Tracked affiliate sales are reconciled against returns every night, monthly statements send themselves, and a pre-approved payout file lands with finance — error-free. The payout marathon that ate nine hours each month now takes twenty minutes.
Typical results
120
Affiliates paid automatically
-93%
Commission disputes per month
0
Spreadsheets in the process
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
Paying 120 affiliates meant a nine-hour spreadsheet marathon: exporting tracked sales, deducting returns by hand, applying each partner's rate and assembling bank files. Returns processed after the cutoff slipped through, so commissions were paid on refunded orders, and around fifteen affiliates disputed their numbers every month — each dispute meaning another audit.
Before and after
Monthly payout run
−96%Commission disputes per month
−93%Statements out on the 1st
The automation
We built a nightly reconciliation in Make that matches every tracked sale against the store's orders and returns, applies each affiliate's rate and tier, and keeps a running ledger per partner. On the first of the month, every affiliate receives a branded statement itemizing sales, returns and commission, while finance gets a pre-approved payout file matched to the ledger down to the last shekel. Disputes now link straight to the underlying orders.
How it works
- 01
Sales tracked
Affiliate-attributed orders stream into the ledger with partner and rate attached.
- 02
Returns netted nightly
Every night, refunds and returns are matched back and commissions adjusted.
- 03
Statements generated
On the 1st, each affiliate gets a branded statement itemizing sales, returns and payout.
- 04
Finance file ready
A pre-approved payout file lands with finance, matched to the ledger.
- 05
Disputes traced
Any question links straight to the underlying orders — no audit archaeology.
Starts from
- Tracked affiliate sales
- Returns & refunds
Delivers
- Branded monthly statements
- Pre-approved payout file
- Per-partner ledger
The impact
Payout day shrank from nine hours to twenty minutes, and commissions on refunded orders stopped entirely. Disputes fell from fifteen a month to one, statements reach all 120 affiliates on the first of every month, and finance signs off on a file it never has to rebuild.
Questions about this automation
How are returns and refunds handled in commission totals?
Every night the flow matches tracked affiliate sales against the store's refunds and returns. When an order is refunded, its commission is reversed or reduced in that partner's ledger before the payout date. Late returns that arrive after a payout are carried as a deduction on the next statement, so the totals always reconcile.
Can different affiliates have different commission rates?
Yes. Each partner record holds its own rate, tier and any time-limited bonus, and the reconciliation applies the right one to every order. Tier changes, such as a higher rate after a sales threshold, apply automatically from the date the threshold is reached, and the statement shows which rate was used.
What does finance receive on payout day?
Finance gets a payout file in the bank's upload format with each affiliate's amount, matched line by line to the ledger, plus a summary for sign-off. Statements go to affiliates by email at the same time. This is a multi-step build, usually rolled out in stages, with a parallel month to compare results.