How payments work for print shops on LetterAPI

11/13/2026
How payments work for print shops on LetterAPI
If you run a print shop, you will want to know exactly how and when you get paid before you take your first order. This post covers the whole journey, from the customer paying us to the money landing in your bank account.We are a developer first platform, so the jobs that reach you can be very different. One customer might send a single page. Another might send a thousand pages in one order. The payment rules are the same for all of them.

The short version

  • The customer pays LetterAPI up front, when they place the order. They pay your price plus our 10% platform fee.
  • You print and post the order, then mark it as delivered in your dashboard.
  • The customer accepts the job, or five working days pass without them doing anything. Either way, the payment becomes eligible for release.
  • The money shows in your account balance. Payouts go to your UK bank account once a month through Stripe.
  • The customer pays LetterAPI a 10% platform fee on top of your price. You keep 100% of the price you set.

Step 1: the customer pays us first

Nobody has to chase an invoice. When a customer chooses your shop for a print and post job, they pay LetterAPI at checkout. You only start work on orders that are already paid for.The customer also picks the Royal Mail class they want, such as first class, second class or a signed for option. That postage cost is part of the total they pay. You do not need to cover it out of your own pocket and wait to get it back.

Step 2: you print, post and mark it delivered

Once an order is paid, it appears in your shop dashboard. You print it, put it in an envelope and post it using the class the customer chose. Then you update the order status in the dashboard.Updating the status matters, because it starts the payment clock. Marking the order as delivered is the moment the customer is asked to confirm the job. If you add tracking details for a tracked service, the customer can follow the letter too.Orders that are paid but not yet delivered show as pending in your earnings. Once they are delivered, they count as earned.

Step 3: the payment becomes eligible for release

There are two ways a payment becomes eligible for release.
  1. The customer accepts the completed job. The payment is eligible straight away.
  2. The customer does nothing. The payment becomes eligible for release after 5 working days.
The five working days start from the day you mark the order as delivered. A working day is Monday to Friday, so a weekend does not count towards the five.Eligible for release does not mean the money is in your bank yet. It means the money has moved into your account balance with us, ready to be paid out.

Step 4: the monthly payout

Payouts are made once a month. Everything that has reached your balance is paid out to your registered UK bank account. We use Stripe to process payments and send payouts securely, so you will need to give us your UK bank details when you set up your shop.Because payouts are monthly, an order you finish early in the month and an order you finish at the end of the month can reach your bank at different times. The release rules above decide when each order reaches your balance. The monthly payout then collects whatever is in the balance. Your payout also depends on your shop's status, so keep your bank details and account information up to date.

What we charge: the customer pays the fee, not you

LetterAPI charges a 10% platform fee, and the customer pays it. We add it on top of your price at checkout. It is never taken out of your price, so you earn 100% of the price you set for each order.For example, if your price for an order is £10.00, the customer pays £11.00. You earn £10.00 and LetterAPI keeps the £1.00 fee. On a bulk order of 100 letters at £3.50 each, your price is £350.00, the fee is £35.00 and the customer pays £385.00.The fee pays for the platform, the customers we send you and the payment handling. The customer sees the shop price, the platform fee and the total before they pay.When you set your prices, work out your own costs first: printing, envelope and handling, and postage. Then add your margin. The margin calculator in your shop dashboard does the sums for you, and because the customer pays the fee, it does not reduce your margin.

Guaranteed fulfilment orders

Some customers want to be certain that every letter in a large order goes out on time. For them we offer guaranteed fulfilment. It costs the customer a flat £25 extra per order, and in return we promise to deliver the whole order. If we can't, the £25 is refunded.These orders go to a shop managed by LetterAPI, not to one print shop. We then share the letters between our partner shops by hand, based on each shop's availability and capacity. That way every letter is fulfilled, even when one shop could not handle the whole order on its own.What this means for you:
  • You may be offered part of a guaranteed order. We match the work to the daily print and post capacity you told us about when you applied.
  • You are paid in the same way as any other order: once the order is delivered, in your monthly payout. What you earn per letter is normally your own listed price. It is shown on each order, and in the email we send when we hand letters to you.
  • The £25 guarantee fee is paid by the customer to LetterAPI. It is never taken out of what you earn.
  • Because we promise delivery, the posting dates matter more on these orders. Keep your order statuses up to date, and tell us early if you cannot meet a date.

What happens if something goes wrong

Most orders go through with no problems. Sometimes a letter is lost, a customer says it never arrived, or there is a complaint about print quality. When that happens, LetterAPI looks at all the evidence from both sides. That includes tracking, status updates, photos and messages.If the evidence does not clearly point to one side, the money is usually split 50/50 between you and the customer. The clearer your records, the better. Keep the order status up to date, add tracking where you can, and reply quickly if we ask you a question.Our Terms of Service also say we may withhold or set off amounts for refunds, chargebacks and customer claims, and may hold a payout while we look into a problem. We only do this when we have to.

Common questions

How big can orders be? Anywhere from a single page to around 1000 pages in one order. When you apply, you tell us how many pages you can print and how many orders you can post each day, so you are only sent work you can handle. Starting with a small batch is fine.Do I pay for postage up front? No. The customer pays for postage as part of your price, so it is included in the overall payment.When do the five working days start? When you mark the order as delivered.What is guaranteed fulfilment? An option customers can add to a bulk order for £25. We share the letters between partner shops based on their availability and capacity, and we guarantee delivery or refund the £25.How often do I get paid? Once a month, to your registered UK bank account, through Stripe.Is there a fee? There is a 10% platform fee, but the customer pays it on top of your price. Nothing is deducted from what you earn.

Ready to join?

If this sounds fair, you can apply to become a LetterAPI print shop from your dashboard. The application asks about your daily print and post capacity and confirms that you understand these payment terms. If you have questions before you apply, get in touch and we will answer them.Photo by Rifki Kurniawan on Unsplash.
LetterAPIPrint and post letters in the UK, from one letter to thousands.
© 2026 LetterAPI. All rights reserved.