A shared vocabulary makes contractor-payment workflows easier to design and audit. These definitions describe how Kelvaro uses common operational terms; legal and tax terms should still be interpreted using the rules that apply to the specific situation.
Reviewed August 27, 2026
Operational terms describe workflow states and records. Tax and classification terms are summarized for orientation and should be read alongside current authoritative guidance when a legal determination matters.
A contractor payment amount that an authorized reviewer has approved before the payout is submitted.
The connection between a contractor and the job, event, project, shift, route, charter, or other unit of work they are expected to perform.
The process of establishing the contractor record and completing the documentation and payout setup needed before work or payment.
A worker or business engaged outside an employee relationship when the applicable legal tests support that classification. A 1099 or contractor agreement alone does not determine status.
Assigning contractor and other costs to the job, event, project, or client that generated them so planned and actual economics can be compared.
A payment that requires manual attention because expected information does not agree or is incomplete, such as a missing work record, changed rate, duplicate risk, or failed payout.
Matching the approved payment to the submitted payout, final payment status, payment reference, job attribution, and accounting record.
The state of a payout after approval, such as submitted, processing, completed, failed, returned, or canceled depending on the payment rail.
A workforce model where the contractors or crew assigned to each job, event, project, tour, charter, or production can change from one engagement to the next.
IRS Form W-9, commonly used by a US person to provide a taxpayer identification number and certifications to a requester.
An IRS form a foreign individual may use to establish foreign status and, where applicable, claim treaty benefits.
An IRS form a foreign entity may use to document foreign status and relevant chapter 3 or chapter 4 classifications.
The operational state of having contractor identity, documentation, and year-to-date payment records organized enough to support year-end information-reporting review.
A US information return used to report certain nonemployee compensation when the applicable reporting rules and thresholds are met.