How to setup payouts

The Payouts page is where unpaid commissions leaves your store.

Setup lives on the Payouts page, in the Payout settings section at the bottom.

There are two layers, and they are easy to mix up:

• How affiliates tell you they want to be paid; the Affiliate payout info form. This is the list of methods and fields that show up in the affiliate portal.
• How money actually goes out; PayPal can send it automatically (or in a one-off batch). Custom methods never send money by themselves. You pay outside Affilitrak, then record the payout so balances stay correct.

Until an affiliate has a method and the required details filled in, they show up as Needs setup on the Payouts page. Commission can still accrue. You just cannot pay them cleanly until those details exist.

Save with the bar at the bottom of Payout settings.

For what affiliates see when they fill this in, see the Affiliate portal guide. For the broader payouts overview, see the Payouts guide.

Getting started: Turn on the payout info form

On Payouts, scroll to Payout settings.

The first card is Affiliate payout info form.

That is what lets affiliates pick a method and submit details in the portal.

Turn it on.

You can also fill those details yourself on an affiliate’s profile, under Payout Method.

You need at least one method before you can save with the form enabled.

If you turn the form off, Affilitrak clears the methods you had added.

Click Add method to start.

Affilitrak's payout system includes two(2) major payment methods:

1. Automatic payments (using PayPal).
2. Manual/custom payments (using any other payment option of your choice).

Automatic payouts via PayPal

PayPal is the method Affilitrak can actually use to send payments for you automatically

Autopay only pays affiliates who chose PayPal and have a valid PayPal email inputed on their affiliate payment information form.

Everyone else (Venmo, bank, “not set”) is skipped, even if Autopay is on.

Here's the exact steps to follow:

1. Add PayPal as a method affiliates can choose

• In Affiliate payout info form, click Add method.
• Set Template to PayPal.
• That creates a PayPal method with a PayPal email field already on it.
• You can rename the label or add extra fields, but keep that email field (Autopay and PayPal batches need it).

When you're done with it, Hit the save button.

With this setup, affiliates can now pick PayPal in the portal (or you can set it on their profile).

You can offer PayPal and custom methods at the same time.

Affiliates can pick one preferred method and fill out the form.

2. Connect your PayPal account

Open the PayPal payouts card.

Status will say Not connected until this is done.

• Click Connect PayPal.
• It opens PayPal in a new tab so you can authorize Affilitrak to send payouts from your account.
• When you come back, click Refresh status if it still looks disconnected.

Disconnect is there if you need to reconnect or switch accounts.

Autopay stays off until this connection is in place.

The toggle is disabled until PayPal shows Connected.

3. Set the schedule

The Payout schedule card is the cadence affiliates see as “next payout,” and it is the calendar Autopay uses.

Choose:

• Weekly or Bi-weekly (every 2 weeks)
• Semi-monthly (twice a month) two days between 1 and 28
• Monthly (one day between 1 and 28)

Days stop at 28 so February and short months do not skip anyone.

Dashboard payout date is optional.

Use it only if you want to override the next date shown on the dashboard.

It does not change when autopay actually runs.

The schedule above does.

4. Turn Autopay on

Back on PayPal payouts, turn Autopay on, then Save.

On each scheduled day, Affilitrak looks at affiliates who:

• Prefer PayPal
• Have a usable PayPal email
• Have an unpaid balance (any amount above zero, there is no minimum)
• Submits those payments through your connected PayPal account.

You get a summary email when a run finishes (successes and failures).

If Autopay fails for someone (bad email, PayPal issue, etc.), their balance stays unpaid so you can fix it and either wait for the next run or send a batch yourself.

Sending PayPal yourself (without waiting for Autopay)

You do not have to wait for the calendar. Connect PayPal, then Create payout batch. Affiliates who prefer PayPal appear under PayPal batch payouts. Select them and click Send PayPal batch.

Record selected payouts is also there if you already paid those people outside Affilitrak and only need the books to match.

Custom / manual payment methods

Use a custom method when you pay people yourself: Venmo, Zelle, Wise, bank transfer, crypto, gift card, store credit, whatever you already use.

When you add a method, leave Template on Custom.

Give it a name affiliates will recognize, like “Venmo” or “Bank transfer.”

The optional Description is a good place for a one-line instruction (“Use the email on your PayPal account” or “US accounts only”).

Then add fields. Each field is a question the affiliate has to answer. Examples:

• Wise email
• Wallet address
• Venmo username
• Bank name, account number, routing number

Click Done on the method, add any other methods you want, then Save.

Those methods now appear in the portal.

Affiliates choose one and fill in the fields.

On their profile in your admin, you will see the same Payout Method card, so you can fill or fix details if someone is stuck.

Custom methods are never included in Autopay.

Affilitrak will not Venmo anyone for you.

Which means on payout day, those balances stay in Current batch until you pay them and record it on Affilitrak.

How to pay using custom methods

When you are ready:

1. Open Payouts.
2. Review Current batch (who is owed, how much, who still Needs setup).
3. Click Create payout batch. If you selected rows in the table first, only those people are included. Otherwise it includes everyone with a balance.
4. Custom methods land in External payouts. If you offer more than one custom method, you can filter by method.
5. Copy the details Affilitrak collected (username, account number, and so on), send the money in Venmo / your bank / wherever you actually pay.
6. Click Record selected payouts.

Recording does not send money.

It only tells Affilitrak the commission is paid, so it drops off the unpaid balance and shows up in History.

If someone is missing details, open their affiliate profile, edit Payout Method, and try the batch again.

> Do not record a payout you have not actually sent.

Putting both together

A typical setup looks like this:

1. Enable the payout info form.
2. Add PayPal (for people you want to pay automatically).
3. Add one or two custom methods for people who cannot or will not use PayPal.
4. Connect PayPal and turn Autopay on with a schedule you can live with.
5. On payout day, Autopay clears the PayPal group. You open Create payout batch, pay the External payouts group yourself, and record them.

You can run a mixed program forever this way.

Autopay never touches custom methods, so you will not accidentally PayPal someone who asked for Venmo.

After setup, keep an eye on these

• Needs setup on the current batch: people with a balance but no usable payout details. Nudge them in the portal, or fill it in on their profile.
• History (top of the Payouts page): past payouts after you send or record them.
• PayPal Connected vs Autopay on: connected without Autopay means you send batches by hand. Autopay without a connection is not possible.

> If this is your first payout, the Payouts page also offers a walkthrough with the Affilitrak team. That is worth using once, especially if you are about to send a real PayPal batch.

Common questions

Do I have to use PayPal?

No. Custom methods work on their own. You just pay people outside Affilitrak and record the payouts.

If I connect PayPal, does everyone get paid automatically?

No. Only affiliates who selected PayPal and provided a PayPal email. Custom-method affiliates stay in the batch for you to pay manually.

Can I edit an affiliate’s payout details for them?

Yes. Open the affiliate and use Payout Method. Same fields they would see in the portal.

What if I already paid someone in Venmo last week?

Create a batch, select them under External payouts, and Record selected payouts so Affilitrak does not keep showing that balance as unpaid.

Why can’t I save after turning the form on?

Add at least one method first. The save bar will tell you if the form is enabled with zero methods.

Does the schedule pay custom methods too?

The schedule is the reminder and the Autopay calendar. Custom payouts still need you to send the money and record them.

For short answers on methods, schedules, and PayPal connection issues, see the Payouts FAQ.