Refunds and commission reversals
When Shopify reports a refund, we reverse only the refunded portion of the commission, pro-rated, on the ledger. The athlete is never charged beyond the refund.
How a reversal works
When Shopify reports a refund, we write a commission reversal on the ledger. A reversal is a separate, dated line, not an edit to the original sale. The original commission stays on record; the reversal sits next to it.
We reverse only the part of the commission tied to the refunded amount, and we pro-rate it. Refund the whole order and the whole commission reverses. Refund part of it and only that share reverses. The athlete is never charged beyond the refunded portion. The athlete sees the same dated reversal line you do.
A reversal is a fact, not a deletion
We never erase a sale. A refund writes a new, dated reversal line that nets against the original commission. Your ledger keeps the full history, so the math always reconciles.
The refund window is not the attribution window
These are two separate windows you set per program. They answer two different questions.
| Attribution window | Refund window | |
|---|---|---|
| Question it answers | How long after a click does a sale still count? | How long after a sale can a refund reverse the commission? |
| Field | attribution_window_days | refund_window_days |
| Triggers on | A click, then a purchase | A Shopify refund |
| Effect | Decides whether commission accrues | Reverses commission, pro-rated to the refunded amount |
The attribution window decides whether a sale earns commission at all. The refund window decides how long that earned commission can still be reversed. You set both per program, and they can hold different values. See attribution windows explained for the click-to-sale side.
Proportional, pro-rated reversals
A reversal is always proportional to the refunded amount. We reverse the same fraction of the commission as the fraction of the order that was refunded.
- Full refund. The customer returns the whole order. The whole commission reverses.
- Partial refund. The customer returns part of the order. We reverse that same share of the commission.
- The math. Refund amount divided by order amount, times the commission. Refund $40 of a $100 order that earned $10 commission, and we reverse $4.
The athlete keeps the commission on the part the customer kept. The reversal never goes beyond the refunded portion. The 20% platform fee is reversed in the same proportion, so you are not billed the fee on commission that was reversed.
Cumulative-refund math
A single order can be refunded more than once. Each partial refund writes its own reversal line, and they add up against the same original sale.
- Each refund is its own line. Shopify can send several partial refunds on one order over time. We write one reversal for each, all pointed at the same original commission.
- They never overshoot. The reversals on an order can total, at most, the full commission that order earned. Refund $30, then $30 more, then the last $40 of a $100 order, and the three reversals total exactly the order's commission, no more.
- The remainder is what the athlete keeps. At any point, the athlete's commission on that order is the original amount minus the reversals so far.
Worked example
A $100 order earns $10 commission. The customer refunds $30 (we reverse $3), then another $30 a week later (we reverse another $3). Two reversal lines, $6 reversed in total. The athlete keeps $4, because the customer kept $40 of the order.
On-ledger handling: the four timing cases
Every reversal lands on the ledger and nets against the original commission. Where it nets depends on where that commission was when the refund arrived. There are four cases, and you do not have to manage any of them by hand.
- Before the sale is billed. The commission is still pending or eligible and has not been invoiced yet. The reversal reduces the next invoice's total, so you are billed the lower amount.
- After billing, before you pay. The commission is on an open invoice you have not paid yet. We do not edit or void that invoice. The reversal carries forward and nets against your next invoice that has a positive total.
- After you pay, before the athlete is paid. The commission is funded but not yet paid out. The reversal reduces the athlete's payable balance, and it nets in the next daily payout.
- After the athlete is paid. The commission was already paid out. The reversal takes the athlete's balance negative, and future commission nets against it first. If the balance stays negative for 90 days with no new commission, an admin writes it off on the ledger to close it out.
Refunds outside the window still process
If a refund arrives after the refund window has closed, we still process it on the ledger. We do not reject a real refund. It follows whichever of the four cases fits where the commission sits.
We never punish the athlete beyond the refunded portion
A reversal only ever undoes commission on money the customer got back. It never reaches further.
- No penalty. There is no fee or charge for a refund, only the reversal of the matching commission.
- No clawback past the refund. The most a reversal can take back is the commission on the refunded amount, never more.
- The history stays honest. Every reversal is a dated line next to the sale it reverses, so the athlete and the brand see the same math. For the same mechanic from the athlete's side, see why a commission reverses, athlete-side.
FAQ
What happens when a customer returns a product?
Shopify sends us the refund, and we write a reversal on the ledger that matches it. We reverse only the part of the commission tied to the refunded amount, pro-rated. If the sale was inside the program's refund window, the reversal nets against the brand's invoice or the athlete's balance, depending on where that commission already was. The original sale record is never erased; the reversal is a separate, dated line.
Is the whole commission clawed back?
Only if the whole order is refunded. A reversal is always proportional to the refunded amount. Refund half the order and we reverse half the commission. The athlete keeps the commission on the part the customer kept, and the reversal never goes beyond the refunded portion.
How are partial refunds handled?
Pro-rated. We reverse the same fraction of the commission as the fraction of the order that was refunded. Refund $40 of a $100 order that earned $10 commission, and we reverse $4. Each partial refund writes its own reversal line, so several partial refunds on one order add up to no more than the commission that order earned.