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Set Up Affiliate Payouts

Choose an affiliate payout method, collect recipient details, create payout runs from due commissions, and reconcile external payments.

Table of Contents

Payouts are created from commissions in due status and processed from the Payouts area in your dashboard.

Payout Overview

The operational flow:

  1. Affiliate earns a commission.
  2. Commission moves from pending to due after your campaign hold period.
  3. You create a payout run (single or batch).
  4. You export PayPal/Wise payout files based on your selected payout method.
  5. Payout is reconciled to paid.

Choose Your Payout Method

In Settings → General, set Payout method:

  • PayPal for export-assisted PayPal payout files.
  • Wise for export-assisted Wise payout files.

What Each Method Means

Stripe remains required for Stripe payment tracking, webhook attribution, and commission calculation. Stripe Global Payouts beta is a separate gated payout path: execution requires AffiliateBase onboarding and execution access, merchant beta acknowledgment, an active Stripe connection, a configured and funded source Financial Account, and a currently eligible recipient. Choosing Stripe or completing recipient onboarding alone does not execute a payout or mark it paid.

PayPal (export-assisted)

Use this when you want payout files and external transfer execution.

Flow:

  1. Set payout method to PayPal.
  2. Ensure affiliates have PayPal email set.
  3. Create payout export in Payouts.
  4. Process transfers externally.
  5. Mark exported payouts as paid after confirmation.

Wise (export-assisted)

Use this when your payout operations run through Wise batch files and external transfer execution.

Flow:

  1. Set payout method to Wise.
  2. Ensure affiliates have Wise email set.
  3. Create Wise-formatted payout export in Payouts.
  4. Process transfers externally.
  5. Mark exported payouts as paid after confirmation.

Affiliate Requirements

Affiliates should keep payout details current in the affiliate portal:

  • PayPal email (for PayPal export flow)
  • Wise email (if you use Wise-formatted exports)

Export Formats

From Payouts → Export you can generate:

  • Generic CSV
  • PayPal export format
  • Wise export format

These exports support external payout operations and reconciliation. AffiliateBase does not auto-send PayPal or Wise transfers; those payments are completed in PayPal or Wise and then marked paid in AffiliateBase.

PayPal/Wise Launch Workflow

For a launch using PayPal or Wise, use this operating path:

  1. Let affiliates save PayPal or Wise details in the affiliate portal.
  2. Let commissions mature through your configured payout window.
  3. Export the payable payouts in the matching PayPal or Wise format.
  4. Pay affiliates in PayPal or Wise.
  5. Mark those payouts as paid in AffiliateBase.

Best Practices

  1. Run payouts on a predictable cadence (for example weekly or monthly).
  2. Reconcile every run so payout state stays accurate.
  3. Require affiliates to complete payout details before creating large runs.
  4. Keep payment references for audits and support requests.

Troubleshooting

No affiliates are eligible for payout

Check:

  1. Commissions are in due state.
  2. Affiliate has required payout details.
  3. Affiliate status is active.

Export creation fails

Check:

  1. Selected payouts are exportable.
  2. Required recipient fields exist for chosen export format.
  3. The export format matches the payout contact field you expect (PayPal email or Wise email).

Next steps