Chargebacks & Refunds

Available in:

Post Affiliate Pro , Post Affiliate Pro Ultimate , Post Affiliate Network

What are Chargebacks and Refunds?

In affiliate marketing, when a customer returns a product or disputes a charge, the merchant typically shouldn’t pay commission on that transaction. Post Affiliate Pro provides comprehensive tools to handle these situations:

• Refunds - Voluntary returns initiated by the merchant or customer (e.g., product return, service cancellation)
• Chargebacks - Disputed charges reversed by the payment processor or bank (e.g., credit card dispute, unauthorized transaction)

Both result in commission adjustments to ensure affiliates are only paid for valid, completed sales.

How Refunds and Chargebacks Work

When a refund or chargeback is processed, Post Affiliate Pro creates a new transaction record that:

1. Links to the original transaction - Maintains a clear audit trail
2. Contains negative values - Reverses the commission and total cost amounts
3. Appears in reports - Shows as a separate refund/chargeback transaction type
4. Adjusts affiliate balance - Reduces the affiliate’s pending commission balance

Transaction Types

Post Affiliate Pro distinguishes between:

Both types function similarly but are tracked separately for reporting and analysis purposes.

Refund Processing Options

You have flexibility in how refunds affect the original transaction:

Option 1: Decline the Original Transaction

When a refund is received, the original sale transaction is changed to “Declined” status. This is the cleanest approach when:

• The entire order is refunded
• You want the original sale to no longer appear in approved transactions
• All multi-tier commissions can be declined

Option 2: Create a Separate Refund Entry

A new refund transaction is created as a child of the original. This is useful when:

• Processing partial refunds (only part of the order value)
• You need to maintain the original sale in reports
• The original commission has already been paid
• You need detailed refund tracking

This behavior is controlled in Configuration > Tracking settings > Decline transaction on refund/chargeback.

Multi-Tier Commission Refunds

If your affiliate program uses multi-tier commissions, a single sale may generate commissions for multiple affiliates (the direct referrer plus parent affiliates in their upline).

When processing a refund, you can choose to:

• Refund only the direct commission - Only the tier 1 affiliate’s commission is reversed
• Refund all tiers - Commissions for all affiliates in the chain are automatically reversed

This ensures all related commissions are properly adjusted when an order is refunded.

Refund Settings

Allow Refunds on Paid Commissions

Location: Configuration > Tracking settings

When enabled, refunds can be processed even if the affiliate has already been paid for the commission. The negative amount will be deducted from their next payout.

When disabled, refunds on already-paid commissions are blocked to prevent negative balance situations.

Decline Transaction on Refund

Location: Configuration > Tracking settings

Controls what happens to the original transaction when a refund is processed:

• Decline only pending transactions - Only pending (unapproved) transactions are declined; approved transactions get a separate refund entry
• Always decline - Original transaction is always declined, regardless of status
• Never decline - Always create a separate refund transaction

Processing Refunds

Manual Refund in Merchant Panel

1. Navigate to Transactions in the merchant panel
2. Find the original transaction
3. Click the transaction actions menu
4. Select Refund or Chargeback
5. Optionally add a note explaining the reason
6. Choose whether to refund multi-tier commissions
7. Confirm the refund

Via API

Post Affiliate Pro’s API supports refund processing:

API v2 (PHP):

$transaction = new Pap_Api_Transaction($session);
$transaction->setTransId('original_transaction_id');
$transaction->processRefundChargeback(
    'original_transaction_id',  // Transaction ID to refund
    'R',                        // 'R' for refund, 'H' for chargeback
    'Customer requested refund', // Note
    'ORDER-123',                // Order ID
    0,                          // Fee amount
    true                        // Refund all tiers
);

API v3 (REST):

POST /api/v3/transactions/{transactionId}/refund
Content-Type: application/json

{
    "fee": 0,
    "note": "Customer requested refund"
}

Automatic Refund Processing

Many payment gateway integrations support automatic refund processing:

When a refund or chargeback occurs in these payment systems, Post Affiliate Pro automatically creates the corresponding refund transaction.

Partial Refunds

Post Affiliate Pro supports partial refunds where only a portion of the order value is refunded:

• A partial refund creates a new transaction with the refunded amount (as a negative value)
• The original transaction remains unchanged
• Commission is adjusted proportionally or by the exact refund amount
• Multiple partial refunds can be applied to a single original transaction

The system prevents over-refunding by tracking the total refunded amount against the original transaction value.

Refund Fees

Some merchants charge a fee for processing refunds or have non-refundable portions of the commission. Post Affiliate Pro supports:

• Refund fees - A portion of the commission that is not reversed
• Custom refund amounts - Refund a specific value rather than the full commission

This allows you to retain a processing fee or administrative cost when processing refunds.

Email Notifications

Affiliates can be notified when their commissions are refunded or charged back:

Notification: “Affiliate - New refund/chargeback”

This notification can be enabled in Configuration > Email notifications and includes:

• Transaction details
• Refund/chargeback amount
• Reason for the reversal
• Remaining balance impact

Affiliates can also control whether they receive these notifications in their profile settings.

Reporting and Analytics

Refunds and chargebacks appear throughout the reporting system:

Transaction Reports

• Filter by transaction type (Refund, Chargeback)
• View refund/chargeback amounts
• See linked original transactions

Trends Report

• Track refund rates over time
• Identify patterns in chargebacks
• Compare refund volume to sales

Affiliate Reports

• View refund history per affiliate
• Calculate net commission after refunds
• Identify affiliates with high refund rates

Quick Report

• Total refunds and chargebacks
• Refund rate percentage
• Net approved commissions

Best Practices

1. Set Up Automatic Processing

Connect your payment gateway integration to automatically process refunds. This eliminates manual work and ensures accuracy.

2. Configure Appropriate Settings

Decide whether to allow refunds on paid commissions based on your payout cycle and business model.

3. Monitor Refund Rates

High refund rates for specific affiliates may indicate quality issues or fraud. Use reports to identify problematic patterns.

4. Document Refund Reasons

Always add notes when processing manual refunds for audit purposes and future reference.

5. Consider Multi-Tier Impact

Remember that refunding a sale affects all affiliates in the commission chain when multi-tier refunds are enabled.

Fraud Protection

Refunds and chargebacks are part of your fraud protection strategy:

• Track refund rates by affiliate - Identify affiliates sending low-quality traffic
• Monitor chargeback patterns - High chargebacks may indicate fraud
• Set up webhooks - Get notified of refunds for immediate action
• Review before payout - Check for pending refunds before paying commissions

Integration with Webhooks

Refunds and chargebacks can trigger webhooks for external system integration:

• Trigger on refund/chargeback creation
• Send refund details to your CRM
• Update external accounting systems
• Notify team members via Slack or email

Related Features

• Fraud Protection - Prevent fraudulent transactions before they occur
• Webhooks & Callbacks - Get notified of refunds in real-time
• Reporting - Analyze refund patterns and trends
• Multi-Tier Commissions - Understand how refunds affect commission hierarchies