Understanding Commission Adjustments
In Simple Affiliate, a single referral’s commission will never go below zero. However, an affiliate's total "Owed" balance can become negative to account for refunds that occur after a payout has already been processed.
Scenario 1: A Commission is Decreased or Canceled
A commission from a specific order is only reduced or removed if the underlying Shopify order changes. There are three primary reasons for this:
The Order Was Canceled: If the entire order is canceled in your Shopify admin, the associated commission is automatically canceled.
The Order Was Refunded: * Full Refund: Cancels the entire commission.
Partial Refund: Proportionally decreases the commission amount based on the value of the items returned.
Manual Reversal: You, the merchant, have manually reversed the referral from within the Simple Affiliate app (e.g., if a duplicate referral was detected).
Scenario 2: The "Amount Owed" Becomes Negative
An affiliate's total balance becomes negative if a commission is reversed after it has already been paid out to them. Here is how that typically happens:
The Earn: An affiliate earns a $10 commission on a successful sale.
The Payout: You pay the affiliate that $10 (via Autopay or manually). Their "Owed" balance returns to $0.
The Refund: After the payout, the customer returns the order. Shopify records the refund, and Simple Affiliate cancels that $10 commission.
The Debit: Since the $10 was already sent to the affiliate, the system debits their account to balance the books. Their "Owed" balance now shows as $-10.
Important Rules to Remember
Automatic Reconciliation: You don't need to manually "collect" money from the affiliate. The negative balance will automatically be deducted from any future commissions they earn until their balance returns to positive.
Transparency: Affiliates can see these adjustments in their own dashboard, helping them understand why their total "Owed" amount may be lower than expected.
Manual Overrides: If you choose to "forgive" a negative balance, you can manually adjust an affiliate's referral data, though we recommend keeping the automatic sync for the most accurate accounting.
What Happens Next?
If you have reviewed these scenarios and still have questions about a specific order, please reach out to our Live Chat support with the Shopify Order ID and the Affiliate's name so we can take a closer look for you.