Quick answer. Most affiliate platform problems are one of five things: tracking not recording, commissions stuck pending, wrong currency, partners unable to log in, or payouts failing. Each has a diagnostic order — start with the simplest cause and work outward.
Independent analysis. This page may contain affiliate links.
Commissions are not appearing
Check the order of operations first: was the tracking link clicked, did the cookie survive, and did the checkout send the order to the platform at all? Test with a fresh private window and a real order. If the order arrives without a referral, the integration is firing but the click is not being matched — usually a domain or cookie-setting issue. If the order never arrives, the integration itself is misconfigured.
Commissions stuck in pending
Pending is a state, not an error. Look at the programme’s approval settings: some configurations hold every commission for manual review, others hold only first-time orders or high-value ones. If the hold is intentional, the fix is process — approve on a schedule and tell partners when. If it is not, check the fraud rules, which can hold traffic that looks unusual.
Currency and rounding mismatches
A commission calculated in one currency and displayed in another produces figures that look wrong to partners even when the logic is right. Confirm the currency configured in the platform matches the store, and decide how rounding is handled. Document it, because “the numbers do not add up” is the most corrosive partner complaint.
Partners cannot log in or find links
Password resets that never arrive usually mean email deliverability, not the platform. Authenticate the sending domain, check the spam folder, and confirm the partner’s address is correct. If links are missing, check whether the affiliate has been assigned to the right programme and campaign — a partner in the wrong programme sees an empty dashboard.
Payouts failing
Payout failures cluster around payment details: an outdated PayPal address, a bank field with the wrong format, a minimum threshold not reached. Keep payout details partner-editable and locked at approval time. When a payout fails, tell the partner what to fix rather than simply marking it failed.
When the problem is the partner, not the platform
Sometimes the data is correct and the expectation is wrong. A partner who expected credit for a sale that arrived after the attribution window, or through a different link, will read a correct ledger as a broken one. Before debugging, restate the rule that produced the result. If the rule is unclear, that is the actual problem, and fixing the documentation prevents the next five tickets.
Reading the logs in the right order
When something looks wrong, follow the path backwards: order in the store, then the notification sent to the platform, then the referral matched, then the commission created. The first place the chain breaks is the fix. Starting from the dashboard and working forwards wastes time, because a missing order and a mismatched click look identical from the top. Most integration issues are visible in that four-step trace within minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a commission appear twice?
Duplicate order notifications from the checkout are the usual cause. Check the integration logs for repeated calls on the same order id.
Can I recover a commission attributed to the wrong partner?
Usually yes, through manual adjustment. Do it visibly and tell both partners what happened.
Do I need support to fix tracking?
Not for the common cases. Start with a private-window test order; escalate when the order arrives without any referral data.
Costs, integrations and trade-offs are covered in the full review. Full breakdown: Post Affiliate Pro review.
Bottom line on troubleshooting
Follow the chain backwards from the order, and fix the first break you find. Most issues are integration configuration, currency settings or an unclear rule rather than a platform defect. When the data is right and the expectation is wrong, the fix is documentation, not debugging. Keep a short record of what you changed each time, because the second occurrence is usually faster to solve than the first.
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