Help Center

How Helpward works, first booking, account setup.

• What is Helpward?

  Helpward is the Human Infrastructure Network — an on-demand marketplace that matches you with verified, background-checked humans for almost any real-world task in the U.S. and Canada.
• Creating your first request

  Pick a service, enter where and when you need it, and submit. The matching engine notifies nearby verified helpers; the first to accept becomes yours.

Cancelling, rescheduling, tracking, disputes.

• Cancelling or rescheduling a booking

  Cancel a pending request for free from /bookings. Once a helper has accepted, cancellation policies depend on how close you are to the scheduled time.
• Setting up a recurring booking

  Schedule a weekly, biweekly, or monthly task once and Helpward materialises the next occurrence as a real booking 48 hours before it's due. Pause, resume, skip a single date, or cancel the whole series any time.
• Bundling multiple tasks in one trip

  Stack up to 5 tasks into a single request and pay one service fee. The helper completes each stop in order and you watch progress live as each item is marked done.
• Saving favorite helpers

  Tap the heart on any helper to save them. Saved helpers live on /favorites with one-tap re-book — the matching engine routes new requests to them first when they're online.

Pricing, fees, refunds, receipts, taxes.

• How Helpward pricing works

  Every service has a published base price. Helpward adds a flat $4.50 service fee. Total is shown before you submit. You're only charged after the task is marked complete.
• Refunds and disputes

  You have a 24-hour window after task completion to open a dispute. Helpward's support team reviews the case and can refund partial or full payment depending on what the evidence shows.

Background checks, insurance, what to do if something goes wrong.

• How Helpward verifies helpers and what's insured

  Every helper passes government-ID verification (Stripe Identity), a background check (Checkr/Triton), and is covered by Helpward's platform insurance — up to $1M per booking.
• What to do if something goes wrong

  For active safety concerns during a task, end the booking and call 911 if needed. For everything else, open a dispute from the booking page or email safety@helpward.com.
• Photo proof of completion

  Helpers attach up to 3 photos when wrapping up a task — the doorstep with the groceries, the receipt, the dry-cleaning ticket. You see them on your booking page before the 24-hour review window closes.

Password, notifications, data export, deletion.

• Managing your notifications

  Open Settings → Notifications to pick which booking, message, receipt, and safety notifications you want by push, email, and SMS.
• Changing your password

  Open Settings → Security and tap Change password. You'll need your current password plus a new one (8–128 characters).
• Downloading or deleting your data

  From Settings → Quick Actions, you can request a full export of your Helpward data, or permanently delete your account. Exports arrive by email within 48 hours.
• Setting up two-factor authentication

  Add a second layer to your sign-in: an authenticator app plus 10 single-use recovery codes. Setup takes 2 minutes. Storing the recovery codes properly is the part that matters.
• Referring friends — give $10, get $10

  Share your unique Helpward code or link. Your friend gets $10 off their first booking; you get $10 in credit when they complete it.
• Saved addresses

  Save the places you book to often — Home, Work, Mom's, the gym — and tap a chip on /new-request to fill the address in one move. Set one as default and it pre-fills every new request automatically.

Becoming a helper, payouts, schedule, taxes.

• Becoming a Helpward helper

  Sign up as a helper, complete ID verification + background check, link a bank for payouts, and once approved you can go online from /provider/active to start accepting tasks.
• Setting your availability

  Use the Schedule tab to tell customers when you're typically available. The hours show on your public profile and shape the 'Available now' badge. You can still go online manually any time.
• How helper payouts work

  Earnings are deposited via Stripe Connect once per week (Tuesday) for the previous Mon–Sun. Tips arrive the same week as the booking. Tax forms are issued in January.
• Featuring your work in your public portfolio

  Turn proof photos from completed bookings into a portfolio gallery on your public profile. Customers see real work; you get a passive conversion lever. Customer always has final say on what stays public.