GetYourGuide Payment in Progress?

First things first: don't panic

You have opened the GetYourGuide Supplier Portal, found your invoice and there it is:

Two days later, still there.

Five days later, still there.

By day seven you are starting to wonder whether the status has rented the place.

The reassuring bit is that Payment in Progress is a normal GetYourGuide invoice status. GetYourGuide says it typically changes to Paid within 2 to 7 business days, depending on the payment method.

So if you have only just seen it appear, there may be absolutely nothing wrong.

If the confusing bit is the Supplier Portal’s Next Payout or Your Balance number rather than the payment status itself, see our Bookings for Payout guide.

Official guidance: GetYourGuide, Understanding Invoice and Payment Confirmation Statuses.

What does GetYourGuide Payment in Progress actually mean?

GetYourGuide separates the invoice status from the payment confirmation.

When the invoice says Payment in Progress, the invoice is already available for download. The payment process, however, has not yet reached the point where GetYourGuide marks that invoice as Paid.

Once the invoice becomes Paid, GetYourGuide says the corresponding payment confirmation is available.

That distinction matters because it stops us mixing up three different stages:

Three stages. Three slightly different jobs. One surprisingly efficient way to make a simple bank payment feel like a detective novel.

How long is Payment in Progress normal?

According to GetYourGuide's current supplier guidance, the status typically updates to Paid within 2 to 7 business days.

The important words there are business days.

Weekends and holidays are wonderfully capable of making three calendar days look like one working day, usually when you most want the opposite.

GetYourGuide also runs payments on a schedule:

• Monthly suppliers: payment is processed on the 5th business day of the month.
• Bi-weekly suppliers: payments are processed around the 5th and 20th, or the next business day when those dates fall on a weekend or holiday.

So the sensible question is not simply, “How many days have I been staring at this?”

It is, “How many business days have passed, and am I still inside the normal payment cycle?”

Official guidance: GetYourGuide, Monthly vs. bi-weekly payment cycles with payment timeline.

What I'd do on day 1, day 5 and after day 7

Day 1 or 2

Mostly, I would leave it alone.

Make sure the invoice looks correct, check that your payment details are still confirmed, then go and do something more rewarding. Guiding people up a mountain. Making coffee. Alphabetising your dry bags. Whatever brings joy.

Around day 3 to 7

Still within the normal range.

This is a good point to check your Finance section, payment method, tax/payment details and any account notifications. If GetYourGuide is waiting for you to confirm something, you would rather discover that on day four than day fourteen.

After 7 business days

Now I would start investigating properly.

If the invoice is still Payment in Progress after the normal window and your details appear correct, GetYourGuide's own guidance says payment eligibility issues can keep an invoice sitting in this status.

That is the point where checking the specific reasons below becomes worthwhile.

1. Check your payment details

This is gloriously boring, which makes it an excellent place to start.

GetYourGuide says suppliers need valid payment details before funds can be sent. In the Supplier Portal, go to Finance → Payment & tax details → Payment method and check that the payment data status is confirmed.

If you recently changed payment details, look for any confirmation request from GetYourGuide as well.

A tiny unchecked box can hold up a surprisingly large amount of money. Computers enjoy this sort of thing.

Official guidance: GetYourGuide, How to Troubleshoot a Missing Payment.

2. Check required account documentation

GetYourGuide also says mandatory company and finance information can block payments when it is incomplete.

Have a look for warnings or requests inside your account, particularly under Company profile and Finance.

If the portal is asking for something, give it the thing.

This is not profound financial wisdom, admittedly. But it is surprisingly effective.

3. Is the invoice negative?

This is an important exception.

GetYourGuide says that if an invoice amount is negative, it can remain at Payment in Progress until that debt is offset by other positive invoices. It can then move to Paid by Credit Note.

So if your invoice is negative, waiting for it to behave like a normal positive payout invoice will lead to quite a lot of unnecessary staring.

Check the amount and the bookings, reversals or adjustments behind it.

If the negative amount is connected to a cancellation, our GetYourGuide cancellation deduction guide explains the cancellation and reversal side in more detail.

4. Check the bank-transfer threshold

If you are paid by bank transfer, GetYourGuide currently says the payable amount needs to exceed the equivalent of €50 before it is released.

Smaller payable amounts can roll forward and join later invoices until the threshold is exceeded.

So a small amount may not be “stuck” in the dramatic sense. It may simply be waiting for reinforcements.

The threshold does not apply to PayPal.

Official guidance: GetYourGuide, Navigating Invoice and Payment Confirmation in Supplier Portal.

What happens when the status changes to Paid?

This is the bit we like.

GetYourGuide says a Paid invoice has been paid and a payment confirmation is available.

The payment confirmation reference normally begins with GPS- or GS-. GetYourGuide says it only becomes available after a successful response from PayPal or its bank confirming the validity of the transfer.

But “Paid” does not necessarily mean the money is already sitting in your bank account wearing slippers.

GetYourGuide says bank transfers can take additional time to arrive after the payment is issued. Its payment-cycle guidance says bank transfers can take up to the relevant full payment window, while PayPal is generally much quicker.

Payment confirmation exists? Now the question changes

Once you have the payment confirmation, the original “Payment in Progress” problem is effectively finished.

Now you are asking one of two different questions:

• No money arrived: check the bank-arrival window and destination payment details.
• Money arrived but the amount is different: compare the invoice, payment confirmation and bank amount.

If the amount is lower than expected, use our payout lower than expected guide.

If the invoice and payment confirmation themselves do not match, use the invoice/payment mismatch guide.

Different problem. Different clue. Same cup of coffee.

Where OTA Ninja fits

This is another page where I do not want to tell you to throw $9 at OTA Ninja too early.

If the invoice is still only Payment in Progress and there is no payment confirmation, there is not yet a completed payout for OTA Ninja to reconcile.

First check the status, payment details, account documentation, threshold and normal timing.

Once the payment confirmation exists, though, the useful numbers are finally on the table.

OTA Ninja can then compare your GetYourGuide invoice Excel file, payment confirmation Excel file and the amount that reached your bank. The payment confirmation PDF can be added as an optional cross-check.

That is when the little ninja stops being decorative and starts earning his keep.

When I'd contact GetYourGuide Supplier Support

I would contact support when the invoice has stayed at Payment in Progress beyond the normal 2 to 7 business-day range and the obvious account checks look fine.

Before you write, have these ready:

• Your Supplier ID
• The GIS invoice number
• The invoice date and amount
• How many business days it has been in Payment in Progress
• Confirmation that your payment details are showing as confirmed
• Any account warning or documentation message you can see

That is much easier for support to investigate than:

A deeply relatable message.

Perhaps not our finest evidence pack.

My simple Payment in Progress checklist

1. Count business days, not calendar days.
2. If you are still inside 2 to 7 business days, give the normal process time to finish.
3. Check Finance → Payment & tax details and confirm your payment method is validated.
4. Check for mandatory documentation or account warnings.
5. If the invoice is negative, check whether it needs to be offset by positive invoices.
6. If you use bank transfer, check whether the payable amount is above the €50 threshold.
7. Once the status becomes Paid, look for the GPS/GS payment confirmation.
8. If Paid but no money arrives, move to the missing-payment checks.
9. If the payment arrives but the numbers are wrong, reconcile the actual files.

That is the whole little journey.

Payment in Progress is usually just a stage.

Occasionally it is a clue.

The trick is knowing when it has stopped being one and started being the other.