Payouts & accounting

Payouts are a crucial operational part of running an affiliate program. This page explains payout methods, scheduling options, and accounting best practices.

Payout methods and flows

• Automated payouts via Stripe Connect: platform triggers payouts to connected accounts on a schedule.
• Manual payouts: export a CSV with affiliate_id, amount, and bank_details and process using your banking provider or PayPal.
• Hybrid: schedule automatic payouts for verified affiliates and manual for newly onboarded or unverified accounts.

Scheduling and thresholds

• Payout cadence: weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Choose a cadence balancing affiliate expectations and operational cost.
• Minimum payout thresholds: set a threshold (e.g., $50) to avoid micro-payments and reduce transaction fees.

Accounting and reconciliation

• Track pending vs approved liabilities: pending represents potential payouts before the refund window closes.
• Export fields: include order_id, affiliate_id, gross_amount, refunds, net_amount, payout_status, and payout_date.
• Monthly reconciliation: match exported payouts with bank/stripe statements and reconcile refunds or chargebacks.

Tax and reporting

• Collect VAT or tax IDs where required and maintain records for tax reporting. Consult a tax advisor for local rules.

Auditability & controls

• Keep immutable logs for payout approvals, manual adjustments, and dispute resolutions to satisfy auditors.
• Limit who in the admin portal can approve or release payouts via role-based access control.

Developer notes

• Store stripe_account_id for each affiliate when using Stripe Connect and use idempotent APIs to create transfers.
• Generate machine-readable CSVs for accounting systems; include consistent UTC timestamps to ease reconciliation.

Clear payout policies and reliable reconciliation processes reduce disputes and accounting friction.