Definition
Commission approval window
The approval window is the delay between a commission being earned and becoming payable. It exists to cover the refund window.
A sale can be refunded. If the commission goes out the day after the purchase and the customer is refunded on day twelve, the merchant has paid a commission on a sale whose money was taken back — and recovering that money from an affiliate is much harder than never having released it.
Thirty days is the usual value, and the right benchmark is simple: match the delay to your own refund policy. A “30-day money-back guarantee” with a fifteen-day approval window leaves the gap wide open.
This delay must be stated clearly, before sign-up and not only in the terms. An affiliate seeing a “pending” balance without knowing how long it stays pending writes to support — and an affiliate who discovers the delay after their first sale concludes you are stalling.
At earnwithaffiliate
The move from “pending” to “payable” is automatic, once a day, based on the delay set on the campaign.
Related terms
Clawback
A clawback is the recovery of a commission already paid out, when the matching sale is refunded after the affiliate was paid.
Affiliate payout
A payout groups several payable commissions for one affiliate into a single payment. It is the last step of the chain, and the most visible one for them.
Chargeback
A chargeback is a payment dispute the customer raises with their bank. The money is taken back from the merchant, and the commission has to follow.