Paying your affiliates: where to start
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You need to pay your affiliates and you are not sure where to start? This page sets out what applies to every program (what makes a commission payable, the invoice, who does what), then points you to the detailed article matching your program’s payment mode, self-managed or Affilae Pay.
What makes a commission payable
Whatever your program’s mode, a commission cannot be paid out to an affiliate until three conditions are met. This is the shared foundation of both journeys, and the answer to most “why has my affiliate not been paid yet?” questions.
The conversion is validated
The waiting period has passed
The payment threshold is reached
- The validated conversion. A conversion still pending, or refused, produces no commission to pay. Payments only ever cover validated conversions.
- The waiting period. This is the window during which you can still refuse a conversion, for instance after a product return or a cancelled order. You set it in your commission rules, in the Delay before payment demand (in days) field, and you can leave it at 0 days to pay your affiliates without delay.
- The payment threshold. This is the minimum amount an affiliate must build up before being paid, editable on the Payments page in the Payment threshold field. A high threshold delays transfers, a very low one multiplies small invoices.
Once these conditions are met, Affilae adds up each affiliate’s commissions into a single earning. So you pay one grouped amount, not a flurry of micro-transfers.
There is always an invoice, but not between the same parties
In both modes, an affiliate payment comes with an invoice: that is what makes the operation accountable. What changes from one mode to the other is who invoices whom, and what you have to do.
| SELF-MANAGED PROGRAM | AFFILAE PAY PROGRAM | |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays the affiliate | You do, directly. | Affilae does, on your behalf. |
| The invoice | Between you and your affiliate. Affilae generates it when you create the payout request. | A single invoice from Affilae to you, grouping the commissions owed. |
| What you do | Create the payout request, make the transfer, then update the status. | Settle Affilae’s invoice. The rest is handled for you. |
| Where you track it | The program’s Payments page. | The same Payments page, for tracking. |
In other words, the question is never “is an invoice needed?” but “who issues it”. Tracking, on the other hand, happens in the same place in both cases.
Find out which mode your program is in
In the left-hand menu, open Payments. If you manage several programs, pick the right one with the selector at the top right, then look next to the page title: an Affilae Pay badge means your program is managed by Affilae. With no badge, it is self-managed.
Affilae Pay
Continue with the detailed article
Once you know the mode, the matching article walks you through the whole page, its statuses and every action to take.
Managing payments for a self-managed program
Managing payments with Affilae Pay
On a self-managed program, start by clearing your history
Your payment requests created before the Payments page was updated carry the To process status. Since Affilae does not make the transfers on a self-managed program, the platform cannot know whether your affiliates have already been paid: it is up to you to confirm, and a bulk action lets you handle several requests at once.
These requests are hidden from the table by default. A blue banner at the top of the page counts them and gives you a button that reveals them.
The full status-by-status walkthrough is in Managing payments for a self-managed program.
What your affiliate sees
Your affiliate tracks their earnings from their own Payments page. They never see the billing steps: only the amount owed to them and the progress of their transfer. While their total stays below your threshold, they read Threshold not reached.
On older requests from a self-managed program, they read Payment to confirm. Since 4 August they can confirm the payouts they actually received themselves. If they received nothing, they are invited to contact you, not Affilae. Clearing that history quickly therefore saves you needless exchanges.
Related articles
- Managing payments for a self-managed program
- Managing payments with Affilae Pay
- Configuring commission rules
- Understanding conversion statuses
- How to automatically validate large volumes of conversions through a CSV batch file
Frequently asked questions
Open the Payments page of the program concerned. An « Affilae Pay » badge next to the title means your program is managed by Affilae, which pays your affiliates on your behalf. With no badge, your program is self-managed and you pay your affiliates yourself.
When three conditions are met: the conversion is validated, its waiting period has expired, and the affiliate has reached the program’s payment threshold. Before that, no commission can be paid out, whatever your program’s mode.
Three things, in this order. Are their conversions validated? Has the waiting period expired? Does their total reach your payment threshold? If all three are fine, open your Payments page: the payment status tells you exactly where it stands.
Yes. On a self-managed program, the invoice is issued between you and your affiliate, and Affilae generates it when you create the payout request. With Affilae Pay, you receive a single invoice from Affilae instead, and Affilae then pays your affiliates.
Yes, by adjusting the two settings that drive the pace. The « Delay before payment demand (in days) » field in your commission rules can be set to 0 days, and the payment threshold can be lowered on the Payments page. Bear in mind, though: a short waiting period leaves you less time to refuse a conversion, and a very low threshold multiplies small invoices.
It is a payment request created before the Payments page was updated, on a self-managed program. On your side it carries the « To process » status and it is up to you to state what actually happened. Since 4 August your affiliate can confirm the payouts they actually received themselves. If they received nothing, they are invited to contact you rather than Affilae.