Article

Self-managed or Affilae Pay programs: who pays you and when

On Affilae, every program runs in one of two payment modes: the advertiser pays you directly, or they hand their payouts over to Affilae through the Affilae Pay service. This setting changes neither your commissions nor your tracking, but it does change who transfers the money, how long it takes and who to contact if a payment is late.

Note: the payment mode is a program setting, chosen by the advertiser. You do not choose it and you have nothing to configure. The same advertiser can delegate payouts to Affilae on one program and not on another, so always check the program itself rather than the brand in general.

Spot your program’s payment mode

The clearest sign is the Affilae Pay badge, shown next to the program name. If it is there, Affilae handles the payout of your commissions. With no badge, the program is self-managed and the advertiser pays you directly.

My Brand A Affilae Pay Payouts handled by Affilae
My Brand B No badge: self-managed program
Two fictional programs: the “Affilae Pay” badge only appears on the one whose payouts Affilae handles.

In the Marketplace, you can see the mode before you even join a program:

  • A small icon sits on the program logo, both in the list and on the program page. Its tooltip reads Affilae Managed Payments.
  • The program page also shows its Average payment delay, in days. This is an observed average, not a commitment: it gives you an idea before you commit.
Do not confuse the two: in your partnerships list, a star with the tooltip Managed by Affilae flags a completely different service, the management of the partnership by an Affilae affiliate manager. It says nothing about payments. An advertiser can delegate partnership management, payment management, both, or neither. For payments, rely on the Affilae Pay badge and on your Payments page.

Your Payments page gives you three more clues, row by row:

  • The Paid by column shows Affilae or Advertiser.
  • The row status states in brackets who is going to pay you: Available (from Affilae) or Available (from advertiser).
  • The Available commissions card splits your amounts into two lines: Paid out by Affilae and Paid out by the advertiser.
PROGRAM AMOUNT STATUS PAID BY
My Brand A €120.00 Available (from Affilae) Affilae
My Brand B €200.00 Available (from advertiser) Advertiser
The payments table (fictional data): the bracket in the status and the “Paid by” column tell you who pays you.

What changes from one mode to the other

WHAT CHANGES SELF-MANAGED PROGRAM AFFILAE PAY PROGRAM
Who transfers the money The advertiser, directly. Affilae never handles the money. Affilae, on the advertiser’s behalf.
Badge next to the program name No badge. Affilae Pay badge.
Status once the amount is ready Available (from advertiser) Available (from Affilae)
In the payment request window Paid by advertisers block. Each row shows the program’s usual delay. Paid by Affilae block, with a FAST badge and the 24h-48h mention.
Transfer time The advertiser’s own. The request window shows the Usual delay specific to the program. 24 to 48 hours for the transfer itself, counted from the moment the amount becomes Available (from Affilae). It does not cover the earlier steps.
Invoice between the advertiser and you Yes, generated when your request is confirmed. Yes, generated when your request is confirmed.
Invoice between the advertiser and Affilae No. Yes, a grouped invoice. You never see it and have nothing to do with it.
Who to contact about a late payment The advertiser, through the internal messaging or their direct contact details. Affilae, who also chases the advertiser for you.
Older payment requests Payment to confirmYou can confirm them yourself, and the advertiser can also handle them on their side. No such status.
Read this before counting days: the Affilae Pay 24 to 48 hours only cover the transfer, counted from the moment your amount becomes Available (from Affilae). The total time, from the sale to the money in your account, is longer and depends on three things: the advertiser’s conversion validation period, the program’s payment threshold (your commissions stay in Threshold not reached until it is met) and when you submit your request. In other words, Affilae Pay speeds up the last step, not the whole cycle.

What stays the same in both modes

  • Tracking and attribution: your clicks, sales and commissions are calculated in exactly the same way.
  • The payment threshold: until your commissions reach the minimum set by the program, they stay in Threshold not reached.
  • The payment request: same Payments page and same Request payment button. The request window then splits your commissions into two blocks, each with its own delay.
  • The invoice between the advertiser and you: it always exists, in both modes.
  • The debtor: the advertiser remains the sole debtor of your commissions, even when Affilae carries out the transfer on their behalf.
  • Your banking details: essential to get paid, whatever the mode.
Tip: you can request payment for both modes at once. The request window automatically separates Paid by Affilae from Paid by advertisers, each block with its own delay.

The invoice: always between the advertiser and you

Whatever the mode, an invoice is issued between the advertiser and you. It is an accounting document, not a payment status: seeing it appear does not mean you have been paid. Affilae pre-fills it with your details when your payment request is confirmed, and you find it again from your Payments page.

On an Affilae Pay program, a second invoice exists, between the advertiser and Affilae: it groups the commissions owed to all the program’s affiliates. It covers the settlement between the advertiser and Affilae, you never see it and have nothing to do with it. Your own invoices stay exactly the same.

Your older requests on a self-managed program

On a self-managed program, your payment requests made before the Payments page was updated carry the Payment to confirm status. Since Affilae does not make the transfers on those programs, the platform cannot know whether the advertiser has already paid you: many of those payments were made outside the platform, sometimes a long time ago.

  • You can confirm them yourself: tick the transfers you have actually received, then move them to Paid with the bulk action.
  • For any question about one of these transfers, contact the advertiser, not Affilae support: Affilae has no record of the payment.
  • This status never appears on an Affilae Pay program, because Affilae tracks every payout there from end to end.

All the statuses, how to display these older requests and how the banner works are explained in Tracking and requesting your commission payments.

Who to contact, depending on your question

  • A question about the program itself (terms, commissions, creatives, tracking): contact the advertiser in both modes. They remain responsible for the content and the correct operation of their program.
  • A question about a payment on a self-managed program: contact the advertiser. Affilae collects nothing on those programs and therefore has no visibility on the transfer.
  • A question about an Affilae Pay payment: contact Affilae. The payout goes through us, including chasing the advertiser.
Before you write to us: check the payment mode of the program concerned. The same advertiser can run one Affilae Pay program and one self-managed program, and it is the program, not the brand, that decides who you should talk to.

Related articles

Frequently asked
questions

Voir plus de questions reponses

Look for an ‘Affilae Pay’ badge next to the program name. If it is there, Affilae handles the payout of your commissions. With no badge, the program is self-managed and the advertiser pays you directly.

On your Payments page, the ‘Paid by’ column (Affilae or Advertiser) and the bracket in the ‘Available’ status give you the same information, row by row.

No, these are two different services. The ‘Managed by Affilae’ star in your partnerships list means the partnership is followed by an Affilae affiliate manager, who becomes your contact for the program. It says nothing about payments.

For payments, look for the ‘Affilae Pay’ badge next to the program name, or the ‘Payments handled by Affilae’ tooltip in the Marketplace. An advertiser can delegate both services, only one, or neither.

Yes. In the Marketplace, an icon on the program logo carries the ‘Payments handled by Affilae’ tooltip, and card view shows the ‘Affilae Payments’ indicator. The program page also shows its ‘Average payments’ delay, and the list can be sorted on the ‘Payment period’ column. That delay is an observed average, not a contractual commitment.

No. It is a program setting, decided by the advertiser. You have nothing to configure, and the mode does not depend on you.

Affilae Pay, but on the last step only. Once your amount becomes ‘Available (from Affilae)’, the transfer itself goes out within 24 to 48 hours. On a self-managed program, that same transfer depends on the advertiser’s own delay, shown under ‘Usual delay’ in the request window.

Do not read those 24 to 48 hours as the time between the sale and the money arriving. The total time is longer in both modes, and depends on the advertiser’s conversion validation period, the program’s payment threshold and when you submit your request.

Yes. An invoice is always issued between the advertiser and you, in both modes. It is an accounting document, not a payment status: its existence does not mean you have been paid.

On an Affilae Pay program, a grouped invoice also exists between the advertiser and Affilae. It covers the settlement between them, and you never see it.

On a self-managed program, contact the advertiser: they make the transfer, Affilae collects nothing and has no visibility on it. On an Affilae Pay program, contact Affilae: the payout goes through us, including chasing the advertiser.

No, the journey is the same: same Payments page, same ‘Request payment’ button. The request window simply splits your commissions into two blocks, ‘Paid by Affilae’ and ‘Paid by advertisers’, each with its own delay. You can include both in a single request.

These are your payment requests made before the update, on self-managed programs. Since 4 August you can confirm the transfers you have actually received yourself: tick the rows, then move them to « Paid » with the bulk action. If a transfer never reached you, contact the advertiser rather than Affilae support. The details are explained in the article ‘Tracking and requesting your commission payments’.

Yes, but not on the same program. An advertiser can hand their payouts to Affilae on one program and pay you themselves on another. So always check the program concerned, not the brand in general.

No. Tracking, attribution, commission rules and the program’s payment threshold are identical in both modes. Only the money’s route, the delay and who you talk to change.

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