Managing Manual Payouts (Premium Plan)
While Auto-pay handles the heavy lifting, some merchants prefer to process payments externally using PayPal, bank transfers, or store credit. The Manual Monthly Schedule helps you organize these external payments.
1. Setting Up the Manual Monthly Schedule
Automate the organization of your monthly totals to create a clean "payout list" at the start of every month:
Navigate to Settings > Payout.
In the Payout schedule card, check the box for "Manual monthly schedule."
Set Your Threshold: Enter a minimum amount (e.g., 10.00 CAD).
How it works: On the 1st of every month, the app automatically generates a draft list of all affiliates who have reached that threshold. You can review this list in the Payments section before processing.
2. Processing Manual Payments (Step-by-Step)
If you aren't using the monthly schedule or need to pay someone immediately, follow these steps:
Identify & Create: Go to the Affiliates section. Filter for affiliates with "Amount Owed" > 0. Select them and click "Create payment."
Review the totals and click "Confirm."
Navigate to Payments: Go to the Payments section to see your list of "Unconfirmed" payments.
Export for Batch Processing: Before heading to your bank, select the unconfirmed payments and click the "Export to CSV" button. This gives you a formatted file containing affiliate names, emails, and exact amounts—perfect for importing into PayPal’s "Mass Pay" or your bank’s batch transfer tool.
Send the Funds: Log in to your external processor (e.g., PayPal) and upload your CSV or send the funds manually.
Confirm for Record Keeping: Once the money is sent, return to the Payments section in Simple Affiliate, select the payments, and click "Confirm payment." You can add a payment note (like a transaction ID) here.
Important Rules to Remember
Record Accuracy: "Confirming" a manual payment does not physically move money; it simply tells Simple Affiliate that you have settled the debt so the affiliate's "Amount Owed" returns to zero.
0% Transaction Fees: Because the app isn't processing the money, there are no transaction fees for manual payments.
Affiliate Visibility: Once you click "Confirm," the affiliate sees the payment marked as "Paid" in their dashboard immediately.
What Happens Next?
By using the Manual Monthly Schedule combined with the CSV Export, you can settle dozens of affiliate commissions in just a few minutes.