Faster Payment Processing for Accepted Bugs (Before Client Approval)
Aleksndra Mitiukova
Hello TestIO Team
Currently, testers have to wait
10 days after a test cycle ends
for the client’s approval before payments are transferred to Cirro.In practice, this waiting period (
waiting up to six weeks
) doesn’t bring much value — clients almost always approve the cycle anyway, and it’s never the case that all bugs are rejected or everything changes after those 10 days.As a result:
• Testers lose motivation during the final 10 days, knowing that accepted bugs won’t be included in the next month’s payout.
• Payments are unnecessarily delayed, even though the work is already reviewed and accepted by the team lead.
• Since payouts happen only once per month, this delay significantly affects income planning.
On other similar platforms, once a bug is accepted by the team lead, it’s marked as payable immediately — even if the client’s review comes later. Bonuses or client adjustments can still be processed afterward.
We understand that client contracts may require formal approval, but tester payments should not depend on that.
Even in construction or other project-based industries,
workers are paid for completed and accepted work regardless of when the client settles the invoice
. The same logic should apply here — testers deserve to be paid for their accepted work without unnecessary delays
.Besides, this change would also benefit team leads — with smoother payout cycles and happier testers, maybe some of them would even stop being so strict and grumpy sometimes. 😉
For example, if I publish 10 bugs on the
2nd of the month
and the client approves the test only 10 days later, while payouts are made every 10th, it means I’ll receive payment for that work about 1.5 months later
. That’s an unreasonably long delay — the work is completed and accepted internally, yet testers have to wait for client approval and then another payout cycle.
In any normal work setting,
waiting six weeks to be paid
for accepted work would be considered unfair.Ideally, accepted bugs should be transferred to Cirro immediately after the test ends, and client bonuses or adjustments can be added later once the client approves the cycle.
Alternatively, introducing two payouts per month would already make a huge difference and solve most of the motivation and cash flow issues for testers.
Suggestion:
Either:
1. Allow payments for bugs accepted by the internal QA or team lead to be processed immediately to the Cirro (before full client approval),
or
2. Introduce twice-monthly payouts to make earnings more consistent and motivation higher.
This would improve:
• Tester motivation and engagement
• Team lead–tester communication
• Overall satisfaction and trust in the platform
Thank you for reviewing!
Best regards,
Aleksandra
Basit
You've raised a very valuable point, and I hope it gets reconsidered.
In my case, I always face uncertainty between the 1st and 11th of the month, whether the work I'm doing during that time will be paid in the current month or the next. For example, once I worked on a test cycle on the 9th–10th of the month, and the customer reviewed all the bugs immediately, and the test was archived as well.
I am always under uncertain / worried that the work I'm doing - is it contributing to my next month's target or this month's.
So yes, there's a uncertainty, and it's really hard to figure out what the actual payment cutoff date is.
Aleksndra Mitiukova
Financial relations and contractual terms between TestIO and the client should not directly affect testers’ payments.
In general labor practice, employees or contractors are paid for the work they have completed and had accepted — regardless of when or how the client settles their invoice with the company.
Mahmood
Aleksndra Mitiukova Thanks for this amazing post and raising voice for all of us. 🙌
I wish one day these golden words will become TestIO's new policy -
Ideally, accepted bugs should be transferred to Cirro immediately after the test ends, and client bonuses or adjustments can be added later once the client approves the cycle
🙂