Payment administration for large programs
Pay people responsibly.
One vendor for the hundreds of creators, speakers, and community partners your program pays.
Your procurement team approves us once. We onboard, pay, and support every payee, typically within 7–14 days, in 60+ countries.
PO balance available
$184,250
- InstructorKraków, PL$1,500 Onboarding
- User groupLagos, NG$800 Approved
- Event speakerAustin, US$2,500 Paid
- CreatorSão Paulo, BR$1,200 Paid
Your balance and every payment, live, at any time.
Paid Approved OnboardingThe problem
Your program moves faster than procurement.
Programs that build awareness and adoption pay a lot of people: creators, speakers, educators, community groups, and small agencies. Most of the payments are small, and many cross borders.
Getting each payee through vendor onboarding takes weeks. Standard payment terms add months. Your team ends up chasing paperwork, and the people you depend on wait to get paid.
Time until a payee gets paid
Each payee as your vendor
Through Design Responsibly
Typical, from an approved invoice. As fast as the next day.
How it works
One vendor. Hundreds of payees. Paid in days.
Your company
1 vendor · 1 SOW · 1 PO
Design Responsibly
Onboard · pay · support
Your payees
Hundreds, in 60+ countries
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Approve us once.
Your procurement team sets up Design Responsibly as a single vendor, with one statement of work and one purchase order.
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Fund your program.
Your PO funds a dedicated account for your program, so payees aren’t waiting on your company’s payment terms.
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Approve the work.
Your team approves invoices the way it already works: by email, or in bulk through a shared folder.
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We handle the rest.
We onboard each payee, collect their tax documentation, pay them, and answer their questions.
Your team sees its balance and every payment, live, at any time.
By the numbers
33,900+
payments delivered
$68M+
paid out
6,500+
people and organizations paid
60+
countries
Trusted by multiple teams inside a Fortune 500 technology company. Most found us through each other.
Who we work with
Built for programs that pay the long tail.
Creator and influencer programs
Campaigns, ambassador networks, and sponsored content.
Community and partner programs
Professional associations, user groups, and local organizations.
Speakers and events
Presenters, hosts, livestream talent, and event partners.
Education programs
Instructors, schools, and training partners.
Who we pay
Individuals, one-person studios, agencies, nonprofits, schools, and festivals, in the U.S. and around the world.
A good fit if your program:
- makes hundreds of payments a quarter
- pays many people small amounts
- pays people outside the U.S.
- can’t wait for each payee to clear vendor onboarding
What we handle
The admin leaves your team.
Payee onboarding
We collect each payee’s details, banking information, and tax forms (W-9 or W-8BEN) directly from them. Your team never handles it.
Domestic and international payments
ACH in the U.S. and wire transfers worldwide. Typically within 7–14 days of an approved invoice, and as fast as the next day.
Invoice intake
We log every approved invoice, match it to an onboarded payee, and confirm funds are available before paying.
Year-end 1099s
We prepare and deliver 1099s for eligible U.S. payees. Your team has nothing to file for them.
Budget visibility
A live view of your PO balances and every payment made under them.
Payee support
Every payee can reach a real person with questions about their payment.
Program advice
Planning a new program, or paying someone unusual? We’ll help you structure it before the first payment goes out.
For creators and payees
Getting paid by us
If a client has told you you’ll be paid through Design Responsibly, here’s what to expect:
One-time setup.
You share your details once, using the link your client sends you, and we keep them on file for future work.
Fast payment.
Typically within 7–14 days after your invoice is approved.
Confirmation.
You get an email when your payment is sent.
A real person.
Questions about a payment come to us, not a ticket queue.
FAQ
Questions from procurement and finance.
Is Design Responsibly a software platform?
No. We’re a payment administrator. We do the work instead of giving your team a tool to run.
Do our payees become our vendors?
No. Your company approves one vendor: us. Payees onboard with Design Responsibly.
How fast are payees paid?
Typically within 7–14 days of an approved invoice, and as fast as the next day.
What does it cost?
Pricing depends on your program: how many payments you make and where your payees are. You’re paying for a service, not licensing software. Tell us about your program and we’ll give you a quote.
What happens when our PO runs low?
We only pay from funds on deposit for your program. You can watch your balance live, and you open a new PO when you need more.
Can you pay people outside the U.S.?
Yes. We pay people in 60+ countries, by ACH or wire depending on the payee’s bank.
How do you handle taxes?
We collect the right tax form from each payee and issue year-end 1099s for eligible U.S. payees.
How is payee data protected?
Payees submit their banking and tax information directly to us, so it never passes through your team. Access is limited to the people who process payments. During setup, we work through your company’s vendor and security review and can walk your team through how we handle payee data. See our Privacy Policy for details.
About
Small on purpose.
Paying people on clients’ behalf since 2004
Design Responsibly has paid people on its clients’ behalf since 2004. Over the last decade, that work grew into high-volume programs that pay thousands of people a year in dozens of countries.
We’ve stayed boutique by choice. We work with a small number of programs, so every client gets direct access to the people doing the work, and every payee gets someone who answers.
Responsibility
We do what’s right, not what’s easy.
Trust
We protect sensitive data, budgets, and relationships.
Care
Payees are people, not line items.
Precision
Every payment documented, matched, and accounted for.
Partnership
We advise. We don’t just process.
Running a program that pays the long tail?
Tell us how many people you pay and where. We’ll tell you honestly whether we’re the right fit.
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