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Applying and getting paid in Florida
Start with the typical timeline, the main approval rules and how payment works. Use the checklist to prepare before applying. Change the state or what you sell at any time.
This legacy tool has detailed rules for three states. Explore other ESA states in My path.
Step Up For Students (FES / FTC)
Florida · EMA (Education Market Assistant)
- Typical timeline
- Credential/account review varies; no handbook turnaround guarantee
- Key approval needs
- Choose category: HEIP may offer virtual or in-person services per the supplied Step Up email; business with public curriculum/published fees still required; link personal credentials where required
- How you get paid
- Eligible service direct pay after delivery; approve business and link required personal accounts; payments go to business
How the money actually moves
State payment mechanics matrix
“Direct pay” means something different in each state. Documented rules and provider-supplied terms are distinguished below.
Florida
Step Up For Students / EMA
Step Up Direct Pay (in-marketplace)Approved route
You are approved in Step Up / EMA. Families pay with scholarship funds at zero out-of-pocket cost.
For services: request direct payment after delivery; current processing time varies.
Fees & payout: Provider-supplied terms: no fees, direct deposit, and payment within 30 days or less. The handbook does not guarantee these terms.
Best for: Approved vendors and providers
Parent Reimbursement (out-of-marketplace)Eligibility still required
Families buy from your own website, then submit your itemized receipt to Step Up for reimbursement.
Family pays upfront and waits for reimbursement.
Fees & payout: Family pays your normal price; Step Up reimburses them
Best for: Vendors not yet approved, selling eligible items
Fees, limits and timing · evidence and caveats
School tuition: seven business days after both approvals
For full-time students at eligible private schools, quarterly tuition/fee payments are made within 7 business days after school and parent/guardian approval. This is not a tutor, vendor, reimbursement or account-funding timeline. Net-30, direct-deposit and no-platform-fee terms elsewhere are provider-supplied and not verified by these documents.
Step Up Private School Provider Handbook · 2026–27 · updated Oct 15, 2026 · PDF p. 6Advance reimbursement and purchase dates
2026–27 purchases: July 1, 2026–June 30, 2027. Listed prior-year exceptions are eligible private-school tuition/fees, HEIP tuition/fees, public-school contracted services, full-time private tutoring and state-approved virtual instruction. Do not extend these to all part-time tutoring or products. Services may be reimbursed up to 4 months ahead; farther ahead may be approved through the remaining school year, up to 1 year, with signed/dated non-refundable documentation. Service direct pay is after delivery (PDF p. 12).
“Parents and guardians can apply for reimbursement for services up to four months in advance of the service being rendered.”Step Up Non-School Provider Handbook · 2026–27 · updated Oct 15, 2026 · PDF p. 13
Purchase frequency is category-specific
The summary lists one of a specific item per category/type/description every 1 or 2 years, depending on the Purchasing Guide rule. It is not a blanket replacement schedule or vendor quantity limit. The summary's pre-authorization deadline is May 28, 2027 (PDF p. 1), not a vendor approval deadline.
Step Up changes summary · 2026–27 · updated Oct 15, 2026 · PDF p. 2School accounting threshold, not a student cap
Schools receiving more than $250,000 in 2026–27 scholarship dollars from the listed programs, individually or in aggregate, must contract with a qualifying licensed CPA for agreed-upon procedures. This is not an award ceiling or a charge to families.
Step Up Private School Provider Handbook · 2026–27 · updated Oct 15, 2026 · PDF p. 16Arizona
ClassWallet
ClassWallet Marketplace via ShopifyPreferred
Connected Shopify merchants offer storefront checkout; eligibility review still applies.
Storefront checkout removes invoice handling, not program review.
Fees & payout: Provider-supplied Shopify terms: 15% fee, monthly invoice with fee deducted; confirm agreement
Best for: Products and curriculum
ClassWallet Invoice Pay (manual)
Family uploads full invoice → ADE reviews → approved payment releases. Confirm category-specific delivery timing.
ADE 2025–26: typically 2–10 business days after approval, not upload; confirm current terms.
Fees & payout: ADE 2025–26: 2% vendor processing fee (PDF p. 57); confirm current terms
Best for: Tutoring, therapies, microschools, custom services
Fees, limits and timing · evidence and caveats
Pay Vendor: typically 2–10 business days after approval
ADE's prior-year 2025–26 handbook states schools/providers typically receive Pay Vendor payments 2–10 business days after the order is approved. This is not review duration, onboarding time or a reimbursement guarantee. Confirm current terms.
“Private schools and educational service providers typically receive payment within 2-10 business days.”ADE ESA Parent Handbook · 2025–26 · prior contract year; confirm newer guidance · PDF p. 54
ClassWallet charges vendors 2%
The 2025–26 handbook states a 2% vendor processing fee, not a direct charge to the ESA account holder; vendors may pass it along. Confirm current agreement. Shopify 15% and monthly settlement terms are provider-supplied, not verified in any of the six documents.
“ClassWallet charges a 2% processing fee to vendors and not directly to the ESA Account Holder.”ADE ESA Parent Handbook · 2025–26 · prior contract year; confirm newer guidance · PDF p. 57
Account funding is separate from merchant registration
The 2025–26 handbook estimates 3–5 weeks after a family signs its ESA contract to create/fund ClassWallet, with possible delays. This is not a vendor onboarding timeline. The historical setup excerpt says about 3 weeks (PDF p. 1); do not treat that legacy estimate as current.
ADE ESA Parent Handbook · 2025–26 · prior contract year; confirm newer guidance · PDF p. 53Texas
Odyssey
Odyssey marketplace direct payMain route
You are approved in Odyssey; families buy or request services and Odyssey pays you.
Payout timing not established by the supplied impact report; confirm with Odyssey.
Fees & payout: Provider-supplied Stripe payout/fee terms; not verified by the impact report
Best for: Approved vendors and providers
Outside purchases
The uploaded Texas source is an impact report, not a purchasing handbook; it does not establish an off-platform reimbursement route.
Varies; not the primary path.
Fees & payout: Not established by the supplied Texas report
Best for: Confirm with the program first
Fees, limits and timing · evidence and caveats
Texas report does not verify purchasing caps or payout terms
The Oct 5, 2026 impact report supplies participation and spending statistics, not merchant fee rates, payout times or purchasing limits. The $299 threshold is provider-supplied/configured in demos only. The 10%-of-award technology and $1,200 instrument limits are not verified by these six documents and must not be treated as confirmed denial rules. Stripe payout/fee terms are provider-supplied, not verified by the report.
Odyssey TEFA Year One Impact · Reported data as of Oct 5, 2026 · not a purchasing handbook · PDF p. 2Receipt & invoice compliance tips
Reviewers reject vague receipts. Include every field below on every invoice.
- Your legal business name, address and contact details
- Invoice or receipt number and date
- Student’s name (not just the parent’s)
- One line per item or session: description, quantity or hours, unit price
- For services: service date and who delivered it
- Total paid, payment method, and a “paid in full” mark for receipts
[Business name] · [Address] · [Email] Invoice #[000] · Date: [MM/DD/YYYY] Student: [Full name] Item / service | Date | Qty or hours | Unit price | Line total [Description] | [Date] | [1] | [$0.00] | [$0.00] Total: [$0.00] · Paid by: [method] · PAID IN FULL
Do not mark a service complete before you deliver it, or combine unrelated charges. Reimbursement repays a family; direct payment pays the provider. Their timing rules differ. Florida’s provider handbook p. 12 requires services to be delivered before direct payment. Arizona p. 50 requires proof of payment for reimbursement. The Texas report does not set invoice requirements.