Discover Mac Apps gives you complete control over your cash flow by utilizing a manual payout request system. This ensures you only pay affiliates when you are ready, protecting you from paying commissions on sales that might be refunded shortly after purchase.
The Lifecycle of a Payout
Here is how a commission makes its way from a customer purchase to the affiliate's bank account:
1. Pending Earnings
When an affiliate successfully refers a sale, the commission amount is immediately calculated and added to their Pending Earnings balance.
At this stage, the money has been tracked, but it has not been paid out. If the customer requests a refund, and your payment provider supports refund webhooks (like Stripe or Paddle), the associated commission will be automatically cancelled, preventing you from losing money.
2. Requesting a Payout
Affiliates cannot request a payout until their Pending Earnings reach your configured Minimum Withdrawal Threshold (the default is $50.00).
Once they cross this threshold, a Request Payout button becomes active in their dashboard. When they click this button, the system logs a payout request and alerts you.
3. Processing and Paying
You will see the requested payout in your merchant dashboard under the Payouts tab.
To fulfill the payout:
- Review the affiliate's requested payout method (e.g., PayPal, Wise, or Bank Transfer).
- Manually send the requested funds to their provided payment address from your own bank or payment account.
- Once the funds are sent, click Mark as Paid in the Discover Mac Apps dashboard.
4. Completed
Clicking "Mark as Paid" automatically does the following:
- Moves the affiliate's earnings from Pending to Paid.
- Marks all associated conversions included in that payout as
Paid. - Updates the affiliate's dashboard to reflect the completed transaction.
[!TIP] To save time and build trust with your affiliates, we recommend establishing a consistent payout schedule. For example, processing all pending payout requests on the 1st and 15th of every month. Make sure to communicate this schedule clearly to your affiliates!