During onboarding, units could choose to have Trail's End automatically pay out the unit's available payout at the end of the sale. This article explains how automatic payouts work, when they happen, and what to check ahead of time.
What is the automatic payout option?
In the Payout Bank Account step of onboarding, leaders confirmed the unit's bank account and could check a box labeled Automatically pay out remaining balance at the end of the sale.
"Remaining balance" in that checkbox means your unit's available payout, which is the commission Trail's End owes your unit. If your unit selected this option, Trail's End will initiate the payout for you on the dates below, so you don't need to click Initiate Payout yourself.
There is no minimum payout amount. If your unit's available payout is $0, or if your unit owes a balance, no automatic payout will take place.
Automatic payout dates
Trail's End will initiate automatic payouts on two dates:
Payout initiated | Expected in your bank account |
November 25, 2026 | December 4, 2026 |
January 8, 2027 | January 15, 2027 |
If your unit earns more commission after November 25 (for example, from late online sales), the January 8 payout will include it.
Confirm your bank account before November 25
A bank account must be on file for an automatic payout to happen. To check it:
Log in to the Unit Leader Portal and go to the Finances page.
In the Payout section, find the bank account button to the left of Initiate Payout. If an account is on file, it shows the last four digits of the account number. If not, it says No bank account on file.
Click the button to add a bank account or to update the one on file if it's incorrect.
Only unit leaders can add, change, or remove the unit's bank account.
What can prevent an automatic payout
An automatic payout can't be completed if either of these is true:
No bank account is on file for the unit.
Your unit has sold more product than it ordered. This needs to be resolved before any payout can be made. See Total Sales exceed Total Ordered+Online Sales
These are the same issues that prevent a leader from initiating a payout manually. If an automatic payout can't be completed on November 25, Trail's End will try again on January 8, so resolve any issues before then.
You won't receive a notification if an automatic payout can't be completed. Check your Finances page after each payout date to confirm it went through.
How to check whether your payout happened
The banking contact listed on your unit's bank account will be notified when an automatic payout is made, just as they are for manual payouts.
You can also confirm it on the Finances page. Look at the Total Already Paid Out box and click it to see the details of each payout. For more about this page, see Finances.
If a payout you expected isn't listed, review the issues in What can prevent an automatic payout.
Initiating a payout manually
Whether or not your unit chose automatic payouts, you can initiate a payout yourself any time through January 30, 2027 by clicking Initiate Payout on the Finances page.
On January 31, 2027, any available payout that hasn't been initiated will be sent to the unit's Council. This happens at the end of every fundraiser.
AI agent description: Explains the automatic end-of-fundraiser payout option units selected during onboarding, including payout dates, bank account requirements, issues that block payouts, payout notifications, and how to confirm a payout on the Finances page.