Commissions & Payouts

Your commission rules define how rewards are calculated when affiliates refer customers. HeldSway uses a strict priority model to resolve overlapping rules and supports multi-tier reward brackets based on total order values.

Understanding Commission Priority
When multiple commission rates could apply to a single transaction, the calculation engine evaluates rules in the following order from top priority to bottom:
$$\text{Per-Affiliate Rate} \rightarrow \text{Business Flat Rate} \rightarrow \text{Business Tiers} \rightarrow \text{Platform Tiers} \rightarrow \text{Platform Base Rate}$$

Configuring Custom Business Tiers
To build custom incentive tiers based on order values:

1. Go to Business Settings > Commission Tiers.
2. Scroll to the Custom Business Tiers section and click the + Add Tier button.
3. Define the structural bracket parameters:
   • Min Amount ($): The lowest order subtotal threshold for this tier.
   • Max Amount ($): The upper order limit (type "Unlimited" if it is your top tier).
   • Type: Select either Percentage or Flat.
   • Rate: Enter the matching reward percentage value or flat financial reward.
4. Click Create to save the rule to your ledger.

The Orders & Commissions workspace gives you a unified view to monitor all partner-driven shopping carts, verify individual referral allocations, and check transaction statuses.

Real-Time Performance Counters
The top of the dashboard displays five core system health metrics:

• Total Orders: Cumulative quantity of referral-tracked conversions.
• Total Revenue: The gross subtotal value of all generated sales.
• Total Commission: The total value of rewards calculated across all orders.
• Pending: Commissions caught within security validation or return protection hold windows.
• Approved: Confirmed conversions ready to be transferred into payout schedules.

Auditing Individual Records
The main table lets you filter and audit transactions dynamically:

• Subtotal vs. Commission: View the exact sale subtotal side-by-side with the applied conversion percentage and final commission reward.
• Action Logs: Click the view eye-con under Actions to open the deep metadata wrapper for any tracking event.

The Payouts ledger manages pending obligations, processing actions, and historical records for your entire affiliate network.

Analyzing Payout Ledger Metrics

• Pending Amount / Count: The accumulation of cleared partner balances currently awaiting payment processing.
• Completed This Month: Total funds successfully disbursed to affiliates during the current calendar month.
• Pending Requests: The number of active early payment requests waiting for admin review.

Payout Execution Statuses
As balances move through processing loops, their entry logs update to reflect one of three clear milestones:

1. Processing: The payment run is active or clearing through third-party network relays.
2. Completed: Funds have safely landed in the partner's account, and a permanent settlement date stamp is applied.
3. Failed: The transaction was rejected (e.g., due to invalid partner accounts). The system automatically reverts these balances back to the affiliate's account for review.

Manual Payout Actions
To clear an affiliate line item manually, locate the record and use the dynamic action toggles:

• Click the Green Checkmark to transition an entry manually to Mark Completed.
• Click the Red Cross to transition an entry manually to Mark Failed if a payout bounces or is canceled.

Affiliates can submit on-demand settlement requests before your standard automated clearing cycles run. You can audit and process these milestones within a dedicated verification queue.

Reviewing On-Demand Submission Records

1. Go to Payouts and select the Payout Requests sub-tab.
2. Review the chronological request table, paying close attention to:
   • Amount: The total balance requested by the affiliate.
   • Notes: Specific messages, context, or justifications provided by the partner.
   • Submitted: The exact calendar date stamp when the request was requested.

Approval and Failure Workflows

• Approvals: When you verify and approve an early request, it moves to Approved status and shifts directly over to the active Payouts run directory where you can clear the funds.
• Declines: If an early request violates your guidelines, select the line item to flag it as Failed. This rejects the request and sends an instant automated update to the partner.

HeldSway builds detailed historical statements for every payout run. These summaries help you reconcile your accounting records and provide absolute transparency for your affiliates.

Deep Statement Analysis
Selecting a historical record entry inside the Payouts ledger unlocks its full accounting report:

• Payout Parameters: Review the exact date range of the run, the specified distribution method, and the definitive completion date stamp.
• Financial Export Tools: Click Download Statement to generate itemized accounting documentation suitable for your financial bookkeeping records.

Comprehensive Conversion Breakdowns
Every statement features a line-by-line breakdown mapping the payout back to the specific sales that generated it. This lets you trace every dollar back to its origin:
$$\text{Order ID} \rightarrow \text{Transaction Date} \rightarrow \text{Gross Basket Subtotal} \rightarrow \text{Applied Commission Rate %} \rightarrow \text{Net Compensation Generated}$$

This granular breakdown protects your program's integrity by ensuring every automated or manual payout remains perfectly audit-ready.