# Affiliate Commission Payouts Spiffy makes it easy to pull commission reports and pay affiliates either in bulk, or individually. ## Table of Contents - [Bulk Affiliate Commission Payout Flow](#bulk-affiliate-commission-payout-flow) - [Adding Filters](#adding-filters) - [Starting the Bulk Payout Process](#starting-the-bulk-payout-process) - [Paying Out an Individual Affiliate](#paying-out-an-individual-affiliate) ## **Bulk Affiliate Commission Payout Flow** To start the process of paying out commissions to your affiliates in bulk, follow these steps: 1. In the left navigation, click **_Affiliates_** > **_Programs_** 2. Click the **_Pay Commission_** button at the top right You will now see your _Commission Payout Dashboard_. The _Commission Payout Dashboard_ is where you’ll prepare to initiate a Commission Payout. You can see high level affiliate commission stats like number of affiliates who have pending affiliate commissions, the amount of pending commissions, all based on various filters you can apply to get to a specific group of affiliates that have pending commissions. By default, the dashboard will show _ALL_ affiliates with unpaid commissions who are eligible for payout, and the total _Unpaid Commission balance._ When you configure filters, you will be able to modify the results in a number of ways. ### Adding Filters From the _Commission Payout Dashboard_, use the **Add Filters** button to apply filters. **Available Filters:** - Commission ID - Affiliate - First/Last Name - Program - Description - Status - Payout Eligable - Amount - Currency - Commission date _(most common)_ By default, the Payout Eligible filter is applied. You can add these filters to customize the report, and export a filtered list of pending commissions when you’re ready to pay out commissions. The most common filters to use when gathering Commission Payout data for export are: - **Program:** Will allow you to filter by Affiliate Program ID #. Often used if you have multiple Affiliate Programs and only want to pay out for a specific program - **Commission Date:** Filter commission amounts by date range (Ex: only show earned commission payout amounts outside of the refund period) troubleshooting **Missing an affiliate from your search results?** Check their Affiliate Record, and make sure they have been marked as Payout Eligible. [Learn more about how to _Make an Affiliate Payout Eligible._](https://university.spiffy.co/affiliates/affiliate-program-setup.md#make-affiliate-payout-eligible) Once you filter your Affiliate Commission data to your liking, you can begin the bulk payout process. ### **Starting the Bulk Payout Process** Once you have configured any needed filters, you are ready to generate the Payout Export. At the top right of the _Commission Payout Dashboard_, click on _**Begin Commission Payout**_. **Note:** Once you begin an affiliate commission payout, you will not be able to delete it. Only start an affiliate commission payout once your filtered commission report is completely ready. The filtered commission report you created will be used to generate a .csv export that you will download to facilitate the payout process. **You will execute the actual payout transaction in an external system _(eg: PayPal, check, Venmo, Zelle, etc.)_.** - Download the .csv export to use to payout your affiliates - Payout your Affiliates in your external system (eg: Paypal, Venmo, etc.) - Return to Spiffy and check the blue checkbox next to all the affiliates you paid - Click **_Mark as_** **_Paid_** to update pending commission amounts in bulk **Important:** Affiliate payouts are **_not_** reversable. Make sure your filters are accurate before you begin the commission payout process, and the affiliates you pay are accurately _marked as paid_. **Marking affiliates as _Paid_ will automatically:** 1. Records a _manual payment_ for each affiliate _marked_ as _paid_ 2. Subtracts the amount paid to each affiliate, from their pending commission balance If you happen to close your Spiffy tab in the middle of a payout, you will be able to get back to your current Commission Payout flow by clicking **Affiliates** > **Programs** and selecting _**Pay Commission**_. The commission payout you started will also show as ‘**In Progress**‘ in the **Payouts** section at the bottom of your _Commission Payout Dashboard_. You can also click on it to resume the payout. If you need to make changes to a Commission Payout that is ‘In Progress’, reconfigure your filters as needed and then select _**Begin Commission Payout**_ again. In the pop up window, select **_Begin New Payout_** (not _Resume Payout_). This will override the previous payout and start a new one in its place. ## **Paying Out an Individual Affiliate** The steps above covered the flow of doing a mass payout, but if you need to pay out a single affiliate, just navigate to an Affiliate’s record and click the **Pay Commission** button at the top of their record. Spiffy will automatically apply a filter to only display results in the export for that affiliate selected. If you wish to add additional filters here you can (ex: Affiliate Program ID#, Commission Earned Date Range). Just like bulk payouts, for single commission payments, you will process the actual transaction in a third-party payment system (ex: Paypal, check, Venmo, Zelle, etc.). When the payment is complete select **_Mark as Paid_** within Spiffy. This will automatically deduct the payout amount from the affiliate’s pending commission.