Introduction
Getting paid by Adsense is a straight forward process. You have a choice of two forms of payment; cheque or EFT (electronic funds transfer).
Cheque
The cheque option is the default option and not the best choice. Cheques are sent in the post from the US and can take a while to arrive in the post. There is the option to send the cheque by secure delivery but you can just choose EFT and pay nothing extra.
Most of the popular banks nationwide will accept the Adsense cheques and pay the money into your account within 5 days (check with your local bank for exact details). This can differ from country to country but from our experience the UK is very fast.
Cheques arrive between 3-5 weeks after your Adsense earnings have been posted on the Adsense payment history page. 1 - 2 weeks if you are using the secured delivery method.
EFT - Electronic Funds Transfer
Electronic funds transfer is the best form of payment. Its much faster than a cheque and you can be assured no ones likely to take a EFT in the post! Theres no extra cost for receiving an EFT payment and they're instant.
Also if you're one of the lucky nations whose banks provide online banking, then it's a piece of cake to check that you have been paid. When setting up the EFT account you will need to complete a test first before you will receive any payments. This test is simply a small deposit into your account from Google. After the desposit you just need to confirm the amount deposited into your Google Adsense account page to activate the EFT account. This process takes between 9-12 days to complete so make sure you set up your account well before the 15th cut off point for payments.
Entering your PIN
Before you can receive any payments you must verify your home address by entering in the PIN number that Google send to your account address. The PIN number is only shipped in the post when you have earned $50 from your Adsense earnings. Beware that the PIN can take a few weeks to arrive, and make sure you don't throw it away because you think its junk!
When do you get paid
One of the most common questions is 'how does the Adsense payment system work'. Its quite simple really:
Google sends out cheques and EFT payments to all publishers who have earned $100 or more. If you have earned less than $100, your earnings will roll over to the next month, until your total earnings meet the $100 threshold. Once you have earned $100 your payment is disbursed within 30 days.
This is the payment timeline:
Last day of the month - "On the last day of each month, our system identifies all accounts that have earned $100 or more in valid user clicks"
First few weeks of the following month after earnings reach $100 - "Within the next few weeks, a 'Payment' line item will be posted to your account's Payment History page (found below the My Account tab) when your payment has been calculated."
After the Payment line item - the payment is sent. The time it takes for the payment to arrive depends on the method of payment you have chosen - "Generally, publishers in the U.S. will receive regular delivery cheques within 1-2 weeks of the mailing date, while publishers outside of the U.S. will typically receive their regular delivery cheque in 2-3 weeks. Secure Delivery will generally arrive in 5-7 days and EFT payments should arrive in your bank account within 2-4 days. If there are any problems with your EFT or cheque, a notice will be posted on your Payment History page. If you haven't received your secure delivery or EFT payment by the 5th of the next month, you can request a reissue by contacting us. Publishers using standard delivery can request a reissue on the 25th."
To put it more simply you can expect to recieve payment between 6-8 weeks after the end of the month when your earnings balance reaches $100.
Holding Payments
If at anytime you prefer not to receive payment, Google can hold your earnings and roll them over (until you decide you'd like to be paid by switching the option back again). Some publishers choose to do this at the end of the tax year or depending on market exchange rates. If for example, its likely that a governmental budget will influence a tax reduction you can receive your payment after the budget takes effect and pay less tax on your next declaration. In our eyes this is a risky business as governments and market trends change like the wind.
Tips and Tricks
1. Reissuing a cheque
If you have not received your cheque then you can contact Google and request a reissue. You will not be able to cash them both in should they arrive. Theres also a huge chance you will get banned for this kind of attempt. If you are having continuous problems with cheques then you should consider EFT as a better alternative.
Try contacting Google at the following page:
Contact Google
2.Changing form of payment
Make sure you change your form of payment before the 15th of the month to ensure your next payment is shipped using the new form. Don't forget that changing to EFT takes about 9 days to confirm so get cracking if its the first week of a new month.
3. Reaching the $100 mark
This is the hardest part for most beginners. We adivse you to read, read and read as many Adsense sites and forums as possible to improve your knowledge of Adsense and designing optimized web sites. It's a slow process to get up and running but once you do, your earnings will double or triple within months.
