Help Center
What does this Help Center cover?
Farmstead Circle is a Virginia-only marketplace where homestead owners book independent farm caretakers for livestock and property care, then pay after service by invoice. This Help Center answers setup, booking, payments, credentials, Sponsored Pros, and hard limits: no emergency dispatch, no transportation coordination, and no labor placement. Use the tabs below for Owners, Caretakers, Sponsored Pros, or General questions.
Owners complete Community Standards once before browsing or booking. Caretakers complete independence and workers' comp attestations before taking bookings. After the care window, the caretaker submits an invoice; the owner approves and pays. Owners pay a flat $15 platform fee per booking, or $19/month Harvest to waive that fee. Caretakers keep their set rate through Stripe Connect as merchants of record.
- Service area is Virginia only. Out-of-state bookings are not supported.
- Service types are live-in stay, daily drop-in, and extended drop-in. Visits-per-day apply to drop-in types.
- Payment is after care by invoice. There is no escrow and no payroll workflow.
- Farmstead Circle does not dispatch emergency help, coordinate rides, assign caretakers, or supervise animal care.
- Sponsored Pros are a separate directory for licensed rural services. Owners contact them off-platform.
Prefer a tour? Open the booking walkthrough from Settings → Account, or from your role dashboard. For fees and Harvest, see Pricing. For trust and verification, see How trust works.
Edge cases we hear often: if a caretaker cannot reach the property because of weather or road closures, continuity is the owner's responsibility (you can name a backup contact on your homestead profile). If you need to cancel, use the booking cancellation tools and keep a plain-language reason for the record. Disputes on unpaid completed work follow the dispute policy, not informal off-platform pressure.
Quick Start Guide for Homestead Owners
Get set up and find your first farm caretaker in four steps.
Acknowledge Owner Standards
Before you can browse caretakers, message anyone, or create a booking, you complete a one-time Community Standards step. You acknowledge that caretakers are independent service providers (not employees), and that you stay responsible as the hiring party for engagements you start. It takes a few minutes and keeps the platform a technology connection only.
Set Up Your Homestead Listing
Add your homestead name, the types of animals you keep, property details, and any special care requirements. Then add animal care instructions (feeding, medications, vet contacts) for each species. Optionally add a weather and access backup contact (a neighbor or other local person) so caretakers know who to call if extreme weather blocks the property. Farmstead Circle does not dispatch emergency help. Caretakers see care details and your backup contact after they accept a booking. That access is removed when the booking is completed.
Search and Browse Farm Caretakers
Use the search page to browse caretakers in your Virginia county. You can filter by animal type, experience, and availability. Click any caretaker's profile to read their bio, see their listed rates, view self-reported credentials and other trust indicators, and check their availability calendar. Caretakers can display several indicators at once. When you find someone you'd like to work with, you can send them a booking request directly.
Confirm, Pay After Service, and Review
Once a caretaker accepts your booking request, confirm it on the platform (including a brief hiring-standards confirmation). Payment is not collected at confirmation. After the caretaker completes the work and submits an invoice, you review and approve it, then pay securely through Stripe. When the booking is finished, both parties are prompted to leave a double-blind review. Neither party sees the other's review until both have been submitted.
Prefer a guided walkthrough?
Open a step-by-step tour of the full booking process from your owner dashboard.
Owner FAQ
Common questions from homestead owners about how the platform works.