This page is for AffiliateBase account owners and admins. It explains how to connect or reconnect Stripe, read the connection status, and fix a connection that needs attention. A Stripe connection is required before AffiliateBase can attribute payments and create commissions.
Where to connect
- In your dashboard, open Setup step 1 (Connect Stripe) and choose Connect with Stripe. You can also go to Settings -> General and choose Connect Stripe in the Connections and plan card.
- Approve AffiliateBase on the Stripe authorization page. Stripe connects the account currently selected in your Stripe dashboard. If you manage more than one Stripe account, switch to the one your customers pay through before you approve.
- Return to AffiliateBase. Setup step 1 shows Stripe connected with Live mode or Test mode. Choose Continue to go to setup step 2.
Connecting does not change your checkout, and AffiliateBase never charges your customers. The connection lets AffiliateBase read the Stripe events and records it needs for attribution, and it grants write access for two things:
- Referral details on referred sales. For a sale credited to an affiliate, AffiliateBase adds referral details to the metadata of the Stripe customer, payment, invoice, charge, and subscription. These include the affiliate’s name and email address, the referral link token, and the campaign name, so you can see who referred a sale from Stripe.
- Affiliate promo codes. When you create a promo code for an affiliate in AffiliateBase, AffiliateBase creates that promotion code in Stripe, and deactivates codes it created when you stop or replace them. Assigning an existing Stripe code to an affiliate does not change that code.
What AffiliateBase does after you connect
After you connect, AffiliateBase saves your Stripe account and receives Stripe events for:
- Payment and invoice success, which create sales and commissions
- Refunds and disputes, which adjust commissions
- Subscription state updates
Reconnect Stripe or check the mode
To reconnect, choose Reconnect with Stripe in setup step 1, or Reconnect Stripe in Settings -> General. When the connection still works, Reconnect Stripe is under Manage on the Stripe connection row; when it needs renewing, it appears directly in the card.
AffiliateBase shows whether the Stripe connection is in Live mode or Test mode. Stripe keeps these modes separate:
- A live-mode connection attributes live payments.
- A test-mode connection can attribute Stripe test payments.
- A live-mode connection records test payments as test activity, but they do not create sales or commissions.
Confirm the connection is healthy
- In Settings -> General, the Stripe connection row shows Connected — Live mode or Connected — Test mode.
- No Stripe connection warning appears in that card.
Fix a connection that needs attention
In Settings -> General, check the status on the Stripe connection row:
- Reconnect required: your Stripe authorization needs to be renewed. Choose Reconnect Stripe and complete Stripe authorization. Your account and existing affiliate data are preserved.
- Connection refresh pending or Connection temporarily unavailable: AffiliateBase retries automatically. Contact support if the status persists.
If the Stripe connection does not finish, a Stripe connection did not finish panel appears on the dashboard and on setup with the reason. Choose Try connecting again to reopen Stripe authorization (or Back to Connect Stripe when no retry link is available). Your setup progress is saved.
If the panel says the Stripe account is already connected to another AffiliateBase account, that Stripe account belongs to an AffiliateBase account you are not signed in to. Usually you signed up before with a different email, or a colleague set it up. The panel shows the owner’s email partly hidden, for example o•••@acme.com:
- If that address is yours, choose Email a sign-in link to o•••@acme.com. AffiliateBase sends a password reset link to that address, never to the one you’re signed in with. Use it to sign in to the existing account.
- If a colleague owns it, choose Ask to join that account. The account’s owners and admins get an email asking them to invite you. You’ll get an invitation at your email if they approve.
If an invitation is already waiting for you, the panel says so; check your inbox. These options appear for a short time after you approve Stripe. If they’ve gone, connect Stripe again to see them.
If the panel says the connected account cannot be changed, retrying will not help. See Connected the wrong Stripe account? below.
If Stripe shows an error while you reconnect, send support the error text or a screenshot and say which step failed. Do not include passwords or authentication codes.
Connected the wrong Stripe account?
If you connected the wrong Stripe account during setup, the account owner can switch it before your affiliate program has any activity.
If you notice right away and approve the correct account in Stripe, AffiliateBase asks Switch to the Stripe account you just authorized? Choose Switch to that account, then approve the same account in Stripe once more to confirm.
Otherwise, switch from AffiliateBase:
- Open Settings -> General, choose Manage on the Stripe connection row, then choose Connected the wrong Stripe account? In setup step 1, the same link appears as Connected the wrong account? next to the connected account.
- Enter the correct Stripe account ID. It starts with
acct_and is shown in that account’s Stripe settings. Never enter an API key. - Confirm the review and choose Authorize replacement in Stripe.
- In Stripe, approve the same account you entered.
Your current connection stays in place until Stripe confirms the correct account. Campaigns, affiliates, and links stay in AffiliateBase. After the switch:
- Verify tracking or promo codes again in setup.
- Uninstall AffiliateBase from the incorrect account in Stripe. The switch does not uninstall it for you.
Only the account owner can switch. A switch isn’t available once your account has referrals (including setup test referrals), customers, sales or other Stripe payment activity, commissions, promo codes, Stripe discounts on campaigns, or Stripe payout setup. AffiliateBase shows the reason and a link to support instead.