The start date decides when accrual begins — not which day you get billed. The billing day comes from the charge schedule, and the first charge lands at the first schedule boundary after the start date.
Setting a start date does not move your billing day.
What the start date does
Nothing earned before the start date counts toward the split. This is the control you use when a creator joins with an existing platform balance you should not take a cut of.
What it does not do
It does not set the billing day. Weekly and bi-weekly splits always bill on Mondays regardless of which day you choose. Semi-monthly always bills the 1st and 16th.
When the first charge lands
At the first boundary after the start date:
Schedule | Start date | First charge |
Semi-monthly | 1 August | 16 August |
Semi-monthly | 20 August | 1 September |
Weekly | Monday 4 August | Monday 11 August |
Monthly | 10 August | 1 September |
The first period is always a full one. A split never charges the instant it starts.
Choosing a start date
Creator new to your agency with money already on the platform: set the start date far enough ahead that the old balance clears first.
Creator moving from manual invoicing: set it to the day after the last period you invoiced by hand, so nothing is billed twice.
Creator starting fresh: today is fine.
Changing it later
The start date is editable after creation, but on an active split it becomes a change request the other party approves. See How do I edit a split?.
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