Thanks for the update @jtolio!
Here’s what I would recommend for payouts going forward.
Minimum payout amount
Set a minimum payout amount and by default automatically pay when that amount has been reached. Keep in mind though that just like it’s fair to vet a node to see if it performs well, it’s completely fair for SNO’s to vet Storj Labs to see if they’re true to their word and actually pay out the expected amount. If you set the minimum payout value too high, you might have potential SNOs walking before they got their first payout. You don’t have to convince me any more, but new users have no reason yet to trust you.
Don’t make SNO’s pay transaction fees
Additionally… don’t make the SNO pay the transaction fee. The reason for this is simple. You are running a larger overarching business and can afford to pay fees that wouldn’t always make sense to smaller node operators. And on average, it should still be a small amount to you. But it might not be to someone trying to get paid just a few dollars, especially since they will have to pay the transaction fees for turning that into ETH, BTC or hard cash as well. Setting a minimum payout amount covers you from having to pay way too much for some of the smaller transactions.
Option to hold payout
It would be nice to offer SNOs the option to hold the payout. There’s actually something in it for both sides. Storj Labs doesn’t have to pay transaction fees each month and SNOs don’t have to take on any risk of STORJ value changing over time. A simple option to hold or release would be fine. When payout is later released, it will be included in the payouts for that month.
Itemized pay stub
Many node operators run multiple nodes. And while the dashboard provides some information, it’s not a complete view and doesn’t have all information across all nodes. I suggest sending a full itemized pay stub by email to node operators, listing the periods paid out, the satellites that paid out and all individual nodes. This mail should go out for each unique combination of payout address and email address. So that SNO’s managing multiple nodes on the same payout address but different email addresses get the correct information on the correct email address.
Notification about received payout details on node dashboard
As mentioned previously, the payout information is actually not yet visible on the node dashboards. It would be nice to get a notification when it actually is. Perhaps this could be combined with my previous suggestion and that email could be the signal that the pay stub data is now available on the node dashboard.
Sorry to just dump a list of feature suggestions on you, but I hope some of it is useful for future product development.