Tracking Affiliate Sales and Commissions on Payhip (5 Easy Steps)

Because if you’re not keeping an eye on who’s driving what sales, how much commission they’ve earned, and which products are actually converting, then you’re basically flying blind.

Luckily, Payhip makes this ridiculously easy. There’s no need to duct tape three different tools together or spend hours digging through spreadsheets. Everything’s built right into your dashboard. You just need to know what to look for and how to actually use the info you find.

Here’s a full breakdown on how to track affiliate sales and commissions on Payhip like a pro, even if you’re just starting out.

Step 1: Know Where to Look Inside Your Payhip Dashboard

First things first, Payhip has a dedicated area just for affiliate tracking. If you haven’t explored it yet, go to your Marketing tab and hit Affiliate System.

From there, you’ll see:

• A list of all your current affiliates

• How many referrals each one has generated

• The total sales they’ve brought in

• The commission you owe them

It’s clean, simple, and honestly one of Payhip’s most underrated features.

Now, a quick note, Payhip only tracks affiliate sales that happen after someone clicks on a tracked affiliate link. If an affiliate shares a post and someone buys three days later through that same link? Yup, still tracked. But if they just mention your brand name and someone goes straight to your site? No tracking unless it’s through the link.

Step 2: Understand How Affiliate Links and Attribution Work

Payhip assigns a unique link to every affiliate you approve. That link automatically tags any customer who clicks on it. So even if that customer doesn’t buy right away, Payhip remembers them.

Here’s how it works:

• The default cookie length is 30 days (meaning the affiliate gets credit if someone buys within 30 days of clicking)

• If multiple affiliates refer the same buyer, the last click gets the commission

So yeah, timing matters. That’s why good affiliates know how to keep their audience clicking.

And you can always view exactly which product someone bought and which affiliate was responsible. Super helpful when you want to see which of your products are pulling their weight.

Step 3: Monitor Individual Affiliate Performance (And Spot the Stars)

Inside the Affiliate System, you’ll see performance stats for each affiliate. This is gold if you’re trying to figure out:

• Who’s bringing in the most revenue?

• Who’s converting clicks into actual sales?

• Who needs a little encouragement—or a thank-you bonus?

Don’t sleep on this. One creator noticed a random blogger had quietly driven over 40 sales in a month. They had no idea because they weren’t checking the dashboard. Once they spotted it, they reached out, sent a bonus, and ended up collaborating on a paid campaign. Total win.

Here’s what to check regularly:

• Total referrals (to gauge effort)

• Total sales (to measure results)

• Commission owed (to stay ahead of payouts)

• Conversion rates (how well their traffic actually converts)

You don’t need to micromanage but keeping tabs weekly can save you money and help you double down on what’s working.

Step 4: Keep Track of Pending, Approved, and Paid Commissions

When someone makes a sale through an affiliate link, Payhip tracks that automatically—but you still need to approve and pay out those commissions.

Here’s how to stay organized:

• Go to Marketing > Affiliate System > Commissions

• Filter by “Pending,” “Approved,” or “Paid”

You can approve commissions in batches or individually, depending on your process. Some creators wait 7–14 days to approve commissions in case of refunds. Others approve immediately for digital-only products.

Pro tip: Add a calendar reminder to do payouts twice a month. Affiliates love timely payments—it builds trust and keeps them motivated to promote more.

Step 5: Use the Data to Improve Your Marketing Strategy

This is where most beginners stop—but the data in Payhip can tell you a lot more than just who earned what.

If you pay attention, you’ll start to notice patterns:

• Certain affiliates might perform better with specific products

• Some traffic sources lead to higher-converting clicks

• A low conversion rate might mean your sales page needs work

One creator noticed that two affiliates were linking to the same ebook—but one had a 10% conversion rate and the other had 1%. The difference? One used a YouTube demo video, the other just shared a plain link. That one insight led to a whole new strategy involving video content and sales doubled.

Bonus: Export Affiliate Data for Your Records

Need to send a report to your accountant? Or just want to do your own analysis?

You can export affiliate data as a CSV file directly from Payhip. This gives you:

• Affiliate names

• Email addresses

• Total sales and commissions

• Product details

It’s a small feature, but super useful if you’re scaling up and want more control over the numbers.

Final Thoughts: Don’t Just Track, Act on the Info

Tracking affiliate sales and commissions on Payhip isn’t just about bookkeeping. It’s about learning who your top performers are, understanding what content converts, and building deeper relationships with your biggest advocates.

Check the dashboard weekly. Thank your top affiliates. Learn from what’s working—and keep the engine running.

Because once you know where your affiliate sales are coming from? You can grow faster, scale smarter, and stop guessing. And honestly, that’s the fun part.