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Learn more →An affiliate commission is earned when a referred customer buys. If that purchase is later undone, the commission is undone with it. That is a commission reversal, and every affiliate program needs a clear policy for it.
Most programs run commissions through a holding period before they are approved for payout. A commission that is reversed during that window simply never gets paid. The affiliate sees it move from pending to reversed, usually with a reason attached.
If the commission was already paid, the program has to recover the money. That is a clawback: the amount is deducted from the affiliate's next payout, or their balance goes negative until future commissions cover it. Clawbacks are unpopular and hard to enforce, which is the whole argument for a holding period that is at least as long as your refund window.
| Reversal | Clawback | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Before the commission is paid | After it is paid |
| Effect on affiliate | Pending amount disappears | Deducted from a future payout |
| Friction | Low | High |
Programs that pay per lead reverse commissions when a lead turns out to be a duplicate, uses a disposable email, or fails a validation step. The same rules apply: hold, verify, then pay.
GrowSurf commissions sit in a holding period you set before they are approved for payout, so a refund inside that window cancels the commission before any money moves. When your program tracks sales through Stripe, PayPal, Recurly, or Chargebee, GrowSurf detects refunds and chargebacks from those systems and adjusts the affected commissions on its own. Sales recorded through the REST API can be refunded through the API as well, which keeps your commission ledger in sync with your billing system.
Affiliates see the status of every commission in their portal, with a tooltip explaining what pending, approved, paid, and reversed mean.
A reversal cancels a commission before it is paid, so the pending amount just goes away. A clawback recovers a commission that was already paid, usually by deducting it from the affiliate's next payout.
At least as long as your refund window. If customers can get a refund within 30 days, hold commissions for 30 days. Subscription businesses often hold until the first renewal.
Yes, if the reversal was a mistake, for example a chargeback that was later won. Most programs handle this by approving the commission again or issuing a manual adjustment.
Yes. Show the reversal and the reason in their portal. Affiliates accept refunds as part of the business; they do not accept commissions that vanish without explanation.
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