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This guide is specifically for program operators who want to streamline commission processing by automatically approving affiliate commissions. If you’re an affiliate looking to understand commission processing, see Affiliate Lifecycle.

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Auto-Approve Overview

Automated Commission Processing

Auto-approve commissions is a simple per-brand setting that eliminates the need to manually approve each commission. When enabled, all commissions for transactions sent to Affelios are automatically approved and queued for payment, removing the administrative overhead of reviewing each commission individually.

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How Auto-Approve Works in Affelios

1

Transaction Processing

When a customer completes a purchase through an affiliate link, you send the transaction data to Affelios where commissions are calculated based on your commission plans.
2

Commission Creation

Affelios processes the transaction and creates commissions for the relevant affiliates based on attribution and commission plan rules.
3

Automatic Approval

If auto-approve is enabled for the brand, commissions are immediately approved and queued for the next payment cycle without requiring manual review.
4

Manual Review (if disabled)

If auto-approve is disabled, commissions remain pending until you manually review and approve each one through the Affelios dashboard.

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Benefits of Auto-Approve Commissions

Administrative Efficiency

Auto-approve commissions significantly reduces the time and resources required to manage affiliate programs by eliminating routine manual approval tasks.

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Operational Benefits

Time Savings:
  • No more clicking through individual commissions to approve them
  • Eliminate the daily task of reviewing commission queues
  • Free up operator time for program growth and optimization
  • Remove bottlenecks in commission processing workflow
Simplified Operations:
  • Transactions sent to Affelios are automatically processed to payment
  • No risk of forgetting to approve commissions before payment cycles
  • Consistent processing without manual intervention
  • Reduced complexity in day-to-day program management
Scalability:
  • Handle growing transaction volumes without additional manual work
  • Process hundreds or thousands of commissions automatically
  • Scale affiliate programs without scaling administrative overhead
Faster Commission Processing:
  • Commissions are approved immediately when transactions are processed
  • No delays waiting for manual operator approval
  • Affiliates see approved commissions in their dashboard right away
  • Faster path from sale to payment
Predictable Payment Cycles:
  • Affiliates know their commissions will be automatically approved
  • No uncertainty about whether commissions will be approved
  • Reliable, consistent processing for all transactions
  • Improved affiliate confidence in program reliability
Better Program Appeal:
  • Auto-approve is an attractive feature for recruiting affiliates
  • Demonstrates trust in affiliate partners
  • Reduces friction in the affiliate relationship
  • Competitive advantage over programs requiring manual approval
Focus on Growth:
  • Spend time on program optimization instead of manual approvals
  • Focus on recruiting and managing affiliate relationships
  • Allocate resources to strategic initiatives and growth
  • Improve overall program management efficiency
Reduced Risk of Errors:
  • No risk of accidentally missing commissions in manual review
  • Eliminate human error in approval process
  • Consistent processing for all transactions
  • No delays due to operator availability or workload

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Security Advisory: Auto-Approve Affiliates

Critical Security Consideration

Important: Affelios also offers Auto-Approve Affiliates functionality. Using both auto-approve features together significantly increases fraud risk.
Recommended Approach:
  • If enabling auto-approve commissions: Keep affiliate approval manual for better security
  • If using auto-approve affiliates: Keep commission approval manual to maintain oversight
  • Avoid using both together unless you have robust fraud detection and monitoring systems
Why This Matters: When both features are enabled, fraudulent affiliates can be automatically approved and their fraudulent commissions can be automatically paid out, creating a high-risk scenario with minimal human oversight until the payout phase.

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Risks and Disadvantages

Potential Drawbacks

While auto-approve commissions offers significant benefits, operators should understand the potential risks and implement appropriate safeguards to mitigate them.

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Risk Categories

Loss of Manual Review:
  • All commissions are approved automatically without individual review
  • Fraudulent or suspicious transactions may be approved
  • No opportunity to catch unusual patterns before payment
  • Potential for affiliate abuse without immediate detection
Enhanced Risk with Auto-Approve Affiliates:
  • Critical: Risk multiplies significantly when combined with auto-approve affiliates
  • Fraudulent affiliates can join and generate commissions without any manual checkpoints
  • Requires enhanced monitoring during payout phase to catch fraudulent activity
  • Strong Recommendation: Use manual affiliate approval when enabling auto-approve commissions
Mitigation Strategies:
  • Maintain manual affiliate approval processes when using auto-approve commissions
  • Monitor overall program metrics and trends regularly
  • Investigate any unusual spikes in commission volume
  • Keep detailed transaction logs for post-payment review
  • Maintain ability to quickly disable auto-approve if needed
Automatic Payment of All Commissions:
  • Commissions for returned/refunded orders may be paid out
  • No opportunity to hold suspicious commissions for investigation
  • Potential overpayment if transaction data contains errors
  • Difficulty recovering payments made in error
Operational Considerations:
  • Need for robust transaction data validation before sending to Affelios
  • Importance of handling refunds and cancellations properly
  • Requirement for good affiliate agreement terms
  • Need for clear dispute resolution processes
Reduced Individual Transaction Visibility:
  • Less hands-on review of affiliate performance patterns
  • Potential to miss emerging issues or trends
  • Reduced opportunity for affiliate coaching and feedback
  • May miss optimization opportunities from transaction analysis
Trust and Relationship Factors:
  • Requires higher trust in affiliate partners
  • Less direct oversight of affiliate compliance
  • Need for strong affiliate agreements and terms
  • Importance of clear program guidelines and expectations
When Manual Review Might Be Better:
  • New affiliate programs still learning patterns
  • High-value or complex commission structures
  • Programs with frequent refunds or cancellations
  • Brands where close oversight adds significant value

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Configuration and Setup

Simple Per-Brand Configuration

Auto-approve commissions in Affelios is configured as a simple on/off toggle for each brand in your program. There are no complex rules or thresholds - when enabled, all commissions for that brand are automatically approved.

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How to Enable Auto-Approve

1

Access Brand Settings

Navigate to your program dashboard in Affelios and select the brand you want to configure.
2

Toggle Auto-Approve

Find the “Auto-Approve Commissions” setting and enable it for the selected brand.
3

Save Configuration

Save your changes. From this point forward, all new commissions for this brand will be automatically approved.
4

Repeat for Other Brands

If you have multiple brands in your program, repeat this process for each brand you want to enable auto-approve for.

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Per-Brand Flexibility

Brand-Level Control

Independent Configuration: Each brand in your Affelios program can have auto-approve enabled or disabled independently. This allows you to:
  • Enable auto-approve for trusted, established brands
  • Keep manual approval for new or high-risk brands
  • Test auto-approve on one brand before rolling out to others
  • Maintain different approval workflows based on brand characteristics
Example Setup:
Brand A (Established): Auto-approve enabled
Brand B (New launch): Manual approval required
Brand C (High-value): Manual approval for oversight
Brand D (High-volume): Auto-approve enabled

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Implementation Best Practices

Smart Auto-Approve Implementation

Since auto-approve in Affelios is a simple on/off toggle, success depends on choosing the right brands and timing for enablement.
1

Prioritize High-Volume, Simple Brands

Best Candidates:
  • Enable auto-approve commissions for brands with high transaction volume and straightforward, low-complexity commission structures.
  • Avoid enabling for brands with complex or variable commission rules.
2

Require Manual Affiliate Vetting

Affiliate Approval Prerequisite:
  • Only enable auto-approve commissions if auto-approve affiliates is disabled.
  • Ensure all affiliates are manually reviewed and vetted before being allowed to participate in the program.
  • This reduces the risk of fraudulent or low-quality affiliates receiving automatic commission approvals.
3

Monitor and Adjust

Ongoing Oversight:
  • Closely monitor commission activity and affiliate performance after enabling.
  • Watch for unusual spikes, suspicious patterns, or unexpected behavior.
  • Be prepared to disable auto-approve commissions or revert to manual review if any issues arise.

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Decision Framework

Good Candidates for Auto-Approve:
  • Brands with consistent commission patterns
  • Brands with reliable affiliate partners
  • High-volume, low-complexity commission structures
  • Brands where manual review adds little value
Consider Manual Approval For:
  • Brand new launches (first 30-60 days)
  • Brands with high-value commissions requiring oversight
  • Brands in testing or experimental phases
  • Brands with complex commission structures
  • Brands where you want to maintain close control
Key Metrics to Watch:
  • Total commission volume and trends
  • Payment processing efficiency
  • Affiliate satisfaction and feedback
  • Any unusual patterns or spikes
  • Overall program performance
Regular Review Activities:
  • Weekly commission volume reports
  • Monthly program performance reviews
  • Quarterly assessment of auto-approve effectiveness
  • Ongoing affiliate feedback collection
If Problems Arise:
  • Disable auto-approve immediately if fraud is suspected
  • Review recent commissions for patterns
  • Investigate any affiliate behavior anomalies
  • Consider temporary return to manual approval
  • Document issues and resolution steps
Prevention Strategies:
  • Maintain good affiliate vetting processes
  • Regular program health checks
  • Clear terms and conditions for affiliates
  • Prompt investigation of unusual activity

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Monitoring and Management

Ongoing Program Oversight

With auto-approve enabled, monitoring shifts from individual commission review to overall program health and performance tracking.

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Key Monitoring Areas

Regular Monitoring:
  • Track total commission volumes and trends
  • Monitor for unusual spikes or drops in activity
  • Review commission patterns by affiliate and brand
  • Watch for any suspicious activity or anomalies
Red Flags to Watch For:
  • Sudden large increases in commission volume from specific affiliates
  • Unusual geographic patterns in traffic or sales
  • Commission patterns that don’t match expected business cycles
  • Affiliates with dramatically different performance than historical norms
Key Performance Indicators:
  • Overall program growth and affiliate retention
  • Average commission values and payment cycles
  • Affiliate satisfaction and feedback
  • Return/refund rates and their impact on commissions
Regular Reviews:
  • Weekly commission volume reports
  • Monthly program performance summaries
  • Quarterly affiliate performance reviews
  • Annual program optimization assessments
Maintaining Standards:
  • Regular review of affiliate onboarding and vetting processes
  • Monitoring compliance with program terms and conditions
  • Tracking customer complaints or quality issues
  • Ensuring transaction data accuracy before sending to Affelios
Corrective Actions:
  • Ability to disable auto-approve if issues arise
  • Process for investigating and resolving disputes
  • Clear procedures for affiliate account suspension if needed
  • Regular updates to program terms and affiliate agreements

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Troubleshooting and Support

Common Scenarios and Solutions

Address common situations that may arise when using auto-approve commissions in Affelios.

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Common Scenarios

What to Look For:
  • Unusual spikes in commission volume from specific affiliates
  • Patterns that don’t match normal business cycles
  • Customer complaints about unauthorized transactions
  • Affiliates with dramatically changed performance
Immediate Actions:
  • Disable auto-approve for the affected brand temporarily
  • Review recent commissions and transaction patterns
  • Investigate the specific affiliate(s) in question
  • Contact affiliates directly if needed for clarification
  • Document findings and resolution steps
Potential Issues:
  • Commissions paid out for transactions that are later refunded
  • Need to recover commission payments from affiliates
  • Impact on program profitability
Management Strategies:
  • Ensure your transaction system properly handles refunds
  • Send negative commission transactions to Affelios for refunds
  • Consider temporary manual approval for brands with high return rates
  • Review affiliate traffic quality and customer satisfaction
Common Issues:
  • Affiliates questioning commission calculations
  • Disputes about attribution or tracking
  • Questions about payment timing
Resolution Process:
  • Review transaction data and commission calculations
  • Check Affelios reporting for commission details
  • Communicate clearly with affiliates about findings
  • Use manual approval temporarily if needed during disputes
  • Document resolutions for future reference

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Next Steps and Resources

Getting Started with Auto-Approve

Ready to enable auto-approve commissions for your Affelios program? Follow these steps and use these resources for successful implementation.
Getting Started:Monitoring and Management:Program Optimization:
Start by enabling auto-approve for your most established, trusted brands first. Monitor the results for a few weeks before expanding to other brands in your program.
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