Commissions and waitlists
SievePage gives every page the tools to run commissions in the open.
How commission pages work
A commission page is a regular page you've set up to track commissions. Nothing special to switch on. The workflow is:
- Create a page named something like Commissions Q3 2026
- Set up columns for your workflow: Open Slots, Queued, In Progress, Delivered
- Pages are public by default
Each card in your Queued or In Progress column represents one commission. You can add the client's username, the type of piece, and any relevant reference files. For adding, renaming, and styling columns, see Managing pages.
Two ways a board can behave
Every board works in one of two modes, and you switch between them from the status row at the top.
Commission tracker (default)
Every page starts here, with the commission tools switched on:
- Availability status: Open / Waitlist / Closed
- Progress stage on each card (Sketch to Done)
- Payment and client notes per card, visible to clients by default
- Card kind: Commission or Art trade
tap a chip to change it, right on the tile
Not every page needs them. You can turn the commission tools off two ways:
- The whole page: open the options menu in the status row and flip the Commissions switch off. The status, Progress badges, and payment markers disappear, and cards lose their Commission chip.
- One card: open that card's ⋯ menu and pick Not a commission. That one card drops its commission bits.
Waitlist
Turn on Waitlist mode when a page is just about who's in line, not what stage each piece is at:
- The board reads as a clean list of who's waiting.
- Work type becomes Request. A waitlist card is someone in line, not a piece you're working on.
- Each card's ⋯ menu can take a single card out of the mode: Not a commission on a commission board, or Not a waitlist entry on a waitlist board. That card drops its Commission chip.
- Your other private notes are hidden until you switch back to the full commission tracker.
Waitlist mode is not the same as the "Waitlist" status. The status (further down) just tells visitors you're full but still taking requests. Waitlist mode changes how the whole board looks.
Your commission status
Set your availability with one click so visitors know whether you're taking work. In the status row at the top of your page, choose:
- Open: you're accepting commissions
- Waitlist: you're full but taking waitlist requests
- Closed: you're not taking work right now
Only you can change it. Visitors just see the current state as a colored dot and label, and it updates the moment you switch. Change it any time your availability shifts.
Your timezone, language, and "last updated"
The same status row gives visitors a little context, shown as something like EN ┊ Updated 3 days ago:
- Language tells clients which language you work in.
- Last updated tells them how active your page is, and the exact time a visitor sees when they hover it follows your timezone. Dates read correctly for you.
Your timezone and language come from your account, not a single page. They follow you everywhere your work appears. Set them in Account settings, reached from the account menu in the app. (Commission status, by contrast, is set per page.)
Opening and closing slots
Plenty of creators also keep a dedicated column like Open Slots to make their availability extra visible:
- Open slots: have visible cards in the Open Slots column
- Closed: delete those placeholder cards or delete the column entirely
Some creators rename the page itself to include status: "Commissions OPEN" or "Commissions CLOSED, check back in October."
What a commission card holds
Open a card to edit it and you'll find a Commission row of chips: Progress, Payment, Handle, Work type, Price. They start empty. Tap one to fill it in:
- Progress: the stage the piece is at (Sketch, Line, Color, Render, Done). More below.
- Payment: unpaid, deposit, or paid. Commission cards only. More below.
- Handle, Work type, Price: your client record, for your archive and client search. Price is commission cards only.
Commission or art trade
Set a card type of Commission or Art trade inside the editor. Commission is the default. Switch a card to Art trade for a piece you're swapping and the Payment and Price chips disappear. Switch back to Commission any time for Payment and Price chips.
The regular card fields still work, including:
- Card title and description: the piece, references, and any notes.
- Labels: tag anything the commission fields don't cover, like Rush or a client's platform. See Managing pages for creating labels.
What only you see, and what clients see
Every field you set shows to clients by default. Your commission page reads at a glance. Turn any single field off whenever you'd rather keep it to yourself.
- Progress, Payment, Handle, and Work type each get their own Clients can see toggle, on by default. Untick it per field, per card, to keep that one private.
- Price is always private. It's your own note of what you charged, for your records and your archive search.
- Card title and description are public, same as any card. Keep anything sensitive in the commission fields instead.
Progress on each card
A piece can show where it's at without you moving it between columns. Open the card to edit it, tap the Progress chip, and pick a stage:
- Sketch, Line, Color, Render, Done
Only you can set it, and you can clear it any time. The stage shows up as a little badge on the card. Clients watching their piece can see it move from Sketch to Done. Untick its Clients can see toggle to keep it to yourself.
You can also click the Progress chip right on the card's tile on the board, pick a new stage from the dropdown menu, or hit Clear. Only you see the chip as clickable.
Tracking payment
Open the card to edit it, tap the Payment chip, and set its state with one tap. Art trade cards skip this chip entirely; see Commission or art trade.
- Unpaid: no payment received yet
- Deposit: a deposit is in, the balance is still due
- Paid: paid in full
Tap the active state again to clear it. If a card still owes money past its due date, SievePage flags it as Overdue for you automatically. On your own board, unpaid cards get a little Owed marker for outstanding work, visible only to you. The payment state shows to clients by default; untick Clients can see to keep it private.
Click the Payment chip on the card's tile on the board to set it without having to open the card. Same three states plus Clear.
This tracks the payment status only, not card numbers or invoices. Keep sensitive payment details out of public cards as always. 💖
The archive
When a piece is done, archive it instead of leaving it on the board. Open the card's ⋯ menu and choose Archive, and the card moves off your active board into your page's archive. Changed your mind? Open it from the archive and unarchive it to send it back to the board.
Your archive is private to you. Visitors only ever see your live board, never archived cards.
Open the archive from the Page menu in the status row to browse everything you've finished:
- Grouped by year, newest first.
- Search your finished work, and filter by work type or year.
- A Clients list of everyone you've worked with.
Searching your finished work by client
Once you've done a few hundred pieces, "have I worked with this client before?" gets hard to answer from memory. Fill in a card's Handle, Work type, and Price chips (see What a commission card holds), and your archive's Clients list picks them up automatically: every handle you've worked with, with a count of pieces, filterable by work type. Select a handle to see just their commissions.
Wrapping up finished work
As pieces get delivered, archive them instead of letting the board fill up, and there's no need to delete the page or start a fresh one each round.
Between batches, set your commission status to Closed so visitors know you're not taking work, then switch back to Open when you reopen.