Affiliate Operations
Reconciling publisher invoices with approved earnings
Match affiliate billing documents to approved earnings by counterparty, period, due date and currency before payment.
Match each billing document to the approved obligation for the same counterparty, earning period, due date and currency before authorising payment.
First identify which document the payment route requires. A publisher invoice, a platform-generated invoice and a funding forecast do different jobs.
Identify the counterparty and document
Read the agreement and platform finance setup. Does the publisher invoice your business, or does a platform entity invoice you? Confirm the party your accounts payable team must settle.
Avoid paying a publisher invoice and a platform invoice for the same underlying commission.
Awin says publishers in most regions receive payments automatically once payable earnings meet their selected threshold. It makes self-billing invoices available in publisher payment history; that does not make those invoices a direct advertiser payment request.
impact.com documents direct invoicing and invoicing through an impact.com entity.
Its Statement of Invoices summarises underlying invoices, while its Payment Request Form forecasts funding and is not an invoice. Check the arrangement that applies to the account.
Publisher Invoice vs Platform-Generated Invoice: Key Differences
- Origin
- Publisher (direct request)
- Payment Request Type
- Direct payment to publisher
- Platform Role
- Not involved in invoicing
- Awin Self-Billing Note
- Available in payment history but not a direct advertiser payment request
- impact.com Direct Invoicing
- Publisher invoices brand directly
- impact.com Entity Invoicing
- impact.com invoices the brand on behalf of the publisher
Using Self-Billing Invoices in Awin vs Platform-Generated Invoices
- Pros: Self-Billing Invoices (Awin)Publishers can generate their own invoice after reaching threshold; reduces administrative burden on advertisers
- Cons: Self-Billing Invoices (Awin)Not a direct payment request; must be matched to approved earnings manually; risk of double payment if not reconciled
- Pros: Platform-Generated Invoices (impact.com)Clearer audit trail; includes Statement of Invoices (SOI) summarising underlying obligations
- Cons: Platform-Generated Invoices (impact.com)Requires approval before payment; may delay settlement if finance team is slow to review
Build the approved amount
Fix a cut-off and export approved or locked obligations, using the provider’s applicable state. Retain publisher and transaction identifiers, the amount, currency, due date and any later adjustment. Show a separately agreed placement fee or bonus on its own line. Keep pending, declined and disputed commission out of the approved total.
Group the obligations by counterparty, programme, earning period, due date and currency. Do not match only on the document’s issue month: impact.com says transactions with different due dates can produce more than one invoice for a partner in a month.
Difference / Check first
- Billed amount exceeds approved earnings
- Tax, agreed fee, bonus, earlier balance or duplicate obligation
- Billed amount is lower
- Different cut-off, due date or omitted obligation
- Amount matches but counterparty differs
- Contracting and invoicing method
- Currency differs
- Contract currency, conversion and charges
- Amount appears twice
- Document number, action IDs and earlier settlement
Trace material differences to the obligation or action IDs, not just the total. impact.com’s OrderId Lookup shows an order once, while its Action Lookup by OID can show multiple item or action rows; the latter does not work for pending actions. Avoid treating a summary row and its detail rows as separate earnings.
Reconciling Publisher Invoices with Approved Earnings
- Fix a cut-off date for approved obligationsExport locked or approved earnings from the platform using the correct state (e.g., 'approved', 'locked')
- Retain key identifiersInclude publisher ID, transaction ID, amount, currency, due date, and any adjustments
- Group by counterparty, programme, period, due date, and currencyDo not rely solely on issue month; impact.com allows multiple invoices per partner per month with different due dates
- Check for discrepanciesCompare billed amount vs approved earnings; investigate differences in amount, counterparty, currency, or duplication
- Trace differences to action IDs or order IDsUse OrderId Lookup Report to verify single transactions; avoid treating summary rows as separate earnings
Resolve and sign off
Have finance assess GST and document details for the actual supply and counterparty. Where billing and approved records use different currencies, retain both amounts and the applied conversion evidence rather than replacing the approved source amount with a bank debit.
Mark each obligation matched, explained or unresolved. Keep the source export, document, adjustments and approver’s decision under a payment-run reference. Use the provider’s supported correction route or request an appropriate corrected document when necessary.
After settlement, record the payment reference and clear any credit carried forward. The completed record should show exactly which approved obligations were billed and whether they have already been paid.
Key Financial Documents in Affiliate Platforms
- Statement of Invoices (SOI)Summarises all underlying invoices; used for reconciliation and reporting
- Payment Request Form (PRF)Forecasts funding needs; not an invoice; does not require payment
- GST ComplianceFinance must assess GST implications on actual supply and counterparty; retain conversion evidence
- Payment Run ReferenceMust include source export, document, adjustments, and approver decision
