Payment Operations
Part of Affiliate income for creators
Tracking commissions separately from clicks
Separate outbound clicks, tracked actions, pending commissions and payments so affiliate reports do not overstate income.
Track affiliate clicks as interest. Track commissions as a separate sequence of recorded actions, status changes and payments. A click does not prove a purchase. A pending amount does not prove that money will arrive.
Name each measure
| Measure | What it can tell you | What it cannot establish |
|---|---|---|
| Outbound click events | How often a configured website recorded exits to a merchant | That the merchant credited those clicks |
| Tracked actions | Actions the programme recorded | That every action will remain eligible |
| Pending commission | An amount awaiting a programme step | That it is payable or received |
| Locked or approved commission | An amount that reached the programme’s stated status | That it has been paid |
| Paid commission | An amount shown as paid in a programme or payment record | Which click caused it without matching evidence |
Use your programme’s actual status names and definitions.
On impact.com, pending actions have not reached their locking date. After locking, payouts follow the contract’s payment schedule and any applicable threshold. A brand may reverse an action before it locks.
Amazon Associates has its own programme policies. Do not assume another platform’s labels or rules apply.
Affiliate Tracking Measures: What They Mean and Don't Mean
- Outbound click events
- How often a website recorded exits to a merchant
- Tracked actions
- Actions the programme recorded
- Pending commission
- An amount awaiting a programme step
- Locked or approved commission
- An amount that reached the programme’s stated status
- Paid commission
- An amount shown as paid in a programme or payment record
Keep records that can be matched
For each recommendation or link group, record the content, publication date, programme, offer, tracking identifier and currency.
By reporting period, retain the site’s outbound click count if available, the programme’s tracked actions, reversals, current status amounts and payments. Keep dated exports or statements and the corresponding payment records. If several links share an identifier, results may be attributable only to the group.
Google Analytics 4 records website events; an affiliate programme tracks and validates actions under its own rules. Social posts and email clicks may sit outside the website report. If figures mismatch, check definitions, dates, channels and setup before concluding a commission is missing.
Key Record-Keeping Requirements for Australian Affiliates
- Required records under Australian law
- Income transactions and bank records
- Recommended data to retain per offer
- Content, publication date, programme, offer, tracking identifier, currency
- Platform-specific rules apply
- Amazon Associates policies differ; do not assume other platforms' labels apply
Reconcile statuses and dates
Compare each new programme report with the previous export. Record reversals and adjustments without replacing the earlier figures. Match amounts marked as paid with the payment records, noting currency and any conversion shown in your records. A click and its later action or payment may belong to different periods, so do not calculate a conversion rate from unmatched monthly totals.
Australian business guidance identifies income transactions and bank records among the records businesses need to keep. Use click data to assess whether readers reach an offer. Use validated status and payment data to assess financial results. Show the observation period beside each figure.
Reconciling Affiliate Commission Statuses and Dates
- Compare each new programme report with the previous export
- Record reversals and adjustments without replacing earlier figures
- Match amounts marked as paid with payment records, noting currency and conversion
- Do not calculate conversion rates from unmatched monthly totals
