Give each purchase one payable owner under a rule agreed before launch. A workable starting policy is to let a valid creator code win, then use the last eligible affiliate click when no creator code applies. Keep earlier touches as reporting assists. Those are recommended affiliate attribution rules, not universal platform defaults. If your software cannot enforce them, change the policy or establish a reviewed adjustment process before promising payment.
Decide what your program rewards
Code-first attribution rewards the creator associated with the code used at checkout. Last-click attribution rewards the latest recorded affiliate referral within a defined window. Neither proves who caused the customer to buy.
The tradeoff matters when a shopper discovers a product through one creator and later uses another creator's code. Modash's affiliate tracking article describes this conflict and the problem of publicly shared codes. Treat those as reasons to declare a rule. A code redemption alone cannot tell you where the shopper found that code.
Use code-first when you want an assigned code to remain a payable signal even without a recorded click. Prefer last eligible click when rewarding recorded referrals matters more, and your system supports that priority. In either case, tell creators what happens when another partner supplies the other signal.
Split commission only if you deliberately want to pay for multiple roles and can reproduce the split on a statement. Do not start splitting orders case by case because two creators complain. That creates different terms for equally situated partners.
Write a policy your records can support
The following is an illustrative code-first policy. Its window, rate and deadlines are hypothetical choices, not industry benchmarks or Shopify defaults.
| Policy field | Illustrative rule |
|---|---|
| Payable unit | One unique paid order, with one affiliate owner |
| Code priority | A single active, assigned creator code used on the order wins over affiliate clicks |
| Click fallback | Without an eligible creator code, the latest recorded eligible affiliate click wins |
| Click window | Purchase must occur within 30 elapsed days after the click, including the exact boundary |
| Other touches | Direct visits, brand emails and generic store discounts do not overwrite an eligible affiliate click |
| Code-only orders | Credit the code owner without requiring a click, while the code is active |
| Conflicting records | Hold orders with multiple eligible creator codes or tied click timestamps for review |
| Missing evidence | No automatic affiliate credit without an eligible code or recorded eligible click |
| Commission base | Merchandise revenue after discounts and merchandise refunds; exclude tax and shipping |
| Commission rate | 10% of that base; round each order's final commission to cents |
| Review and changes | Allow claims within 30 days of the statement; record a policy version and effective timestamp |
Define an eligible click as a referral your affiliate system records for an active, approved partner. Use UTC timestamps for the window calculation. Define how program departures and code expiry affect existing clicks before accepting creators.
A click window and a code's active period are different clocks. Under this policy, an old click may expire while a valid code still earns credit. If that outcome conflicts with your program's economics, change the code rule before launch. The guide to defining an affiliate attribution window covers the window decision in more detail.
For conflicts, have the program owner inspect the order and available event sequence. Hold the commission while the conflict remains unresolved. Give the affected creators the decision and reason, with customer details removed. Avoid inventing a click time or assigning an unknown shopper to a creator.
Apply the rule to eight purchase journeys
Every journey and amount below is hypothetical. A and B are fictional affiliates. All referenced codes are active unless stated otherwise. Each order has $100.00 in merchandise revenue after discounts, before the listed refund. All clicks are recorded and eligible except where the row says otherwise. Purchases occur after the described touches.
| Order | Purchase journey | Payable owner | Commission | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H01 | A click 2 days before purchase; no code | A | $10.00 | Eligible click fallback |
| H02 | A click 5 days before; B click 1 day before; no code | B | $10.00 | Latest eligible affiliate click |
| H03 | A click 1 day before; B code at checkout | B | $10.00 | Creator code takes priority |
| H04 | A click and A code on the same order | A | $10.00 | One order earns one commission |
| H05 | A click 31 days before; no code | None | $0.00 | Click window expired |
| H06 | A click 31 days before; active A code at checkout | A | $10.00 | Code remains eligible independently |
| H07 | A click 2 days before; brand email 1 day before; generic store code | A | $10.00 | Neither later touch overrides A |
| H08 | No recorded click; B code; $40.00 merchandise refund | B | $6.00 | Code-only credit on retained revenue |
For an eligible order, commission equals the commission base multiplied by the rate. H08 therefore pays ($100.00 minus $40.00) multiplied by 10%, or $6.00. The example rounds each final order amount to two decimal places using half-up rounding; no row requires a fractional-cent adjustment.
Across these eight orders, A receives $40.00 and B receives $26.00. Total commission is $66.00. There are seven credited orders, with $660.00 of retained merchandise revenue assigned to an affiliate. H05 retains $100.00 of merchandise revenue but generates no affiliate commission under this policy.
H03 can retain A as an assist in a separate report. Do not add its full revenue to both creators' payable totals. Likewise, a later cross-device purchase without a code needs a supported recorded connection before it can qualify as a click-based order. Do not fill that gap with a guess.
Refunds change the commission base after attribution. Keep both the original amount and the adjustment. Use the returns reconciliation guide when designing the separate payout review.
Check the software before publishing the promise
Current documentation supports specific mechanics, not every policy you might want.
Shopify's Collabs program documentation separates customer-discount settings from creator commission settings. It also says that moving a creator to a new program retains their link and code while applying the new commission and discount. Record when program terms change; the visible code alone does not identify the applicable terms.
Shopify's creator payment documentation says links or codes can earn commission. It describes a merchant-selected holding period of 1 to 90 days, during which cancellation or a full refund automatically cancels pending commission. That holding period concerns payment review. It does not establish the click window in our example.
These pages do not settle code-versus-link priority for every configuration. They also do not establish that Collabs implements the illustrative policy above. Before adopting it:
- Find the current documentation for your affiliate tool's precedence and window settings. Save the URL and configuration date.
- Ask support about unresolved cases, particularly competing creator codes and links.
- Reproduce the eight journeys in an approved test setup. Compare the order owner, commission base and amount with your policy.
- Verify that adjustments appear once in both the creator statement and the payment record.
- Stop launch if the written promise and the payable result disagree.
Use the affiliate-link testing checklist to organize the pre-publication run. This article's calculations are policy examples, not results from a tested store.
Keep disclosures in the launch checklist
For endorsements affecting US consumers, the FTC's influencer disclosure guidance says financial relationships should be disclosed clearly with the endorsement. A private commission policy does not communicate that relationship to shoppers.
Ask creators to make the earning relationship understandable near the recommendation, and review placement for the format they use. Check the rules for other markets separately. This is an operational checklist, not legal advice.
Send creators the chosen policy and the conflict examples before they publish. Then have the person who approves payouts work through H03 and H08 using your actual settings. Resolve any difference before the first live link goes out.
