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How Northset works.

First orders are prepaid by invoice; this page shows on-chain settlement, available on request.

A valid proof in time pays the worker; otherwise payment and bond go to the buyer.

The settlement lineSide elevation of the settlement line. Payment, the check, the terms, and the worker's bond are added to each task at the first three stations. One task's proof passes the check, so it leaves by the worker's exit: payment minus the fee, plus the bond; the fee stays in the contract. The other task has no valid proof, reaches the deadline at the end of the belt, and the time lock sends its payment and bond to the buyer.
The settlement lineSide elevation of the settlement line. Payment, the check, the terms, and the worker's bond are added to each task at the first three stations. One task's proof passes the check, so it leaves by the worker's exit: payment minus the fee, plus the bond; the fee stays in the contract. The other task has no valid proof, reaches the deadline at the end of the belt, and the time lock sends its payment and bond to the buyer.
Fig. 1 — The settlement line

Two tasks: one passes the check and pays the worker; the other misses the deadline, and the time lock pays the buyer.

The check decides. The money moves.

  1. Lock

    The buyer locks the payment and fixes the check, in one step.

  2. Pick

    The buyer picks a worker. Price, bond, fee, and time to finish are fixed.

  3. Start

    The worker posts the bond, and the deadline clock starts.

  4. Check

    The agreed check tests the picked worker's proof: pass or fail.

  5. Pay

    A pass pays the worker. After the deadline, the time lock pays the buyer.

No judges. No juries. Just the check.

What the check acceptsThree keys enter, attempt to open their locks, and withdraw together. The wrong task leaves its task pin across the shear line. The failed check leaves its checker engaged. Both bolts stay in their strikes. Only the passing proof lines up both pins and retracts the checker, letting its bolt slide open and return before the key withdraws.
What the check acceptsThree keys enter, attempt to open their locks, and withdraw together. The wrong task leaves its task pin across the shear line. The failed check leaves its checker engaged. Both bolts stay in their strikes. Only the passing proof lines up both pins and retracts the checker, letting its bolt slide open and return before the key withdraws.
Fig. 2 — What the check accepts

If a program can't decide it, Northset doesn't settle it. That narrowness is the guarantee.

If a program can check it, Northset can settle it.

Verified numbers

Calculations that settle with a proof, not an argument.

AI-written code

Pay for a patch only when your tests and build pass.

Platforms that farm out work

Add pay-on-proof settlement without building your own escrow.

Bounties and one-off jobs

Post the failing check. Pay only when it passes.

Bring one task and its check. We confirm it fits before anything is locked.

Common questions

Who holds the money?

For first orders, Northset holds the prepayment. The order form fixes, item by item, what is earned and what is refunded. When a buyer settles on chain, a public contract neither side controls holds the money and releases it on proof.

What if the check fails?

Nothing moves. A failed check can't settle, and the worker can try again until the deadline. If no valid proof arrives by then, anyone can send the payment and the bond to the buyer, with no fee.

What does the check accept?

A proof made for this task and its locked input, showing that the check fixed with the payment passed. A matching task alone never pays, and some checks also require the proof to be made after the worker started.

What happens before work starts?

Until a worker is picked, the buyer can take the payment back, and after the pick deadline anyone can send it back. Picking a worker fixes the price, the bond, the fee, and how long the worker has to finish, and anything locked above the price goes straight back to the buyer. The buyer can cancel a pick until the worker starts; if the worker never starts, anyone can cancel it once the start window closes, and the task reopens.

Can anyone stop a payout?

No. Pausing the contract stops new tasks, picks, and starts, but never a proof or the time lock. No one, Northset included, can bypass the contract's payout rules. The fee stays in the contract until Northset collects it, and every ending is written to the public record.

Why a blockchain?

On chain, a public contract neither side controls holds the money and releases it on proof, so no company decides the payout.

Why not just CI and an invoice?

Your CI can tell you the tests passed. It can't make payment depend on the result. With Northset, the fee is earned item by item against a check agreed before the work starts.

Does my code leave my repo?

The worker you pick runs the job in their own environment — like any contractor you hire. The public chain stores only fingerprints (hashes), never your code.

What does it cost?

Each order has a fixed scope and fee, agreed before the work starts. First orders are prepaid by invoice in CAD or USD, and no wallet is needed. The fee is earned item by item, and the rest is refunded.

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