What it means
In affiliate marketing, hold period a waiting period between when a commission is earned and when it becomes available for payout. Protects against refunds and chargebacks. Typical hold periods are 15-60 days.
Why it matters
Whether you're launching a new affiliate program or scaling an existing one, understanding hold period helps you make better decisions about commission structures, partner recruitment, and growth tactics. Most SaaS founders run into this concept early and benefit from a clear mental model before they start building.
See also
Related terms in the affiliate marketing glossary that connect to hold period:
- Impression -- A single instance of an affiliate link or banner being displayed to a visitor. Impressions are the broadest metric an...
- In-App Referral -- A referral mechanism built directly into a product's user interface, allowing existing customers to share referral li...
- Last-Click Attribution -- An attribution model that credits the last affiliate whose link a customer clicked before converting. This is the mos...