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Tiered Commissions allow you to automatically adjust Partner Payouts or Revenue based on performance metrics like Conversion count, Sales volume, or Revenue thresholds within specified time periods.

Why Use Tiered Commissions?

Tiered commissions are a great way to motivate and reward your Partners based on their performance. Think of it like a video game where you unlock better rewards as you level up. The more Conversions your Partners drive, the higher their commission rates become. For example, a Partner might earn a standard 10% commission on their first 100 Conversions, but once they hit that milestone, their rate automatically jumps to 20% on all future Conversions.

This system doesn't just benefit your top performers - it creates clear goals that all Partners can work toward. Instead of manually adjusting commission rates for different Partners, you can set up automatic increases that kick in when Partners hit specific milestones. This means less administrative work for you and more transparency for your Partners (assigned to specific Offers, Advertisers, or following other defined rules), who can see exactly what they need to do to earn more.

The best part is that once you set up your tiered structure, it runs on autopilot. Partners who consistently deliver great results are automatically rewarded with better rates, while those still growing have a clear path to earning more. This creates a fair, scalable system that grows with your business and keeps affiliates and content creators motivated.

Key Terms

Take a look at these terms before diving in:

➔ Tiered Commission: System to adjust Revenue/Payouts based on performance metrics.
➔ Base Payout: Original commission rate before any tiers are applied.
➔ Time Period: Timeframe for measuring performance (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Global).
➔ Retroactive Mode: Option to apply new rates to previous Conversions.
➔ Targeted Entity: Offers or Advertisers to which tiers apply.

Core Technical Concepts

Processing and Timing

System has approximately 10-minute processing delay
Changes don't occur in real-time due to server caching
Goals recognition requires processing time
Plan implementations with timing buffer

Date and Time Handling Specifics

Start Date Behavior:

Set as: January 1, 2024

Actual Start: January 1, 2024 00:00:00

End Date Behavior:

Set as: January 1, 2024

Actual End: January 1, 2024 23:59:59

Offer Processing Rules

Each Offer evaluated independently
Metrics calculated per individual Offer:
- Revenue
- Payouts
- Conversions
Multiple Offers in rules don't combine metrics
Increases/decreases apply per Offer

Understanding Commission Calculations

Simple Example

Sale Amount: $100

Base CPS: 10%

Initial Payout: $10

Scenario 1: 5% Increase
Final Payout: $10.50 ($10 + 5% of $10)

Scenario 2: 50% Increase
Final Payout: $15.00 ($10 + 50% of $10)

Target Rate Achievement

Base Rate: 10%

Want to Achieve:

Tier 1: 13.5%

Tier 2: 15%

Required Settings:

Tier 1: 35% increase

Tier 2: 50% increase

Why?

Base: 10%

Tier 1: 10% + (10% × 35%) = 13.5%

Tier 2: 10% + (10% × 50%) = 15%

Multiple Tier Scenarios

Base Payout: $10 per Conversion

Thresholds:

>$7,500: 50% increase

>$60,000: Additional 16.67% increase

Example Path:

Starting: $10

At $7,500: $15 ($10 + 50%)

At $60,000: $17.50 ($15 + 16.67%)

Importand To Remember

Golden Rule: Always calculate increases from base rate, never from other tiers.

Common Calculation Mistakes

❌ Wrong Approaches

✅ Correct Approaches

Adding percentage points directly

Calculating between tiers

Using previous tier as base

Setting overlapping thresholds

Calculate from original base rate

Use percentage increase formula

Set clear, non-overlapping ranges

Consider total desired outcome

Setting Up Tiered Commissions

Access and Basic Setup

Navigate to Advertisers - Tiered Commissions

Click Tiered Commission and Configure essential details: Name, Status (Active/Inactive), Start/End Dates (optional), Notes.

Structure Selection

Choose Targeted Entity Type: either Offers or Advertisers.

Select targets.

Configure Partner application: All Partners, Specific Partners, or no Partner configuration at all.

Frequency Configuration

Time Period (Required)

Available Periods:

Daily: Resets at 00:00:00
Weekly: Resets Monday 00:00:00
Monthly: Resets 1st at 00:00:00
Quarterly: Resets on first day of each quarter (Jan 1, Apr 1, Jul 1, Oct 1) at 00:00:00 UTC
Global: Infinite

Goals (Required)

Click the

button to add a goal.

Select Variable from dropdown.

Enter Min Value.

Toggle Add Upper Bound (Optional, default: No).

Goal

Description

Conversion

Total Conversions (one Base Conversion per Offer - this will total the Base Conversions)

Events

Total Events (there can be multiple Events on an Offer - this will total all Events)

Sale Amount

Total Sale Amount (includes Sale amount for Base Conversions and Additional Events)

Total Payout

Total Payout (includes Payout for Base Conversions and Additional Events)

Total Revenue

Total Revenue (includes Revenue for Base Conversions and Additional Events)

With one tiered commission setting you can increase the Revenue/Payout of a Base Conversion only, a specific Event only, or ALL Events (which means Base Conversion and Additional Events).

Revenue & Payout Settings

Enable Payout Setting
- Toggle to Yes to enable
- Select Action from dropdown
- Enter payout percentage
- Note: You can adjust the Tiered Commission payout by either:
  - Percentage of current payout (e.g., 10% increase on $10 payout = $11)
  - Flat Amount (e.g., $3 increase on $10 payout = $13)
  - Increase or Decrease
Enable Revenue Setting
- Toggle to Yes to enable
- Select Action from dropdown
- Enter revenue percentage
- Note: You can adjust the Tiered Commission revenue by either:
  - Percentage of current revenue (e.g., 10% increase on $10 revenue = $11)
  - Flat Amount (e.g., $3 increase on $10 revenue = $13)
  - Increase or Decrease
Retroactive Mode
- Choose between:
  - Disabled (default)
  - Enabled
  - Custom

If enabled, Payout/Revenue setting will be retroactively applied to all conversions not previously tied to a Tiered Commission within the time period.

For example, if a Payout Setting is Increase (Flat Rate) by $1 if there are greater than or equal to 10 conversions, then the payout for the first 9 conversions will retroactively be increased by $1 per conversion.

Managing Multiple Tiered Commissions

Priority System

Partner-specific rules override general rules
Most recently created rule takes precedence
One tiered commission per Conversion

Best Practice Examples

Recommended Structure:

Tier 1: Revenue > 60,000 AND < 300,000

Tier 2: Revenue > 300,000 AND < 500,000

Avoid This:

Rule 1: Revenue > 60,000

Rule 2: Revenue > 7,500

Why? This can lead to conflicts because both rules would apply once the revenue exceeds 60,000.

Retroactive Adjustments

Key Features

Applies to Conversions within the time period that have not yet been paid out
Handles partial refunds
Based on current Payout value
Includes manually edited values

Only affects Conversions not tied to existing tiers

Works within specified time period

Considers current Payout values

Includes adjustment handling

Use Cases & Examples

Sales Volume Example

Goal: Monthly sales scaling

Base: 10%

Structure:

$1-34,999: 10%

$35,000-54,999: 13.5% (35% increase)

$55,000+: 15% (50% increase)

Conversion Count Example

Goal: Volume incentives

Base: $5

Structure:

1-99: $5

100-199: $6 (20% increase)

200+: $7.50 (50% increase)

Common Issues

Calculation mismatches (Math is easily #1 mistake we see. So always make sure to double check your math or contact our Customer Success.)
Rule conflicts (e.g. creating two rule that look different but have the same meaning.)
Timing issues

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