The Affiliate Payout Timeline, Explained | Harmonia

You are paid daily once your brand's monthly invoice clears, with a $25 minimum. A sale does not pay out the same day. It moves through four states first, and the timing depends on when in the month you drove it and when the brand pays. You earn the commission the brand sets, in full. The 20% platform fee is billed to the brand, so it is never taken out of your payout.

This guide walks the full affiliate payout schedule, state by state, so you always know where your money is and what happens next.

The short version

• A sale starts as pending. The moment it is attributed to your tracking link, your commission is recorded. The refund window can still reverse it.
• It becomes eligible. Once it clears the program's refund window, it is ready to bill to the brand.
• The brand is invoiced. Monthly, on the 1st of the following month, through Stripe Billing, net-30.
• The invoice clears, and your commission is funded. The day the brand's payment settles, your money becomes payable.
• You are paid daily. Any funded balance of $25 or more goes out on the next daily payout through Stripe Connect.

dailyonce the invoice clears $25minimum payout Dec 15year-end force-pay

The lifecycle, end to end

Every sale moves through the same path. Read it top to bottom and you have the whole schedule.

1. Conversion. Someone clicks your tracking link and buys. No discount code for the customer to enter. The order is matched server-side and credited to you automatically.
2. Accrual (pending). Your commission is recorded against your link as an accrual. It is earned, but not yet payable, because the refund window can still reverse it.
3. Eligible. Once the accrual clears the program's refund window, it is ready to bill. Your side has settled; now it waits for the brand to be invoiced.
4. Brand invoice issued. We bill the brand on the 1st of the following month through Stripe Billing, net-30. The bill is your commission plus the 20% platform fee on top.
5. Invoice clears. The day the brand's payment settles, your commission moves to funded and becomes payable.
6. Daily payout sweep. From then on, any funded balance of $25 or more goes out on the next daily payout.
7. Paid. Stripe Connect sends the payout to your bank. Bank timing then depends on your bank.

For the bigger picture of how payouts, taxes, and Stripe verification fit together, see how athletes get paid.

The four states, at a glance

Your earnings page shows the state of each sale. Here is what each one means and where your money is.

The order is always pending -> eligible -> funded -> paid. A sale moves backward only during the refund window: if the customer returns the order, the commission is reversed, pro-rated to the amount refunded.

Why you wait for the brand's invoice to clear

Your payout follows your brand's invoice. We do not front commission, so nothing reaches you before the money that funds it has settled.

Here is the sequence that turns an eligible accrual into a payout:

• The brand is invoiced monthly. On the 1st of the following month, through Stripe Billing, net-30.
• The invoice clears. When the brand's payment settles, your commission moves from eligible to funded. This is the moment your money becomes payable.
• You are paid. Your funded balance joins the next daily payout.

The daily payout sweep

Once your brand's invoice clears, we do not hold your money for a monthly payday. We run a payout every day.

• Daily, not monthly. After the invoice clears, your funded balance is checked for payout every day.
• Straight to your bank. Stripe Connect sends it to the account you set up at verification.
• No request needed. You do not have to claim or trigger a payout. It runs on its own.

Where the $25 minimum and December 15 apply

Two rules govern when a funded balance moves: the $25 minimum and the December 15 year-end payout.

• The $25 minimum sets timing, not whether you keep the money. A balance under $25 rolls forward and keeps adding up until it crosses $25, then it goes out on the next daily payout. Nothing is lost below the minimum.
• December 15 is the year-end force-pay. On December 15 we pay out any remaining balance regardless of the minimum, so no earned money sits below the floor at year-end. This also keeps your tax reporting clean: your 1099-NEC reflects everything you were paid that year.

For the full mechanics of both rules, see the payout floor and year-end force-pay.

A worked example

Say you drive a sale on a program with a $40 commission and a 14-day refund window, on March 20.

• March 20: the sale is attributed to your link. Your commission is recorded as pending.
• Around April 3: the accrual clears the 14-day refund window and becomes eligible.
• April 1, then onward: the brand is invoiced for March activity through Stripe Billing, net-30.
• When the invoice clears: your commission moves to funded and becomes payable.
• The next daily payout: if your funded balance is $25 or more, it goes out through Stripe Connect.

$40athlete keeps, in full

The dates shift with each program's refund window and how fast the brand pays, but the order never changes.

Where to go next

• How athletes get paid: the full guide to Stripe, daily payouts, and 1099s.
• The payout floor and year-end force-pay: the $25 minimum and December 15, in detail.
• Why the fee is on top: how the 20% platform fee keeps your commission whole.

Want to see your own schedule? Check your getting-paid timeline or the payouts help article.

FAQ

When exactly do I get paid after I drive a sale?

Not the same day. Your commission is recorded as pending the moment the sale is attributed to your tracking link. It becomes eligible once it clears the program's refund window. The brand is then invoiced on the 1st of the following month, net-30. The day that invoice clears, your commission turns to funded and joins the next daily payout. So the gap depends on when in the month you drove the sale and when the brand pays. You earn the commission the brand sets, in full. The 20% platform fee is billed to the brand, so it is never taken out of your payout.

Why am I waiting on the brand's invoice to clear?

We do not front commission. A sale you drive is recorded against your tracking link, then the brand is invoiced for it monthly through Stripe Billing, net-30. The day the brand's payment settles, your commission moves to funded and joins the next daily payout. Waiting for the invoice to clear is what keeps the model honest: money reaches you only after the money that funds it has settled, so we never have to claw a payout back.

What do pending, eligible, funded, and paid mean?

They are the four states every sale moves through, in order. Pending: you drove an attributed sale and the commission is recorded, but the refund window can still reverse it. Eligible: the accrual has cleared the refund window and is ready to bill. Funded: the brand's invoice has cleared, so the money is now payable to you. Paid: Stripe Connect has sent the payout to your bank. Your earnings page shows the state of each sale.

How often do payouts run once my balance is funded?

Daily. Once your brand's invoice clears, we do not hold your money for a monthly payday. Any payable balance of $25 or more goes out on the next daily payout through Stripe Connect, straight to the bank account you set up at verification. You do not have to request or trigger anything.

What if my balance is under $25 at payout time?

It rolls forward. If your payable balance is under $25, it keeps adding up until it crosses $25, then it goes out on the next daily payout. Nothing is lost below the minimum. The one exception is December 15: at year-end we pay out any remaining balance regardless of the minimum, so even a balance under $25 is paid before the year closes.