Key takeaways
- A refunded sale should reverse the commission earned on it, since you no longer have the revenue it was paid from.
- A clearing window holds commissions as pending until the refund period passes, catching most refunds before payout.
- If a refund lands after payout, reverse the commission via a clawback netted against future earnings.
- Partial refunds should reduce the commission proportionally, not cancel it entirely.
- Afflio ties each commission to its conversion, so refunds reverse the right commission automatically.
Refunds are not an edge case — they're a routine part of selling anything. Every commission you generate carries a small probability of being undone by a return, and how your program handles that moment shapes both your margins and your partners' trust in your accounting.
What happens to a commission when a sale is refunded?
When a sale is refunded, the commission earned on it should be reversed, because the revenue the commission was paid from no longer exists. Paying a partner on money you've handed back to the customer means you lose twice — once on the refund and once on the commission. So the default rule is simple: no kept revenue, no commission.
Afflio links every commission to the conversion that produced it, so when a refund comes in for a given order, the engine knows exactly which commission to reverse — no manual hunting through statements.
How does a clearing window help with refunds?
A clearing window holds new commissions in a pending state until your refund period has elapsed, so most refunds are caught before any money is paid out. If a customer returns the product during the window, the pending commission simply never becomes payable — no reversal of paid money, no awkward conversation.
- Set the clearing window to at least the length of your standard refund or money-back-guarantee period.
- While pending, the commission is visible to the partner but not yet eligible for payout.
- A refund inside the window cancels the pending commission cleanly.
- Commissions that survive the window mature and become payable.
The window does the heavy lifting
A clearing window sized to your refund policy quietly resolves the large majority of refund cases before they ever touch a payout. The clawback machinery is your backstop for the minority that slip through, not your everyday tool.
What about refunds after you've already paid?
When a refund arrives after the commission has been paid, reverse it through a clawback and net the amount against the partner's future earnings rather than asking for cash back. This keeps your books accurate without putting a partner into the uncomfortable position of owing you money directly.
- Reverse against any pending balance the partner has first.
- If that's not enough, carry the negative forward and deduct it from the next payout.
- Communicate the reversal on the partner's statement so it's visible, not silent.
How do you handle partial refunds?
A partial refund should reduce the commission proportionally rather than wipe it out. If a customer is refunded half of a $200 order, a percentage-based commission should be recalculated against the $100 you actually kept. Cancelling the whole commission for a partial refund over-penalizes the partner; ignoring it over-pays them. Proportional adjustment keeps both sides fair.
Refund handling is quiet trust-building. When a partner sees their commission move exactly in step with the revenue you kept — no more, no less — they stop worrying about whether your numbers are honest.
Should affiliates keep their commission if the customer refunds?+
Generally no. If the sale is refunded, the revenue that funded the commission is gone, so the commission should be reversed. Paying a commission on a refunded order means the merchant loses both the revenue and the commission. The standard practice is to reverse the commission on a refunded sale.
How does a clearing window prevent refund problems?+
A clearing window keeps commissions pending until your refund period passes, so most refunds happen before the commission is ever paid out. A refund during the window cancels the pending commission cleanly, avoiding the friction of reversing money a partner already received.
How should partial refunds affect commissions?+
Reduce the commission in proportion to the refund rather than cancelling it entirely. If half an order is refunded, a percentage-based commission should be recalculated against the amount you actually kept. This keeps the payout fair to the partner while protecting your margin.