The flowchart
The entire process from the moment the action was performed to the moment the reward can be withdrawn is shown on the flowchart. Below is a detailed description of each step.
After the user followed your affiliate link and performed an action, it will be recorded in the reports of your account under the On hold status. The day the action was registered, your potential reward is assigned the Today's estimated earnings status in the Balance Details section. The next day, the reward will be assigned the On hold status.
Here is what happens next:
1. The advertiser will do order verification and either confirm or decline your actions.
More about the processing time
If the advertiser confirmed the action, the system will launch the process of checking the program balance.
There are two possible scenarios:
- There is enough money on the program balance to pay commission for the action.
In this case, the action status will be changed to Confirmed in the reports. On the next day, the commission status will be updated, too, and the amount will be moved from On Hold to Ready for withdrawal.
- There is not enough money on the program balance to pay commission for the action.
In this case, the action status will be changed to Awaiting advertiser payment in the reports. The commission amount for this action will be marked as Awaiting advertiser payment. The amount will be moved from Awaiting advertiser payment to Ready for withdrawal as soon as the advertiser tops up the program balance.
More about the Awaiting advertiser payment status
If the advertiser declined the action, the commission for it will not be paid.
Such actions are marked as Declined in the reports. The commission for the action will disappear from the On Hold amount on your balance.
More about why actions might be declined
2. Once the amount in the Ready for withdrawal status exceeds the minimum withdrawal amount, you will be able to withdraw your earnings.
How long does it take the advertiser to verify actions?
You can see the average time that it takes the advertiser to verify an action in the Payment term section on the program card in the catalog:
You can also see the average hold and payment time on the program page:
What does average hold time depend on? Why is it so long in some programs?
The average hold time of every affiliate program is defined by the advertiser who owns that program. When deciding on the hold time for their programs, advertisers often take potential risks into account, such as order cancellation that might take place at any stage of completing an order.
Therefore, the average hold time depends on the program category and might be as short as a couple of days or as long as over a month.
| Category | Average hold time |
|---|---|
| Online stores | from 30 to 50 days |
| Financial programs | from 10 to 35 days |
| Online services | from 40 to 60 days |
| Online games | from 14 to 30 days |
| Travel | from 50 days to several months |
| Mobile programs | from 7 to 30 days |
Below are a few examples of what makes up average hold time in different categories.
Online stores
In this category, average hold time normally includes order delivery time, which might take from 1-2 days to over a month—depending on the store location, customer's address, mail, and courier services.
Hold time is also defined by the fact that a customer can return their order within 14 days after receiving it.
Financial programs
In financial programs, the user's application for a credit card or bank deposit might be approved within just 1-2 days. In this case, you will receive your payment in just a few days after the application was submitted—providing the advertiser uses automatic verification of their actions.
Travel
This category has one distinctive feature: most users book their trips, flights, and other services well in advance: sometimes, as long as half a year or even a year in advance. That is plenty enough time for the user to change their mind and cancel the order.
That is why programs that belong to this category have the longest average hold time: the advertiser needs to make sure that the user did not cancel their order and did pay for it.
What is order verification? How does it influence the hold time?
Verification is the process of assigning final statuses to the actions (Confirmed/Declined). Order verification takes place at a different frequency, and that also has an influence on the action hold time. Order verification can be automatic or manual.
Automatic verification is normally carried out on a daily basis. During the automatic verification, the Admitad system connects to the advertiser's one, collects action statuses, and uploads them into the reports. Therefore, if the advertiser confirmed the action on their side yesterday, you will see its status updated in your account today.
It is, however, important to understand that automatic verification only helps to shorten the time needed to update action statuses, but it does not have any influence on how quickly the advertiser assigns those statuses. In other words, if an action has been on hold for a month in the advertiser's system, in your reports, it will be marked as On hold for the same period of time.
Some advertisers use manual verification: assign statuses to their actions manually.
This type of verification is normally carried out once in a certain period of time; normally, once a month. That makes hold time longer.
Can Admitad employees speed-up order verification or payments?
Unfortunately, no.
Of course, ensuring that our publishers get their payments as quickly as possible is in our best interest, and we always do our best to discourage advertisers from postponing order verifications, approval, and payments.
However, we do not have any direct influence on the advertisers and can not force them to verify orders or top up their balance.
How to withdraw funds you've earned from Admitad?
You can transfer your earnings to Admitad Earnings Wallet and then withdraw using any convenient way: PayPal, bank account, etc. Learn more about transferring funds from Admitad to Earnings Wallet
