# Creator payments

Payments record the money you owe or have paid a creator. Each payment can optionally be tied to a specific brief so you can attribute spend to deliverables.

## Creating a payment

From the API or upcoming payments tab on the creator detail page, supply:

- `creatorId` (required)
- `briefId` (optional — link to the brief that triggered the payment)
- `amountCents` (required)
- `currency` (defaults to USD)
- `externalRef` (optional — your Stripe / PayPal / wire transfer reference)

Payments are created in `PENDING` status.

## Marking a payment paid

Use the **Mark paid** action (or call the `markPaid` tRPC mutation). This sets `status=PAID`, stamps `paidAt`, and stores any `externalRef` you provide.

## Totals and reporting

The creator detail page header shows total `PAID` cents to date. Cancel a payment by setting status to `CANCELED`.

For deeper ROAS analysis, join paid totals against the engagement totals on linked deliverables — both are available via the tRPC API for use in custom reports.