Manual Transaction Lock Date

ShareASale is always looking for ways that will strengthen the relationships between Merchants and Affiliates on our Network. We want to give Merchants ample time to edit or cancel transactions, while still being fair to Affiliates so they receive their commission payment in a timely manner. Therefore, we decided it would work for both parties if transactions are locked on the 20^th of the following month the sale was made or lead was generated, and payments are sent to Affiliates.

Merchants were asking to give bonuses to their Affiliates as quickly as possible to reward them for performing above and beyond what was expected. However, Affiliates wouldn’t be receiving their bonuses until the next month. For example, if it’s February 15^th and Merchants want to send a bonus to a particular Affiliate, the Affiliate would not obtain the bonus until March 20^th.

ShareASale implemented a tool called ‘Manual Transaction Lock Date’ so Merchants can change the lock date for an Affiliate to receive their commission faster. With Manual Transaction Lock Date, Merchants can credit a bonus to Affiliates on February 15^th and it will be sent only 5 days later, on February 20^th.

There are two ways for Merchants to post a manual transaction:

1.  Click on the  ‘Your Affiliate List’ icon under the ‘Affiliates’ menu item. Find the particular Affiliate that you’d like to reward then click on ‘Details’ under Affiliate Website. Scroll to ‘Affiliate Actions’ to enter a manual transaction for that Affiliate. You are able to enter a specific amount to give to the Affiliate and the transaction type (bonus). What is new here is that you can now choose a lock date. The closest lock date will appear in the drop down menu, as well as the next lock date on the 20^th of the following month. You will also see that an order number field has been added here. This is for Merchants that would like to give Affiliates a bonus for a particular sale they referred.

2. The second is under the ‘Tools’ menu item, hoover over ‘more…’ then click on the  ‘Post Manual Transaction’ link.  The directions here are pretty much the same, except you have to enter the Affiliate’s ID and you may add a comment.

The main reason ShareASale wanted to add the Manual Transaction Lock Date is so Merchants can choose the earliest lock date and Affiliates can get their money faster. It’s just another tool that Merchants can use to reward their awesome Affiliates!