long after anyone remembers the details. A defined window protects both sides: the poster gets a fair chance to speak up, and you get a clear point after which your money moves. If you have questions, the help page is the place to start.

Who pays what

Here's a quick summary of the costs.

• Driver: joins free, pays no fee on jobs, keeps the full payout shown.
• Poster: pays the full price by card when posting, plus the platform fee.
• Instant cash-out: optional, for a flat $2 fee, only if the driver chooses it for that payout.
• Standard payout: to your bank through Stripe in 1-2 business days, at no cost to the driver.

The money exists before the trip, and it moves after the trip. That's prepaid farm-out.

Further reading

Card payments and payouts run on Stripe Connect, and Stripe explains its instant payouts in its own documentation. On this blog: how to hand off a job safely when you're busy and why every chauffeur's documents are checked.

Frequently asked questions

What is prepaid farm-out?

It's a farm-out job where the full price is paid before any driver accepts. On LimoFarmOut, the poster pays by card when posting and the platform holds the money until the payout is released after the trip.

How long after drop-off do I get paid?

Your payout is released automatically within 48 hours of drop-off, after a short review window. It then reaches your bank through Stripe in 1-2 business days, or in minutes with instant cash-out.

What happens to the money if the poster cancels late?

You're compensated according to the cancellation terms shown on the job. You can read those terms before you accept.

Take jobs where the money is already there

If you drive, you deserve to know your pay exists before you start the engine. If you post work, prepaid farm-out shows drivers you're serious and keeps your arrangements clean.

Chauffeurs can sign up free and browse the job board. Operators can farm out a job in a couple of minutes. To learn how fast payouts can be, read Instant Cash-Out: Get Your Chauffeur Payout in Minutes, or see why it beats chasing payments from limo operators.