Home in dark mode — The site follows the visitor colour scheme with the same magenta accent.Affiliate program software: 7 things to check before you pick one
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Affiliates are the cheapest salespeople you will ever have, until the first refund, the first duplicate order or the first partner who buys through their own link. Here are seven things to check before you pick software for a program, with DEV3 Sharecrest as the worked example.
1. Can you explain why a partner was credited?
"The last click won" is only an answer if you can see the clicks. Sharecrest keeps the touch timeline of every conversion, lets a coupon beat a cookie when you want it to, and rejects a buyer who is the affiliate. Orders nobody earned wait in a queue you assign by hand, with a reason in the audit log.
2. Does the commission outlast the refund window?
Paying on day zero means paying for returns. Commissions wait out a hold, are approved against a funded balance, and are reversed in proportion when a refund or chargeback arrives, even after the partner was paid. A negative balance is shown to the partner and netted against the next approvals.
3. Who holds the commission money?
In Sharecrest the operator is the merchant of record: merchants top up a commission balance by card, or run on invoice with a credit limit. If the balance is short, approvals stop with a clear reason instead of overdrawing anyone.
4. Can partners recruit partners without a pyramid?
Two-level commissions pay a recruiter a share of the first level when the recruit sells. There is no third level, and the recruiter is only paid if they are an approved partner at that moment.
5. What happens to suspicious orders?
Rules look at self-referral, the same IP as the buyer, impossible speed, shared payout accounts and refund spikes. A high score holds approval until a manager clears or confirms it.
6. How do payouts actually go out?
A draft is built per program on a schedule, the owner approves it, and the platform fee is charged once. The default driver is simulated; the bank CSV driver gives you a file to upload and mark paid; the PayPal driver is present but needs your credentials and finishing work. Say that plainly to your buyers.
7. What are the limits?
Ask every vendor: tax forms (Sharecrest collects none and calculates none), currency conversion (none: orders must be in the program currency), cart plugins (none: snippet, API, CSV or a signed webhook), and who runs the payment gateway (you do).
