A guide's base pay comes from two things: the payout amount you set for that guide on that experience, and the client count used to look it up. This article covers the client count. For setting the amounts themselves, see How to Set Up Guide Payout Logic.
Where the payout amounts come from
Payout amounts are set per guide, per experience, under Manage payout on a guide's record. That is the figure the system pays out — if a guide's payment looks wrong, check there first.
Setting rates and eligibility: How to Set Up Guide Payout Logic
Different amounts by group size: How to manage guide payouts by group size
Where to find the client count setting
Go to Guide Payments in the left sidebar.
Click Payment settings in the top-right corner.
Under Default client count to calculate guide base payout, choose an option.
Click Save.
Your two options
Unit client count
Base pay is calculated from the number of clients assigned to the guide on the booking.
Use this when guide reports aren't how you handle payroll — either your guides don't submit them, or you want client counts to stay with the office. The count comes from the booking, so the payout is settled as soon as guides are assigned and doesn't depend on a report being submitted.
If a booking has four clients split between two guides, each guide's payout is based on the two clients assigned to them.
Submitted client count in guide report
Base pay is calculated from the number of clients the guide selected on their submitted guide report. The payout reflects who was actually guided on the day, including anyone the guide added to the report who wasn't on the original booking.
Use this when your guides submit reports and you want pay to follow what they recorded.
When you select this option, a toggle appears beneath it — Use booking counts before guide report is submitted:
On — the booking's client count is used until the report is submitted, so the payment is ready and you can pay the guide without waiting for the report.
Off — the payout can't be calculated until the report is in. The payment stays greyed out until then, and a guide who is slow with report holds up their own payment.
When a report arrives later
Until you request a payment, the amount isn't fixed — it's worked out from whichever count applies at that moment. If the fallback prices a trip at four clients and the report later comes in at six, the payment updates to the six-client rate on its own. This is the same way amounts shift when you edit a booking before paying.
Once the payment is requested, the amount is captured and won't change on its own. What you can do depends on how far along it is:
Scheduled, not yet processing — cancel the payment, confirm the report has come in, then request it again. The new request prices from the current count. The cancelled payment keeps its original amount and stays cancelled. See Canceling a Guide Payment.
Already processing or paid — cancelling is no longer available. A manual payment can still be edited, so you can add an adjustment. An automatic payment can't be edited; the difference has to go out as a separate payment.
Check Guide Payments → Payment Batches to see whether a payment has started processing.
Which one to choose
Choose Unit client count if… | Choose Submitted client count if… |
Guide reports aren't how you track client counts | Guides submit reports and you want pay to follow them |
Your bookings are accurate and rarely change on the day | Group sizes often change on the day — no-shows, walk-ups, extra guests |
You want client counts to stay with the office | You want pay to match exactly who was on the water |
Note: This setting only affects how base pay is calculated. Guide reports still record who was guided either way, and they remain the source for trip counts and reporting. On Unit client count, submitting a report won't change the payout.
Working with group-size rates
If you've set payout amounts per group size for a guide, this setting decides which count is used to look up the rate. Set the rates first, then choose which count reads them. See How to manage guide payouts by group size.
If your guide pay doesn't vary by client count, this setting has no practical effect on the amount.
If a guide's pay looks wrong
Work through it in this order:
Check the payout amount set for that guide and experience under Manage payout.
If the amount varies by group size, check which client count your organization is set to use.
Open the payment breakdown to see how the total was reached, including any adjustments or tag-based pay. See How to View the Guide Payment Details Breakdown.
Adjusting an individual payout
Whichever option you choose, you can still change a specific payout by hand. See Changing a Guide Payment Amount.