Who holds the money during a drone job?

The platform holds funded escrow. Money leaves the poster on award via FPX but is not paid to the pilot until the poster approves each milestone deliverable.

What does DronePilot charge?

A single flat 3% commission on escrow release. There are no listing, bidding or subscription fees, so a pilot receives 97% of every released tranche.

What happens to escrow in a dispute?

Funds freeze while a compliance auditor reviews flight telemetry, uploaded deliverables and the message thread. Approved milestones stay paid; unstarted milestones can be refunded.

Payment protection

How escrow works on DronePilot

Q: Can escrow be split across milestones?

Yes. Larger missions are typically split into mobilisation, capture and processing tranches so cash flow matches field progress without overexposing either side.

Posters never pay for work they haven't approved. Pilots never fly for a client who hasn't committed funds. A flat 3% commission is the only platform charge.

Start a protected job

The four stages

Award and fund

The poster accepts a quote and funds escrow by FPX. Money leaves the poster but is not paid to the pilot yet.

Mission execution

The pilot mobilises with permits in hand and uploads proof at each milestone — flight logs, raw capture, processed deliverables.

Deliverable verification

The poster reviews each milestone. Approval releases that tranche; rejection with reasons sends it back for rework.

Payout

Released funds settle to the pilot's registered bank account, net of the 3% platform commission.

Flat 3% commission

Deducted from the pilot payout on release. Posting jobs, bidding, messaging and permit assessment are free. On an RM 10,000 job the pilot nets RM 9,700.

Milestone holds

Split larger missions into mobilisation, capture and processing tranches so cash flow matches field progress without exposing either party.

Invoices and records

Every funding and release event generates a downloadable record with SSM business details for your accounts and tax filing.

If something goes wrong

Weather windows, equipment failures, rejected deliverables and refused permits all have documented handling rules. Funds stay in escrow until the case is resolved.

Read the dispute process

FAQ