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Technology and tracking

Rate lock

Also called rate-lock, commission lock, locked rate.

Short answer

Rate lock is a tracking mechanism in which the commission rate, commission type and attribution window are fixed at the moment a click is recorded. Later changes to the program's terms therefore do not affect clicks and sales that have already been created.

Definition of Rate lock.

Rate lock means the settlement terms are frozen per click. When the click is recorded, the tracking system copies the current commission rate, commission type and length of the attribution window onto the click row itself in the database. The conversion is later settled on the terms stored on the click – not on those that apply in the program at the time of purchase.

The mechanism exists because a long time can pass between click and purchase. An attribution window can run for 30, 60 or 90 days, and during that period the store may have changed its rate. Without a lock, work done under one promise would be settled under another. With the lock, the affiliate knows the value of a click at the moment it is sent.

Technically, rate lock is denormalisation: instead of looking up the rate in the program table when the conversion comes in, it is read from the click row via the click ID the conversion carries. The lookup is therefore independent of later edits to the program – and of whatever a browser might claim.

The alternative is settlement on the terms at the time of purchase: the system looks up the current rate when the sale is recorded. That model is simpler to build, but moves all the risk to the affiliate and invites disputes, because no one can prove afterwards which rate applied when the traffic was sent. Rate lock makes the click row the contract: one lookup shows what the click was promised.

What is locked – and what is not

Locked at the click: commission rate, commission type and attribution window. Not locked: future clicks – if the store changes the rate, the new rate applies to all clicks from the moment of the change. Rate lock does not freeze the program; it freezes the individual click.

Rate lock is not an approval either. The sale must still pass the normal checks and can be rejected with a reason – the lock guarantees the rate and the window, not that the commission ends up approved.

How it goes wrong

  • 01

    The store expects an immediate saving

    A rate cut only works going forward. Clicks already in the system convert at the old rate until their attribution window expires. So plan rate changes well before big campaign periods.

  • 02

    The affiliate expects back pay after a rate increase

    The lock works both ways. If the store raises the rate, it only applies to clicks sent after the change – existing clicks are settled at the rate they were recorded with.

  • 03

    Rate lock mistaken for guaranteed commission

    A locked rate is not a sure sale. The conversion must still happen within the window and survive deduplication and approval – and can be rejected with a reason the affiliate can read.

At Affilyflow

Rate lock in practice

At Affilyflow the commission is locked at the moment of the click: rate and type are copied to the click row. The attribution window is locked at the same time and decided on our server – not in the browser. And an ongoing recurring agreement cannot be cut afterwards; it continues on the terms that applied when the click was recorded.

Frequently asked questions

What happens to my clicks if the store changes the commission rate?

With rate lock, every click is settled at the rate that applied when the click was recorded. If the store changes the rate today, the new rate only applies to clicks from now on – existing clicks convert at the old rate until their attribution window expires.

Is the attribution window locked too, or only the rate?

At Affilyflow both are locked at the click. The window decides how long the click can turn into a sale, and if it could be shortened afterwards, clicks already sent could lose their attribution. The decision is made on the server, not in the browser.

Does rate lock also apply to recurring commission?

At Affilyflow, yes. An ongoing recurring agreement cannot be cut afterwards – it continues on the terms that applied at the click. New clicks, however, follow the terms in force when they are sent.

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