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Payment and models

Payout request

Also called payout request, withdrawal request, payment request.

Short answer

A payout request is the affiliate's instruction to the network to pay out earned commission. It can be sent when the approved balance is above the payout threshold and only covers approved commission – pending commission does not count until the store's objection period has expired.

Definition of Payout request.

The path from sale to money in the account has 3 steps. First the conversion is created as pending. Then it is approved – either actively by the store or automatically when the objection period expires. Finally the affiliate requests payout of the approved balance. The payout request is the last step and the only one the affiliate triggers themselves.

The request covers approved, not yet paid commission. Pending commission cannot be paid out, whatever the amount – it still belongs to the period in which the store can object to the sale, for example because of a refund or abuse. That is why some time always passes from the moment the sale happens to the moment the money can be requested.

After the request, the network processes the payout and transfers the amount to the payout details the affiliate has registered. The paperwork depends on the settlement model: with self-billing the network issues the self-billed invoice in the affiliate's name, otherwise the affiliate invoices themselves. The VAT treatment depends on whether the affiliate is VAT-registered.

What decides when you can request a payout?

2 things set the pace: the payout threshold and the approval time. The threshold decides how much approved commission must be in the balance before the request can be sent. The approval time decides how quickly pending commission is approved – if you sell on 1 March in a program with a 30-day objection period, the commission is ready for payout at the earliest at the start of April. If the program has recurring commission, the rhythm repeats for every renewal – each period is created as pending and approved on its own.

How it goes wrong

  • 01

    The balance is not the payable amount

    A total balance can look large and consist mostly of pending commission. Plan cash flow by the approved part – that is what can be requested as a payout.

  • 02

    Missing payout details

    A request without correct account and business details gets stuck in manual processing. Register the details before you reach the threshold – not when the money should already have been sent.

  • 03

    Payout without bookkeeping

    In Denmark, affiliate payouts are taxable income whether or not you run a business. Keep the self-billed invoice for every payout – the amounts must be documentable when the annual tax return or the accounts are prepared.

At Affilyflow

Payout request in practice

In Affilyflow a conversion never credits a balance automatically – everything is created as pending, and the store has the program's approval period (30–90 days) to reject it with a reason the affiliate can read. After that the sale is approved automatically. The balance is calculated from the underlying transactions, not from a column that can be edited, and the payout amount is determined by the server – not by figures from the browser. The amount is based on commission calculated on the order value excluding VAT – via the Shopify app, however, on the value of the goods without shipping, where it is not yet confirmed whether VAT has been deducted.

You do not need to send a request: if your approved balance is at least DKK 100, and your bank details, master data and the self-billing agreement are in place, we create the payout automatically on the first banking day of the month. If you do not want to wait, you can press "Pay out now" at the same threshold, and the automatic payout can be paused. We make the transfer itself by bank transfer, and every payout gets a self-billed invoice.

Frequently asked questions

When can I request payout of my commission?

When your approved commission is above the payout threshold. Pending commission does not count – it must first be approved, either actively by the store or automatically when the objection period expires.

Why can I not have my whole balance paid out?

Because part of the balance is still pending. The store has a deadline to reject sales that are refunded or turn out to be invalid, and only when the deadline has passed or the sale has been approved can the amount be paid out.

How long does it take from sale to money in the account?

Add up 3 periods: the time until the sale is approved – up to the store's objection period, for example 30 days – the time until your approved balance reaches the payout threshold, and the network's processing time for the payout itself. For a single sale in a new program, 1–2 months is therefore not unusual.

Do I have to send an invoice to get affiliate commission paid out?

It depends on the network's settlement model. With self-billing, the network issues the self-billed invoice for you, and you only have to book it. Without self-billing, you invoice the amount yourself. The VAT treatment depends on whether you are VAT-registered.

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