Affiliate Payouts

Managing payments to your affiliates

Overview

Efficiently managing affiliate payouts is critical for maintaining a successful affiliate program. Affiliates are more likely to actively promote your products when they know they'll be paid accurately and on time.

Refgrow offers multiple options for processing payouts to your affiliates, from manual payments to automated bulk processing through integrations.

Payout Settings

Setting Payout Frequency

Determine how often you'll process affiliate payments:

  1. Go to your program settings
  2. Navigate to the "Payouts" tab
  3. Select your preferred payout frequency:
    • Weekly: Process payments every week
    • Bi-weekly: Process payments every two weeks
    • Monthly: Process payments once per month (most common)
    • Quarterly: Process payments every three months
  4. Save your settings

The frequency you choose will be communicated to your affiliates in their dashboard.

Minimum Payout Amount

Set a minimum threshold that affiliates must reach before receiving a payout:

  1. In the "Payouts" tab of your program settings
  2. Enter your minimum payout amount (e.g., $50, $100)
  3. Save your settings

Affiliates will only be eligible for payment when their unpaid earnings meet or exceed this threshold. This helps reduce the administrative costs of processing many small payments.

Hold Period Settings

Configure a hold period to protect against refunds and chargebacks before processing payouts:

  1. In the "Payouts" tab of your program settings
  2. Enter your desired hold period in days (0-365)
  3. Save your settings

How Hold Periods Work:

  • 0 days: Earnings are immediately eligible for payout after conversion
  • 30+ days: Earnings must wait the specified number of days from the conversion date before becoming eligible
  • Protection: Helps protect against refunds, chargebacks, and subscription cancellations
  • Transparency: Affiliates can see both their total earnings and payout-eligible earnings separately
Best Practice: Common hold periods are 30 days for digital products, 60-90 days for physical products, or 0 days for established programs with low refund rates.

Hold Period Display

When a hold period is configured:

  • Affiliates see separate "Total Earnings" and "Available for Payout" amounts
  • Earnings still in the hold period are clearly marked with release dates
  • Payout requests only process eligible earnings
  • Admin dashboard shows held vs. eligible earnings for all affiliates

Payment Methods

Adding Payment Methods

Configure the payment methods you offer to affiliates:

  1. Go to your program settings
  2. Navigate to the "Payouts" tab
  3. In the "Available Payment Methods" section, add methods like:
    • PayPal
    • Wise (formerly TransferWise)
    • Bank Transfer
    • Payoneer
    • Crypto
  4. Save your settings

Affiliates will be able to choose their preferred payment method from your list of options.

Payment Integration Setup

For automated bulk payouts, set up payment integrations:

PayPal Integration

  1. In the "Payouts" tab, find the "Payment Integration Settings" section
  2. Enter your PayPal Client ID and Client Secret
  3. Save your settings

Wise Integration

  1. Get your Wise API Token from the Wise Developer Portal
  2. In the "Payouts" tab, find the "Payment Integration Settings" section
  3. Enter your Wise API Token in the provided field
  4. Click the "Test Connection" button to verify your token and automatically detect your Profile ID
  5. Save your settings once the connection test is successful
Note: Your Wise Profile ID will be automatically detected when you test the connection. You don't need to find it manually.

Processing Payouts

Accessing the Payments Page

To manage payouts to your affiliates:

  1. Log in to your Refgrow dashboard
  2. Select the program you want to manage
  3. Navigate to the "Payouts" tab

Here you'll see a list of all your affiliates with their payment details and earnings.

Manual Payouts

For individual manual payments:

  1. On the Payouts page, find the affiliate you want to pay
  2. Review their unpaid earnings and payment details
  3. Process the payment manually through the affiliate's chosen payment method (e.g., send a PayPal payment)
  4. Click the "Pay" button next to the affiliate's listing
  5. Confirm the payment amount and method
  6. The system will mark the earnings as paid and update the affiliate's payment history

Bulk Automated Payouts

For processing multiple payouts at once:

  1. On the Payouts page, select the affiliates you want to pay by checking the boxes next to their names
  2. Choose the payment method (PayPal or Wise) from the dropdown menu
  3. Click the "Process Bulk Payout" button
  4. Review the summary showing total affiliates and amount
  5. Confirm the action

Refgrow will automatically process the payments through the selected integration and update the payment status for each affiliate.

How Wise Payouts Work

When using Wise for bulk payouts, the system works intelligently to send money to your affiliates:

  • Wise Account Holders: If an affiliate has a Wise account with the email they used to register, money is sent directly to their Wise balance
  • Bank Account Fallback: If an affiliate doesn't have a Wise account, the system will attempt to send money to their bank account based on their provided details
  • Automatic Currency Conversion: The system automatically handles currency conversion if needed (e.g., USD to EUR)
  • Smart Routing: Wise automatically determines the best way to deliver the payment based on the recipient's location and available options
Note: Automated bulk payouts are available for users on Pro and Business plans.
Sandbox vs Production: Make sure your system is configured for the correct Wise environment. Sandbox is used for testing, while Production is used for real payments.

Payment History

Refgrow maintains a complete history of all payments made to affiliates:

  • Each affiliate's record shows their total paid earnings
  • The date of their last payment is displayed
  • You can view a detailed payment history for each affiliate

This payment history helps with record-keeping and can be useful for tax reporting purposes.

Affiliate Payment Information

How Affiliates Enter Payment Details

Affiliates can enter and update their payment information through their dashboard:

  1. They log in to their affiliate dashboard
  2. Navigate to the "Settings" or "Payment" section
  3. Select their preferred payment method from your available options
  4. Enter the required details for that payment method:
    • PayPal: Their PayPal email address
    • Wise: Just their email address (if they have a Wise account) or their bank details
    • Bank Transfer: Bank account information (account number, routing number, etc.)
    • Other methods: Relevant account details as required
  5. Save their settings
Tip for Wise payments: If your affiliate has a Wise account, they only need to provide the email address associated with their Wise account. The system will automatically send money to their Wise balance.

Best Practices

Payout Schedule Consistency

Maintain a consistent payout schedule to build trust with your affiliates. If you say you'll pay monthly, ensure payments are processed at the same time each month.

Payment Method Variety

Offer multiple payment methods to accommodate global affiliates. Consider Wise for international payments, as it often has better exchange rates and lower fees than traditional methods.

Communication

Clearly communicate your payout policies, including frequency, minimum thresholds, and any requirements for receiving payment.

Record Keeping

Maintain accurate records of all affiliate payments for accounting and tax purposes, and consider providing affiliates with annual earnings statements.

Testing Before Going Live

Always test your payment integrations in sandbox mode before processing real payments. This helps you identify any issues and ensures a smooth experience for your affiliates.

Troubleshooting

Affiliate Missing Payment Details

If an affiliate is eligible for payment but hasn't provided payment details:

  1. Contact them directly to request their payment information
  2. Send them instructions on how to update their payment details
  3. Consider setting up automatic reminders for affiliates with missing payment information
Bulk Payout Failures

If a bulk payout fails, check these common issues:

  1. Verify your payment integration credentials are correct and up to date
  2. Ensure you have sufficient funds in your integrated payment account
  3. Check that affiliates' payment details are valid
  4. Review any specific error messages provided by the payment processor
Wise Integration Issues

Common Wise integration problems and solutions:

Connection Test Fails
  • Invalid Token: Verify your API token is correct and hasn't expired
  • Wrong Environment: Make sure you're using the right token for your environment (sandbox vs production)
  • Permission Issues: Ensure your API token has the required permissions for transfers
Profile ID Not Detected
  • Try regenerating your API token in the Wise Developer Portal
  • Ensure your Wise account is fully verified and active
  • Contact Wise support if you continue having issues
Payout Transfers Fail
  • Insufficient Balance: Ensure your Wise account has enough funds
  • Recipient Issues: Verify the affiliate's email or bank details are correct
  • Manual Approval Required: Some transfers may require manual approval in your Wise account
  • Currency Not Supported: Check if the target currency is supported by Wise
Environment Switching: To switch from sandbox to production, contact support. The environment is controlled server-side for security.

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