## Core Concepts

Before making your first API call, it helps to understand the key objects in Talli and how they relate to each other. This page explains the core entities, distributions, beneficiaries and payouts and how they fit together across a typical payout lifecycle.

### Distributions

A distribution represents a fund disbursement event, a single payout programme sent to a group of beneficiaries. It is the top level object in Talli. Every payout instruction and report belongs to a distribution.
When you create a distribution you define the funding source, the allowed payout methods, and the beneficiaries who will receive funds. From there, Talli manages the notification and redemption flow for each individual beneficiary.
Each beneficiary within a distribution has their own payout instruction, which tracks their individual journey from the moment it is loaded onto the platform through to fulfilment

### Beneficiaries

A beneficiary is enrolled within a distribution to receive a payout. In Talli, beneficiaries are represented as payout instructions, there is no separate beneficiary object. Each beneficiary has their own payout instruction which tracks their individual journey from notification through to payout fulfilment

### Payouts

In Talli, there is no standalone payout object. A payout is the outcome of a payout instruction, once a beneficiary selects their preferred payout method and submits their details, the payout instruction tracks the payout through to fulfilment.
Talli supports multiple payout methods within a single distribution: ACH transfer, PayPal, Venmo, prepaid card, gift card, and paper check. Each method captures different information from the beneficiary at redemption time. The payout instruction reflects the status of that payout at every stage, from method selection through to fulfilment.

### Entity Relationship Diagram

```mermaid
flowchart TD
  A["Distribution"] --"contains"--> B["Beneficiaries"]
  B --"receive"--> C["Payouts"]
```

*How distribution, beneficiaries and payouts connect across a typical payout lifecycle*

### Next steps

- [Your first API call](/docs/get-started/first-call-guide) — make your first request to the Talli API