Affiliate commission guide
How to Calculate Monthly Affiliate Commissions
A monthly commission total is the sum of eligible transaction-level commissions, adjusted for reversals. Separate earned, approved, and payable amounts so a pending sale does not get mistaken for cash owed today.
For the basic percentage formula and an interactive estimate, start with the affiliate commission calculator.
The formula
Net earned commission = sale and renewal commissions − refund reversals + manual adjustments. Payable commission = approved unpaid net commission.
Worked example
An affiliate has eight $100 sales at 20% ($160), two eligible $100 renewals ($40), and one full $100 refund (−$20). Net earned commission is $180. If $40 of that amount is still pending approval, payable now is $140.
Use a transaction-level ledger
For each conversion, capture the customer or order reference, affiliate, eligible amount, rate, gross commission, status, and date. Add separate rows for renewals and negative adjustments. This makes the monthly total reproducible and helps prevent double counting a subscription renewal as a new customer sale.
Group the ledger by affiliate and payout period. Calculate the gross commission for each row, then sum approved rows and subtract approved reversals. Keep pending rows visible but outside the payable total. When a held sale becomes approved next month, it moves into payable then; it does not become a second commission.
Reconcile earned and paid balances
Starting unpaid balance plus newly approved commission minus payouts and reversals equals ending unpaid balance. If the numbers do not reconcile, look for duplicate events, refunded invoices, rate changes, or a sale assigned to a different affiliate.
The reporting period and payout date need not be the same. A sale earned in August may be approved and paid in September after a hold period. Show both dates on the ledger so affiliates can understand why their dashboard and bank payout differ.
Calculate your own payout
Write down the eligible amount, rate or fixed fee, qualifying events, and any refund or hold rules before calculating. Then use the free affiliate commission calculatorfor a percentage-based per-sale and monthly estimate.