Knowledgebase: Customers

How does the Shift4Shop Affiliate program work?

 

This will be a brief explanation of Shift4Shop's built-in Affiliate Tracking Program. For more in-depth coverage and information regarding the Affiliate program, please click here.


Enable Affiliates

In order to use the Affiliate Program functionality, you will first need to enable the Affiliate Program module in your store. To do this, log into your Shift4Shop Online Store Manager and, using the left hand navigation menu::

  1. Go to Modules
  2. Use the Search bar at the top to search for "Affiliate Program"
  3. Place a checkmark in the "Enable Affiliate Program" checkbox and click on the "Settings" button.
  4. Specify whether to "Auto Approve" affiliates by placing a checkmark in the Auto Approve checkbox.
  5. Set your Default Affiliate Commission percentage
  6. Set the number of days that the Affiliate tracking cookie will be active for
Additional Information
Any shoppers that are referred by the affiliate will have a tracking cookie added to their browser which will let your store track and calculate orders generated by the affiliate.  The tracking cookie can be set to last between 30 days to 360 days.  After the cookie expires, the referred customer's orders will no longer track for the affiliate unless they are referred to your store again, by the affiliate.
  1. Click "Save" at the top right of the page

Your site visitors will now be able to sign up for your affiliate program and receive their respective Affiliate tracking codes that will be placed on their website to direct traffic to your store. Again, more information on the full set up can be found here.


View/Edit Affiliates

To view or edit your affiliates, once again go to Modules in the left hand navigation menu and:

  1. Use the search bar to search for Affiliate Program and click on the "Settings" button
  2. Click on the "Affiliate List" link to view your current affiliates.

This page can also be reached by going to Customers >Affiliates in the left hand navigation menu where you will see your current affiliate payout report. At the top right of this page, you'll see a button labeled "View Affiliates" which will take you to the list of Affiliate Customer records.

Here you will be presented with a list of your site users who have registered for your store's affiliate program. At the top of the page you can search for individual users or otherwise click on the "Advanced" button to filter for users by Customer Group or whether their affiliation is active (enabled) or not.

  1. Click on the user's name to open up their customer record.
    You can also look to the far right and click on the "Action >Edit" button for their record.
  2. While viewing the customer's record, click on the "Affiliate" tab found along the top of the page.

Within this page, you will have the ability to activate the user's affiliate account as well as change their commission percentage and review orders placed under the affiliate's tracking code.


View Payouts

When affiliate referrals generate sales, you can pay your referral a commission fee as specified in your Affiliate store module settings.

  1. Go to Modules
  2. Search for Affiliate Program and click on the "Settings" button
  3. Click on the "Payout Report" link to view the payouts.
  4. Select the checkbox under "Pay" to set their commision payment to "paid" status.
  5. Save Changes with the "Save" button located at the top right.

Note
You can also click on an individual customer's name to go directly to the "Affiliate" tab in their customer information profile.


View Orders

As a merchant, you also have the ability to view Affiliate referred orders as they come in.  This allows you to approve or deny orders as necessary.

  1. Go to Modules
  2. Search for Affiliate Program and click on the "Settings" button
  3. Click on the "Open Orders" link
  4. View the applicable order information and approve or deny the commission
  5. Save Changes

Note:
By clicking on the Affiliate Customer's name on the open affiliate orders, you will be taken directly to the affiliate tab of their customer profile.


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