Turn your creator partnerships into a revenue-sharing engine. Affiliate programs reward creators with commissions on every sale they generate, and Modash tracks it all automatically through affiliate links and discount codes, including invoices, taxes, and currency conversions.
Instead of flat fees, creators earn a share of the revenue they drive. This aligns incentives perfectly: the more they sell, the more they earn. It's ideal for ongoing partnerships where creators promote your products regularly.
Before you start: Affiliate programs require a Performance plan or higher with a yearly commitment, a connected Shopify store, and Modash Payments enabled. Reach out to your Success Manager or hello@modash.io to get activated.
How to set up your affiliate program
1. Find the creator you want to invite
Open your campaign in Track and select the creator you want to add to your affiliate program.
2. Enter the creator's information
Email address - Used for payouts, notifications, and the affiliate invitation
Signed contract - Upload a contract or proof of agreement. Written contracts are best, but documented message agreements work too
3. Create or select a commission tier
Commission tiers define how a creator earns. You can create a new tier or select an existing one.
When creating a new tier, you'll configure:
Tier name - Something descriptive like "Standard 10%" or "VIP Creator 15%"
Shopify store - Which connected store this tier applies to
Commission type - Percentage of each sale or a fixed dollar amount per order
Reward structure - Commission on first sales only, or on repeat sales too (with optional different rates for each)
Fulfilled orders only - Optionally restrict commission to shipped orders
Discount code - Attach a unique code for the creator to share
UTM parameters - Add custom UTMs to affiliate links for analytics
Gift order - Link a gift order if combining commissions with product seeding
For a deeper look at building tiers, see Creating commission tiers.
4. Add the creator to the program
Select your commission tier and click Add to affiliate program. The invitation link is automatically copied to your clipboard so you can send it to the creator.
Depending on your account settings, creators are either:
Automatically invited via email when added to the program
Manually invited by you sharing the affiliate link directly
5. Creator completes onboarding
Creators receive an email inviting them to your affiliate program. From there, they:
Provide banking details for payouts
Review program terms, including minimum payout amount and hold period
Enable automatic invoicing (optional but recommended)
Modash supports all Shopify store currencies and pays creators in your chosen payout currency (USD, GBP, or EUR).
How attribution works
Modash uses last-touch attribution with a 30-day tracking window. If a customer clicks a creator's link and purchases within 30 days, that creator earns the commission.
Key attribution rules:
Affiliate discount codes take priority over affiliate links. If a customer uses one creator's affiliate code but clicked another creator's affiliate link, the code wins.
Non-affiliate codes do not block link attribution. If a customer clicks an affiliate link but uses a sitewide promo code or volume discount at checkout, the affiliate link still gets credit and the creator receives their commission.
Last click wins for links. If a customer clicks multiple affiliate links, the most recent click within 30 days gets the credit.
Attribution data appears within 5 minutes of purchase.
Tracking performance
You can monitor your program in the Track section under Orders, where you'll see:
Sales and commissions earned per creator
Which links and codes are generating revenue
Order details for review and approval
Creators also get their own dashboard showing commission amounts and payout timelines. Full transparency keeps them motivated and engaged.
How payouts work
Affiliate commissions flow through the same Pay workflow as all your creator payments:
A sale is tracked and commission is calculated based on your tier rules
The commission enters a hold period (typically 30-60 days) to account for returns and cancellations
Once cleared, the commission moves to the creator's available balance
On the 1st of each month, commissions that exceed the minimum payout threshold are queued for payout
You approve (or auto-approve, depending on your settings) and Modash handles the rest
You can combine affiliate commissions with fixed fees for hybrid payment structures. Everything flows through the same approval and payout workflow.
FAQs
FAQs
Can I create multiple commission tiers?
Yes. Create as many tiers as you need for different creator segments, products, or campaigns. Each tier is a reusable template you can assign to multiple creators.
How are commissions calculated?
Commissions are based on net revenue: the order total after discounts are applied, minus shipping, taxes, returns, and refunds. For example, a $100 product with a 10% discount means the creator earns commission on $90.
What's the payment schedule?
Commissions are processed from the 1st of each month for amounts that have passed the hold period and exceed the minimum payout threshold.
What is a hold period?
The waiting time between a sale and when commission becomes payable. This protects you from paying on orders that are later returned or cancelled. Typical hold periods are 30-60 days.
Do I need to approve each payment?
This depends on your settings. You can choose manual approval (review each payout before it's sent) or automatic approval during onboarding.
Can creators see their own sales and earnings?
Yes. Creators have their own dashboard showing order dates, order values, commission amounts, payout timelines, and which link or code generated each sale.
What happens if a customer returns a product?
Returns and cancellations during the hold period automatically remove the related commission. No manual adjustments needed. Returns after the hold period do not affect the creator's commission.
Can a creator belong to multiple tiers?
No. Each creator can only be assigned to one commission tier at a time.
What if a customer uses a sitewide promo code and an affiliate link?
The affiliate link still gets credit. Non-affiliate discount codes (like sitewide promos or volume discounts) do not block affiliate link attribution. The creator receives their commission normally.
Can I migrate existing affiliates from another platform?
Yes. Modash has import functions and offers hands-on assistance to help you migrate with minimal disruption. Book a call and we'll walk you through it.