Frequently asked questions.

When you fund a deal, the money is collected by Razorpay, an RBI-regulated payment aggregator, and held in a designated escrow account.

It does not enter Pakka’s own bank account. Pakka’s ledger only records the state of the deal - the actual funds are held by the payment partner until release conditions are met.

No. Funds are locked the moment they enter escrow. The freelancer cannot withdraw them until:

• The buyer approves the milestone, or
• The agreed cure period passes without an objection from the buyer, or
• A dispute is resolved in the freelancer’s favour.

Even Pakka cannot release funds outside these rules - the conditions are written into the contract and enforced by the escrow logic.

Once a milestone is approved or auto-released after the cure period, the buyer cannot reverse it. Before that point, a buyer can cancel only if both sides agree, or if the freelancer fails to deliver and a dispute resolves accordingly.

Frivolous chargebacks are protected against by the signed contract, the WhatsApp message log, and the milestone-approval evidence trail - all of which Pakka surfaces on demand.

Because the funds are held with our regulated payment partner and not Pakka itself, they are not part of Pakka’s assets. In the event Pakka discontinues service, escrowed funds are returned to the original payer (less anything already released to the freelancer for completed work).

Every deal also has a downloadable PDF contract and signed evidence pack - even without Pakka, you keep the legal basis to enforce or refund the deal.

Escrow is a neutral holding account. The buyer pays in before work starts. The money waits there. The freelancer can see it’s funded but can’t touch it. The money is released to the freelancer only when the buyer says “yes, this work is approved” - or after the agreed cure window passes without objection.

It removes the “I’ll pay after you deliver” vs “I’ll deliver after you pay” standoff.

A milestone is a piece of work with its own price and approval moment. A ₹50,000 website deal might have two milestones: ₹20,000 on design approval, ₹30,000 on final delivery. Each milestone is funded, held, and released independently.

Milestones are agreed before the deal starts - they’re part of the signed contract.

For each milestone, money releases when one of these happens:

• The buyer explicitly approves the milestone in WhatsApp.
• The freelancer marks the milestone delivered, and the buyer doesn’t object within the agreed cure period (typically 48–72 hours).
• A dispute is opened and resolved in the freelancer’s favour.

Released funds are paid out via UPI / bank transfer to the freelancer’s registered account, usually within 24 hours.

The cure period is the window after a milestone is marked delivered, during which the buyer can review the work and either approve, request a revision, or raise a dispute. It’s usually 48–72 hours and is set in the contract before the deal starts.

If nothing is raised by the end of the cure period, the milestone auto-releases. This protects freelancers from clients who simply go silent after delivery.

If the deadline passes without delivery, the buyer can raise a dispute from WhatsApp. The funds stay frozen in escrow - they do not auto-release without delivery.

Pakka contacts the freelancer for a response. If the freelancer has stopped responding entirely, the funds are refunded to the buyer, less any milestones already approved.

Within the cure period, you can either request specific revisions (in which case the milestone goes back to “in progress”) or raise a dispute. Once a dispute is raised, the money does not release automatically - it requires resolution between both sides or by Pakka’s mediation.

You’ll be asked to share specifically what was missing or wrong, with the contract clauses you’re relying on.

Pakka does not arbitrarily pick a winner. Resolution is driven by the evidence:

• The signed contract - what was actually agreed
• The WhatsApp message log - what was said and when
• Delivered files / proof-of-work uploaded against each milestone
• Approval or objection records

For most disputes, Pakka surfaces this evidence to both sides and proposes a fair split (e.g. 60/40 if work was partially delivered). Both parties can accept the proposed resolution.

For deals above ₹5,00,000, Pakka’s legal counsel (Afham Kavil, advocate) can review and prepare a formal legal notice on your behalf, citing the breached contract clauses.

If the matter still doesn’t resolve, the contract’s arbitration clause kicks in: disputes are referred to arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Funds remain frozen in escrow throughout.

Most disputes resolve within 3–7 days by mediation, because the evidence is already complete and visible to both sides. Disputes that go to legal notice or arbitration take longer - but the funds remain protected throughout.

Yes. Pakka contracts are formal agreements under the Indian Contract Act, 1872. They identify both parties, define scope and consideration (price), and are signed by both sides - meeting all elements of a valid contract.

The PDF version of the contract is generated, hash-stamped (SHA-256), and downloadable by either party at any time.

Yes. Electronic signatures are recognised under the Information Technology Act, 2000, specifically Section 10A (validity of contracts formed through electronic means) and Section 5 (legal recognition of electronic signatures).

Pakka captures signing via WhatsApp identity (verified phone number + OTP) and on the web at /sign, with timestamp and IP for evidentiary integrity.

The contract’s default jurisdiction clause sits with courts in Kerala, India. For specific deals, you can mutually agree to a different jurisdiction at contract creation time - for example, if both parties prefer the buyer’s state.

Disputes are first referred to arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, before any court action.

At launch, Pakka supports India-to-India deals only - both parties must have an Indian bank account / UPI for escrow and payout to function.

International deals (cross-border invoicing, FEMA compliance) are on the post-launch roadmap.

Pakka does not collect or remit GST on your behalf. Each freelancer remains responsible for their own GST registration and filing as applicable to their turnover. Pakka generates payout statements you can use for your own accounting.

For TDS, payouts above the threshold are processed gross - the buyer is responsible for any TDS deduction obligations under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Pricing is published at pakkaai.com#pricing. The headline: a flat 2.5% protection fee, paid by the client on top of the quoted amount. The freelancer always receives the full price they quoted - no platform deduction on their side. Payment-gateway charges are absorbed inside that 2.5%, so there’s no separate Razorpay fee or surprise deduction either. No monthly subscription, no setup fee, no minimums. Example: freelancer quotes ₹50,000, client funds ₹51,250 into escrow, freelancer receives ₹50,000 on approval, Pakka keeps ₹1,250.

Message the Pakka WhatsApp number with your deal - describe what you’re building, the price, the deadline. Pakka turns it into a contract draft within seconds, both sides review and approve, the buyer funds escrow, work begins.

The fastest path right now: email us and we’ll onboard you to the WhatsApp number directly.

Pakka AI is built by Riza Mohamed T (founder) and Adv. Afham Kavil (legal co-founder, practising advocate). Based in Kerala, India.

Email hi@pakkaai.com - we read everything and reply quickly, especially during launch. If your question is common, we’ll add it to this page.