> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gpuoutlet.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How it works

> The GPU Outlet lifecycle end to end: listing, request, match, reveal, invoice, payment and the success fee.

A deal on GPU Outlet moves from a listing and a request to an introduction, then to invoices both companies settle directly. This page walks through each step and what each side sees.

There are two ways an introduction starts. Most of them start with a match a seller accepts, which is the lifecycle below. The other is an auction: the seller puts capacity up as a lot, buyers bid, and the lot's winner is introduced to the seller when it closes. Everything after the introduction is the same either way. See [The auction route](#the-auction-route).

## The lifecycle

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a company and give people roles">
    Everything happens on behalf of a company. The person who creates it becomes its **Owner**. The owner invites others as **Authorized signatory**, **Trader** or **Viewer**. See [Team and roles](/account/team-and-roles).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Seller: get verified and sign the seller agreement">
    On the **Sell** menu, the seller applies in **Company** → **Verification**. The GPU Outlet team reviews the application. The seller also signs the **Seller marketplace agreement** on **Documents**. Accepting an opportunity requires both. See [Verification](/selling/verification) and [Agreements](/account/agreements).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Seller: publish a listing">
    A verified seller publishes capacity from **My Listings**. The listing appears on **Radar** under a handle such as `Seller-XXXXX`, not the company's legal name. See [Listings](/selling/listings).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Buyer: send a request">
    The buyer browses **Radar** or goes straight to **Requests**. A request states the GPU, nodes, region, start, term and an optional budget. See [Requests](/buying/requests).
  </Step>

  <Step title="The GPU Outlet team prepares a match">
    The team matches the request to a suitable listing. Matches are prepared by people, so there is no fixed time for one to appear.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Seller: review the anonymous opportunity">
    The seller gets a new item in **Opportunities**. It shows only what the buyer needs: capacity, region, start, term and budget. It shows no buyer name, and never the buyer's notes.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Seller: accept and reveal, or decline">
    The seller presses **Accept & reveal the buyer**, reads the terms and confirms with **Accept Opportunity & Reveal Buyer**. The terms include a 1% success fee on amounts actually received, for contracts signed within 24 months of the reveal. Declining is final. Nothing about the seller's company is shown to the buyer.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The introduction starts">
    Accepting creates an introduction with a reference such as `GO-YYYYMMDD-XXXXXX`. The terms are frozen at this moment. The buyer is notified that a seller accepted the request.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Seller: existing relationship claim window">
    If the seller already worked with this buyer, the seller can file a claim with evidence. The window is 2 business days from the reveal. If the GPU Outlet team approves it, no success fee is owed on this buyer.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Both sides confirm they are ready">
    The companies talk and agree to go ahead. Each side then presses **We are ready**. Confirming is a fact, not a contract, and it cannot be undone.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Seller: send the invoice">
    Once both sides are ready, the seller uploads their invoice to the buyer as a PDF. It gets a reference such as `DIN-YYYYMMDD-XXXXXX`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Buyer: pay and mark as paid">
    The buyer pays the seller directly, outside GPU Outlet. The buyer then presses **Mark as paid**, with an optional payment reference.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Seller: confirm the money arrived">
    When the money arrives, the seller presses **Money received**. This issues a success fee invoice with a reference such as `FEE-YYYYMMDD-XXXXXX`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Seller: pay the success fee">
    The fee invoice is due 5 business days after the seller confirms **Money received**. The seller pays by bank transfer against the invoice PDF and presses **I have paid**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The GPU Outlet team confirms payment">
    The team checks the transfer and marks the fee invoice **Paid**. See [Success fee](/selling/success-fee).
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Business days are Monday to Friday in UTC. Public holidays count as business days.
</Note>

## The auction route

A seller who wants competition rather than a published price decides that when publishing the capacity, and then opens a lot on it.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Seller: publish the capacity as an auction">
    **How buyers take it** is answered in the publish form and fixed there. See [Selling by auction](/selling/auctions).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Seller: open a lot">
    The lot states the nodes, the reserve, the bid step, the window and the rest of the terms. Bidders accept those terms before they can bid, and once anybody has bid the terms are frozen.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Buyers: accept the terms and bid">
    A bid is an intention to buy at that price and a place in the ranking. No money moves and nothing is reserved. On a sealed lot no bid is visible to anyone until the close, the seller included. See [Bidding](/buying/bidding).
  </Step>

  <Step title="The lot closes">
    At its closing time the highest bid that clears the reserve wins; equal amounts are settled by who bid first. If nothing cleared the reserve, the lot is unsold.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The winner and the seller are introduced">
    A winning lot produces the same introduction an accepted match produces, with the same reference and the same terms. The two companies then contract directly.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The rest is the lifecycle above">
    Readiness, the seller's invoice, payment, and the 1% success fee on what the seller receives.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The seller is not asked to accept the winner: they accepted in advance by opening the lot and letting it run. A request is created on the winner's behalf to carry the demand, copied from the listing that was bid on.

## What each side sees

### Before the reveal

The buyer sees only their own request. The seller sees the anonymous demand: capacity, region, start, term and budget. Neither side sees the other's name.

On **Radar**, buyers see a seller handle such as `Seller-XXXXX` instead of a legal name.

### After the reveal

| Side | What they receive |
| - | - |
| Seller | The buyer's company name and country, and the email and role of the buyer's owners and authorized signatories. |
| Buyer | The seller's legal name and country. |

The buyer does not receive seller contacts. The seller reaches out to the buyer.

Each side then has an introduction page with readiness, invoices and a timeline of what happened. The seller's page also shows the fee terms and the claim deadline. See [Buyer introductions](/buying/introductions) and [Seller introductions](/selling/introductions).

## Who does what

| Step | Buyer | Seller | GPU Outlet team |
| - | - | - | - |
| Company and roles | Creates company, invites members | Creates company, invites members | — |
| Verification | — | Applies | Reviews and decides |
| Agreements | Buyer marketplace agreement | Seller marketplace agreement | Publishes the documents |
| Listing | Browses **Radar** | Publishes listings, at a price or for auction | — |
| Auction | Accepts a lot's terms and bids | Opens the lot and sets its terms | — |
| Request | Sends and closes requests | — | — |
| Match | — | — | Prepares matches |
| Opportunity | — | Accepts and reveals, or declines | — |
| Existing relationship claim | — | Files within 2 business days | Decides |
| Ready | Confirms | Confirms | — |
| Deal invoice | Pays the seller, marks as paid | Uploads invoice, confirms money received | — |
| Success fee | — | Pays by bank transfer, presses **I have paid** | Uploads the invoice PDF, confirms payment |

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Quickstart" icon="rocket" href="/quickstart">
    Take the first steps as a buyer or a seller.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Statuses" icon="list-check" href="/reference/statuses">
    Every status you see along the way, and what it means.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Success fee" icon="percent" href="/selling/success-fee">
    How the fee is calculated, invoiced and paid.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Glossary" icon="book" href="/reference/glossary">
    The terms used across the product.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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