How can we help you today?

Create your Tenseal account

One account unlocks all four products — Escrow, Inventory, Marketplace, and the API.

Steps

1. Go to tenseal.co/register.
2. Enter your full name, email, phone number, and a strong password.
3. Tick the terms of service and click Create account.
4. Check your inbox for an OTP and enter it to verify your email.
5. You'll land on your dashboard — pick any product to start using it.

Verify your identity (KYC)

Required before you can withdraw funds, handle large escrows, or access business features.

Steps

1. Go to Profile → Verification.
2. Choose the type of ID you want to submit (NIN, BVN, International Passport, Driver's Licence).
3. Upload a clear, unedited photo of the document — both sides if applicable.
4. Take a selfie holding the ID so we can match faces.
5. Submit. Most verifications complete within 24 hours.

Choose which product to use

Not sure where to start? Use this quick guide.

• Selling digital goods, services, or high-value items? → Start with Escrow.
• Running an online shop with stock? → Start with Inventory.
• Want to list items for sale to the public? → Start with the Marketplace.
• Building an app or automation? → Start with the Developer API.

Navigating your dashboard

Each product lives on its own subdomain so you can focus on one thing at a time.

• app.tenseal.co — Your escrow, wallet, profile, and personal account.
• inventory.tenseal.co — Your shop, products, orders, staff, and analytics.
• market.tenseal.co — The public marketplace where anyone can list and buy.

The sidebar on every portal groups features by purpose. On mobile, tap the hamburger icon to open it.

Start a new escrow

Use this any time money and delivery need to happen safely between two parties.

Steps

1. On your dashboard, click Transactions → New Escrow.
2. Pick your role: I am the buyer or I am the seller.
3. Enter the other party's email — we'll invite them if they don't have an account yet.
4. Choose the transaction type (Goods, Service, Digital, Agreement).
5. Fill in the title, description, amount, currency, and delivery deadline.
6. Decide who pays the escrow fee — buyer, seller, or split 50/50.
7. Review and click Send for agreement.

Fund an escrow

Once both parties have agreed, the buyer funds the transaction.

Steps

1. Open the transaction from Transactions.
2. Click Fund Escrow.
3. Pick a payment method: Paystack (card / bank / USSD), or your Tenseal wallet.
4. Confirm the amount shown — including any escrow fee you agreed to pay.
5. Complete payment. The escrow status flips to Funded immediately after confirmation.

Release funds to the seller

Only the buyer can release. Once delivery is confirmed, funds move immediately.

Steps

1. Open the funded transaction.
2. Inspect what the seller delivered.
3. Click Confirm & Release.
4. Optionally leave a review rating the seller's performance.

Use milestones for bigger projects

Split a large job into stages so the seller gets paid as each phase is approved.

Steps

1. When creating the escrow, toggle Milestones on.
2. Add each milestone: name, description, amount, and due date.
3. The buyer funds the total up front.
4. The seller marks a milestone delivered when done.
5. The buyer approves that milestone — only that portion of the funds releases.

Raise or resolve a dispute

If something goes wrong, either side can raise a dispute. Our team reviews evidence and decides.

Raising a dispute

1. Open the transaction and click Dispute.
2. Pick a reason (not delivered, wrong item, quality issue, scope change, etc.).
3. Describe what happened clearly.
4. Attach evidence: screenshots, chat history, delivery proof, files.
5. Submit.

What happens next

• The other party is notified and can respond with their own evidence.
• Our mediators review within 5–7 business days.
• A decision is published on the dispute thread and funds are released accordingly.

Send escrow invoices

Create a share-link your client can use to pay and agree — no account setup needed on their side until they pay.

Steps

1. Go to Invoices → New Invoice.
2. Fill in client details and line items.
3. Choose whether to enable milestones.
4. Click Generate Link and share via WhatsApp, email, or SMS.
5. The client can pay directly from the link — the escrow is created automatically.

Fund your wallet

Top up your in-app wallet so you can pay for escrows and send money instantly.

Steps

1. Open Wallet.
2. Click Fund Wallet.
3. Enter the amount (minimum ₦100).
4. Pick a payment method (card, bank transfer, USSD).
5. Complete payment — funds appear instantly when Paystack confirms.

Withdraw to your bank

Move wallet funds to any Nigerian bank account you've added and verified.

Steps

1. Go to Wallet → Withdraw.
2. Enter the amount (minimum ₦500).
3. Pick the destination bank account.
4. Enter your transaction PIN and submit.
5. Withdrawals are reviewed by our team, then sent via Paystack Transfer — usually same business day.

Send money to another Tenseal user (P2P)

Instant, free transfers between any two Tenseal wallets.

Steps

1. Open Wallet → Send.
2. Enter the recipient's email or phone number.
3. Enter the amount and an optional note.
4. Enter your transaction PIN and confirm.

Set or change your transaction PIN

A 4-digit PIN is required for every withdrawal and P2P transfer.

Steps

1. Go to Security → Transaction PIN.
2. Enter your current password.
3. Enter a new 4-digit PIN twice.
4. Save.

Forgot it? Use the Reset PIN flow — we'll email you an OTP to verify.

Add & verify a bank account

Withdrawals can only go to bank accounts whose name matches your verified Tenseal profile.

Steps

1. Go to Wallet → Payment Methods → Add Bank.
2. Pick your bank from the list.
3. Enter your 10-digit account number.
4. We auto-verify with Paystack and pre-fill the account name.
5. Save — the account is now eligible for withdrawals.

Set up your store

The Inventory module is your full e-commerce back office. Every shop gets its own tenant workspace.

Steps

1. Go to inventory.tenseal.co and log in.
2. On first visit, you'll be prompted to create a tenant (store).
3. Fill in store name, contact email, country, and base currency.
4. Pick an inventory plan (Free, Starter, Business, Enterprise) — you can change this later.
5. Click Create Store. You'll land on the store dashboard.

Add products & stock

Every product tracks its own stock level, pricing, variants, and images.

Steps

1. Go to Products → Add Product.
2. Enter name, description, category, and SKU.
3. Set selling price, cost price, and (optionally) compare-at price for discounts.
4. Set initial stock quantity and low-stock alert threshold.
5. Upload product images — first image becomes the default.
6. (Optional) Add variants: size, colour, material, etc.
7. Save. The product is published immediately unless you toggle Draft.

Create order forms

Shareable order pages for selling on social media without a full website.

Steps

1. Go to Forms → New Form.
2. Pick the products you want to include — or leave open for any product.
3. Customise the form fields: name, phone, address, notes, delivery preference.
4. Choose payment options (pay now / pay on delivery / both).
5. Click Publish and copy the short URL. Paste it into your bio or stories.
6. Orders arrive straight in Orders.

Process orders

Each order goes through a predictable lifecycle: pending → confirmed → fulfilled → delivered.

Steps

1. Open Orders — new orders show at the top.
2. Click an order to open it.
3. Click Confirm to accept the order (customer gets a confirmation SMS/WhatsApp if enabled).
4. Assign to a rider or mark ready for pickup.
5. When the order is delivered, click Mark Delivered — this triggers the payout.

Invite staff, agents & riders

Staff, call reps, and delivery riders all live under one unified roster with role-based permissions.

Steps

1. Go to Team → Invite Member.
2. Enter their name, email, and phone.
3. Pick a role: Manager, Sales / Call Rep, Rider, or Custom.
4. Tick the specific permissions you want them to have.
5. Send the invite. They get an email + SMS with a one-time setup link.
6. Once they accept, they can log in at inventory.tenseal.co and only see what you've allowed.

Connect WhatsApp

Send order confirmations, payment reminders, and delivery updates straight to customers' WhatsApp.

Steps

1. Go to Settings → Integrations → WhatsApp.
2. Click Connect — you'll be redirected to Meta to authorise.
3. Pick the WhatsApp Business phone number to link.
4. Approve our pre-built message templates (delivery notice, order confirmation, payment link).
5. Back in Tenseal, toggle which events should send WhatsApp messages.

Connect SMS (Termii)

SMS is how you reach customers without smartphones, and it's the default fallback when WhatsApp fails.

Steps

1. Sign up for a Termii account at termii.com and get an API key.
2. In Tenseal, go to Settings → Integrations → SMS.
3. Paste the Termii API key.
4. Enter a sender ID (must be pre-registered with Termii — maximum 11 characters).
5. Click Test to send a test message to yourself.
6. Save. SMS will now fire on the events you've toggled on.

Delivery & fulfilment

Assign orders to riders, track status in real time, and collect Cash on Delivery.

Steps

1. Create delivery zones with flat-rate pricing under Delivery → Zones.
2. Add riders under Team with the Rider role.
3. When an order is confirmed, open it and click Assign Rider.
4. The rider sees the job in their mobile view.
5. Rider updates the order to Out for delivery, then Delivered.
6. If the order was COD, the rider records the cash collected — reconciled on payout.

Reports & analytics

Built-in reports show what's selling, what's not, and who your best customers are.

Where to find them

• Dashboard — revenue today / week / month, top products, low-stock alerts.
• Analytics → Sales — filter by date range, channel, staff, or product.
• Analytics → Inventory — stock-on-hand value, days of cover, fast/slow movers.
• Analytics → Customers — new vs repeat, lifetime value, top buyers.
• Accounting — profit & loss, cash flow, per-product margins.

Every report can be exported to CSV with one click.

Browse & search the marketplace

The marketplace is public — anyone can browse without an account.

How to find what you need

• Visit market.tenseal.co.
• Use the top search bar for keywords.
• Filter by category, price range, location, or condition.
• Sort by newest, price, or relevance.
• Click a listing to see full details, seller profile, and reviews.

List an item for sale

Anyone with a Tenseal account can list — verification unlocks higher trust badges.

Steps

1. On market.tenseal.co, click Sell.
2. Pick a category.
3. Enter title, description, condition, and location.
4. Upload at least one clear photo (up to 8 photos allowed).
5. Set a price and toggle Accept Offers if you want to negotiate.
6. Decide if buyers should pay via escrow (recommended — locks in safe delivery).
7. Submit for review. Most listings go live within 10 minutes.

Buy safely with escrow

Every marketplace purchase is protected by Tenseal Escrow by default.

Steps

1. Open the listing and click Buy Now.
2. Review the terms, delivery option, and total.
3. Pay with Paystack or your wallet — funds are held in escrow.
4. The seller ships / delivers.
5. Inspect on arrival and click Confirm Received to release funds.

Leave & read reviews

Reviews only come from confirmed transactions — no fake ratings.

Steps

1. After a completed escrow, you'll be prompted to review the other party.
2. Pick a 1–5 star rating and write a short comment.
3. Your review is public on the seller's profile.

To read reviews: open any seller profile and scroll to the Reviews tab.

Marketplace disputes

Because every marketplace transaction uses escrow, the dispute process is the same as regular escrow.

See the escrow dispute guide above for the full walkthrough.

Generate API keys

You get separate Test and Live keys. Build against Test, switch to Live when ready.

Steps

1. Go to Developers → API Keys.
2. Click Generate Key.
3. Name the key (e.g. "Staging server") and pick Test or Live.
4. Copy the key immediately — the secret is shown only once.
5. Rotate keys any time. Revoked keys stop working instantly.

Make your first API call

All requests go to https://api.tenseal.co/v1 with a Bearer token.

Example

1. Grab a Test secret key from Developers → API Keys.
2. Run:

   curl -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_..." https://api.tenseal.co/v1/transactions

3. You'll get a JSON list of your transactions.

Full reference: API Docs.

Configure webhooks

Get pushed notifications when things happen — order placed, escrow funded, transfer completed.

Steps

1. Go to Developers → Webhooks → Add Endpoint.
2. Paste your HTTPS URL.
3. Tick the events you want (or subscribe to all).
4. Copy the signing secret shown — you'll use it to verify each incoming request.
5. Save. We'll retry failed deliveries for 24 hours with exponential backoff.

API rate limits

Every endpoint has a per-key rate limit. Exceeding it returns HTTP 429.

• Read endpoints — 120 requests / minute / key.
• Write endpoints — 60 requests / minute / key.
• Payment endpoints — 30 requests / minute / key.

Rate limit state is returned in the X-RateLimit-Remaining and X-RateLimit-Reset headers.

Change your password

Passwords are changed with an email OTP to prove it's really you.

Steps

1. Go to Security → Password.
2. Click Request OTP.
3. Enter the 6-digit code from your email.
4. Type your new password twice and save.

Forgot your password? Use Forgot Password from the login page.

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)

Adds a one-time code from your authenticator app on top of your password.

Steps

1. Go to Security → 2FA.
2. Click Enable.
3. Scan the QR code with Google Authenticator, Authy, or 1Password.
4. Enter the 6-digit code to confirm.
5. Save your recovery codes somewhere safe — they're your backup if you lose your phone.

Manage logged-in devices

See every device where you're currently signed in, and kick any of them off.

Steps

1. Go to Security → Active Sessions.
2. Review each device — browser, OS, last seen time, IP location.
3. Click Sign out next to any device you don't recognise.
4. To log out of everything except your current device, click Sign out all others.

If you think your account is compromised

Act fast. Every minute matters.

Immediate steps

1. Change your password right away (see above).
2. Sign out of all other devices.
3. Enable 2FA if it isn't already on.
4. Check Wallet for any transactions you don't recognise.
5. Email security@tenseal.co with details — we'll lock the account while we investigate.

Pick the right plan

Each product (Escrow, Inventory, Marketplace, API) has its own plan ladder.

• Free — Try the basics, no card required.
• Starter — Best for sole traders and early-stage shops.
• Business — Full team features, WhatsApp / SMS, advanced analytics.
• Enterprise — Multi-location, white-label, priority support, custom limits.

Full matrix on the pricing page.

Upgrade or downgrade

Changes take effect immediately and are pro-rated on your next bill.

Steps

1. Go to Settings → Subscription.
2. Click on the product you want to change (Escrow / Inventory / Marketplace / API).
3. Pick the new plan.
4. Review the pro-rated charge or credit, then confirm.

Cancel a subscription

You stay on the paid plan until the end of your billing period, then drop to Free.

Steps

1. Go to Settings → Subscription.
2. Pick the product you want to cancel.
3. Click Cancel Subscription.
4. Confirm. You keep access until the period ends, then auto-renewal stops.

Get invoices & receipts

Every payment we take generates a VAT-ready invoice you can download.

Steps

1. Go to Settings → Billing History.
2. Find the charge you need.
3. Click Download PDF.

Update your profile

Name, phone, avatar, business info, and default currency all live here.

Steps

1. Go to Profile → Edit.
2. Update any fields and click Save.
3. Changing your email triggers a verification OTP to the new address.

Notification preferences

Pick exactly which channels (email, SMS, WhatsApp, in-app) fire for each event.

Steps

1. Go to Profile → Notifications.
2. Use the toggles to turn channels on/off per event type.
3. Save.

Referrals & rewards

Invite a friend, and when they complete their first paid transaction, you both earn a bonus.

Steps

1. Go to Referrals.
2. Copy your unique link or share via WhatsApp / email directly from the page.
3. Track signups and earnings on the same page.
4. Bonuses credit automatically to your wallet.

Close your account

You can request account closure at any time. Funds must be zero first.

Steps

1. Withdraw all wallet funds and settle any in-flight escrows.
2. Go to Settings → Account → Close Account.
3. Enter your password and reason.
4. Confirm. We retain anonymised records where law requires, and delete personal data within 30 days.