How Vestly works
You promise a cash bonus that is earned over time. Your technician can log in and see exactly what it is worth today — and what they would leave behind by walking.
Set the terms once
Choose the amount, how long it takes to fully vest, how often it pays out, and whether there is a waiting period before the first payment. Save it as a plan and reuse it for everyone in that role.
Add your people
Add someone by email and they get a link. For a crew that does not reliably check email, hand them a six-character code instead and they set themselves up from it.
They watch it grow
Each person gets their own login showing what has vested, what is still to come, and the exact date of the next amount. You cannot sign in as them and they cannot see anybody else.
You pay it through payroll
When an amount vests, everyone is notified. You pay it the way you pay everything else. Vestly keeps the record.
Who sees what
The same records, two views. This is the part your crew has to believe before the number means anything to them.
What you see
Your whole crew, at a glance
- A. ReyesLead technician$4,489.74
- D. WhitakerTechnician$2,240.76
- M. OkaforApprentice$0.00
Balances, history, and who has read their agreement.
What each of them sees
Only their own
Payable to you now
$2,240.76
Earned so far $2,741.45 · you would leave $500.69 behind today
They cannot see anyone else on the team. You cannot see their password or sign in as them.
A worked example
A $6,000 bonus over 2 years, paying quarterly, with the first payment held back for 6 months. This table is generated by the same engine that runs the product.
The gap between the two lines is the whole mechanism. It is what your technician walks away from by leaving that week — and they can see it.
| When | Vests | Total so far |
|---|---|---|
| Month 6waiting period ends | $1,485.63 | $1,485.63 |
| Month 9 | $755.13 | $2,240.76 |
| Month 12 | $755.13 | $2,995.89 |
| Month 15 | $746.92 | $3,742.81 |
| Month 18 | $746.93 | $4,489.74 |
| Month 21 | $755.13 | $5,244.87 |
| Month 24 | $755.13 | $6,000.00 |
Notice the first row. Value builds from day one, so when the waiting period ends after 6 months, it releases $1,485.63 at once rather than starting from zero. Your technician can see that number climbing during the wait — which is the whole point, because the months before the first payment are when people leave.
The amounts differ by a few dollars from row to row because value is earned by the day, not by the month, and quarters are not all the same length. Nothing is rounded away: the column on the right lands on exactly $6,000, to the cent, every time.
Questions owners ask
- Is this giving away part of my business?
- No. This is a cash bonus, and the agreement states plainly that it is not equity and not an ownership interest. Nobody gets a share of your company, a vote, or a claim on a sale.
- Is this just paying them money they already earned?
- No, and the agreement says so. The bonus is in addition to regular pay. It is not an advance on wages already earned and not a substitute for any wage, overtime, or benefit somebody is otherwise entitled to.
- Does this lock me into employing somebody?
- No. The agreement does not create employment for a fixed term and does not change the at-will nature of the relationship where that applies. Either side can still end the employment as they otherwise could.
- Who handles the taxes?
- You do, the same as any other pay. Vested amounts are paid through normal payroll and are subject to applicable tax withholding, with the employer responsible for reporting and withholding.
- What happens if somebody quits halfway through?
- Anything that vested on or before their last day stays payable. Anything scheduled for a later date does not vest and is not payable. Vestly records both figures on the day you end their employment, so there is a written answer if they ask about it months later.
- What if I get the terms wrong?
- You can correct an enrollment, and the correction is kept as history rather than overwriting what was there. The original terms, the new terms, and your stated reason all stay on the record, which is what makes the record worth trusting.
Vestly provides a record-keeping tool and document templates. It does not provide legal or tax advice. Have the agreement reviewed by your own attorney before you issue it to an employee.