How Cleared works
Cleared combines a billing dashboard with on-chain USDC settlement. You create an invoice, give the customer a payment link, and track the result in your dashboard.
Your account and invoice#
Merchant onboarding creates a Safe smart account controlled by your wallet. The dashboard uses it to issue invoices and receive payments. Optional delegated signing can authorize specific invoice operations without asking you to sign each one. It does not replace Safe ownership. See security.
Each invoice has an on-chain record containing its amount, token, due date, and status, plus an invoice NFT representing ownership of the receivable. The NFT is created at issuance, so its existence alone is not proof of payment.
Settlement pays the current invoice NFT owner after fees. In the ordinary dashboard flow, that is the merchant's Safe. If the NFT has been transferred outside the dashboard, its new owner receives the net payment.
Invoice lifecycle#
| Status | Meaning | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Issued | The invoice exists and awaits payment. | It can be paid or canceled. |
| Paid | Settlement succeeded on-chain. | Terminal. It cannot be paid again or canceled. |
| Canceled | Cancellation succeeded on-chain. | Terminal. It cannot be paid or reopened. |
An overdue invoice is still Issued. The due date does not automatically cancel it or prevent payment. Payment settles the full invoice amount; the current flow does not support partial payments.
“Pending” describes a transaction awaiting confirmation, not a fourth invoice status. A request accepted by the app is not yet a confirmed issuance, payment, or cancellation.
Payment flow#
- The customer opens the complete share link and reviews the invoice details.
- The page checks those details against the invoice's on-chain metadata hash.
- The customer connects a compatible wallet with USDC on the required network and approves the payment prompts.
- Settlement transfers the fee and net payment in one transaction and changes the invoice to Paid.
- The payment page shows confirmation; dashboard records update as chain data becomes available.
Confirmation time depends on the network and services involved. External wallets pay gas in ETH. A supported embedded-wallet flow can use sponsored gas when available. See Pay an invoice for requirements.
Invoice details and access#
Business and customer details are encrypted before storage on IPFS. Cleared validates share-link tokens and decrypts the details on the server. A valid link lets its holder view those details without connecting a wallet.
Encryption does not hide the public invoice amount, addresses, status, or token transfers. Read security and privacy before sharing sensitive billing information.
What to do next#
- Issue an invoice and share it.
- Review fees and manage your invoices.
- Check known limitations. Private payments, customer-facing webhooks, bulk and recurring invoicing, and fiat settlement are planned or proposed work, not steps in this billing flow.