How to automatically validate large volumes of conversions through a .csv batch-file?

Bulk validation lets you accept or refuse several hundred conversions in a single operation, instead of handling them one by one. Two methods are available: selecting conversions directly in the list, or importing a CSV file that contains the identifiers to process.

Opening your program conversions list

The Conversions menu does not live in the main sidebar: it belongs to your program menu. Open Manage my programs first, click the relevant program, then choose Conversions.

MANAGE MY PROGRAMS

My affiliates

Clicks

Conversions

Payments

Reporting

Medias

Configuration

Three round buttons sit at the top right of the page: Add conversions, Accept/Refuse conversions (the CSV import) and Export conversions. Hover over them to display their label.

Method 1: accept or refuse straight from the list

This is the fastest route for moderate volumes, with no file to prepare.

1. Filter the list down to what you need: date range, Status set to Pending, partner or commission rule.
2. Tick the conversions row by row, or use the header checkbox (Select all) to tick every selectable conversion on the current page.
3. A banner appears above the table with the number of selected conversions. Your selection is kept when you change page.
4. To go beyond the current page, click the Select 128 pending conversions matching the filters link (the number follows your filters).
5. Click Accept or Refuse, then Confirm.

Two limits are worth knowing. Only unlocked conversions can be selected: a locked conversion has a greyed out checkbox, and the No conversion to select tooltip appears when no row on the page can be ticked. The selection is also capped at 900 conversions: beyond that, the message Select 300 more conversions (max. 900) on a total of 1250. tells you how many you can still add.

If you choose Refuse, a mandatory Reason field appears. That reason is visible to your partner, so write it as a customer message: for example « Order cancelled by the customer » or « Product return accepted on 07/20 ». It is limited to 1,024 characters.

Conversions subject to a waiting period

The waiting period is the number of days during which you can still refuse a conversion. It is set rule by rule in the program Configuration (Delay before payment demand (in days) field) and defaults to 0, which locks conversions immediately.

If at least one conversion in your selection belongs to a rule with a period above 0, an extra confirmation screen appears. It announces the planned locking date, then asks Do you want to lock conversions now?. Two answers are possible:

• Validate anyway: the conversions are accepted, but the waiting period runs to its end. You can still refuse them until the announced locking date.
• Validate and lock now: the period is bypassed, the conversions are locked right away and their commissions become eligible for payment immediately.

Method 2: validate with a CSV file

This method is built for large volumes and for teams working from a spreadsheet or from an e-commerce back office export. The principle is simple: you supply the list of conversion identifiers to process, and Affilae applies the chosen action to every recognised line.

Step 1: collect the identifiers to process

1. From the conversions list, click the Export conversions button.
2. Pick the date range, then narrow it down with the Status (set it to Pending), Is locked? and Commission rules filters.
3. In the Fields section, the ID, Conversion ID and Rule name columns are always included. Tick only what you need, it keeps the file light.
4. Click Submit. The CSV file downloads straight away, named after your program.

You can also start from your own system: what Affilae expects is your order references, exactly as they were sent to the tracking.

Step 2: prepare the import file

The expected file is deliberately minimal: one single column, one conversion identifier per line, saved as .csv.

1. Open the export in your spreadsheet. If everything lands in one cell, use the text to columns feature with the comma separator.
2. Keep only the externalId column, the second column of the export, which matches the ID column of the conversions list. Delete every other column.
3. Check that a single column remains, one value per line, with no empty cell in the middle.
4. Save as CSV. The header row can stay: it matches no conversion and is simply ignored.

The file then looks like this:

externalId
ORD-2026-10432
ORD-2026-10433
ORD-2026-10441

Step 3: import the file

1. Go back to the conversions list and click the Accept/Refuse conversions button.
2. In the Add / Refuse Bulk Conversions panel, drop your file in the Choose a file area or drag and drop it.
3. Under Select an action, pick accept conversions or refuse conversions.
4. For a refusal, fill in the mandatory Reason field.
5. Tick Notify partners by email if you want your affiliates to be informed.
6. Click Submit csv file.

Checking the import result

Once sent, the CSV file was submitted message confirms the upload, then a banner sums up the processing, for example Bulk validation: 412 conversions were accepted on a total of 415 submitted. Read that counter carefully.

• The second figure counts the conversions found in your program, not the number of lines in your file. An unknown, misspelled, already processed identifier, or one belonging to another program, never shows up in that total.
• A gap between the two figures points to conversions that were found but already locked, so impossible to change.
• If nothing could be processed, the message No conversions were accepted. (or No conversions were refused.) appears. Nine times out of ten, the file contained several columns, or the identifiers did not match the selected program.

Build the habit: after each import, filter the list on the Accepted or Refused status for that period and check the count adds up.

What locking implies

Locking is not a status, it is a layer on top of the status. A locked conversion shows a padlock icon and the Locked tooltip; a conversion that is not locked yet shows Will be locked on followed by its date.

• As long as a conversion is not locked, you can still change your mind, including moving a Refused conversion back to Accepted.
• Once locked, the conversion cannot be edited any more, neither by you nor by support.
• Locking makes the commission eligible for payment: it is the starting point of the billing and affiliate payout cycle.
• With a waiting period of 0, accepting or refusing locks the conversion within the second. Double check your selection before confirming.

Why validate in bulk

• You clear a full month of conversions in minutes instead of hours of clicking.
• You pay your affiliates faster, one of the top satisfaction drivers for a publisher and a real recruitment argument.
• You reconcile Affilae data with your back office easily, since you work with your own order references.
• You industrialise cancellations and product returns, with one consistent refusal reason for an entire batch.

Best practices

• Book a recurring slot, for instance the 5th of each month for the previous month conversions. A steady rhythm prevents late payments and affiliate follow-ups.
• Always test a 3 to 5 line file before running a full batch. You validate the format in ten seconds, with no risk.
• Filter on Pending before exporting. A file that already contains processed conversions will lower your counters without telling you why.
• Write refusal reasons your affiliate can act on. A vague reason triggers a message in Messaging, a clear one avoids the exchange.
• Keep your dated import files in a shared folder. That is your audit trail if a partner disputes a decision.

Use cases

A fashion store with a 14 day return window. At the start of each month, the team exports the previous month Pending conversions, removes the returned orders from the list, imports the rest as a validation, then runs a second refusal import with the reason « Product return accepted ». Two files, ten minutes, no affiliate left behind.

A lead generation site. Leads are qualified by the sales team in a CRM. Once a week, the team extracts the list of validated leads from the CRM, pastes the references into a single column and imports the file. Unqualified leads go into a refusal file with the reason « Lead unreachable after 3 attempts ».

An urgent campaign validation. An affiliate is waiting for the payment of a campaign before launching the next one. The advertiser filters the list on that partner, ticks the relevant rows, then chooses Validate and lock now to make the commissions eligible for payment straight away, without waiting for the end of the waiting period.

Related articles

• Explanation conversions status
• Configuring commission rules
• Add a conversion manually
• How to manage your affiliate payments?