Commission Groups

This article explains how Commission Groups work, how to create and edit them, and how to configure flexible commission rules.

A Commission Group is a feature that lets you set different commission rates based on specific criteria. You can use Commission Groups to vary payouts depending for example on:

• Product category

• Customer type (e.g., new vs returning customers)

• Device type (e.g., mobile vs desktop)

• Other tracking conditions (e.g., product ID, customer parameters)

Plan availability

• Awin Access customers can have up to three commission groups (including Default).

• Awin Accelerate and Advanced customers can create an unlimited number of groups and access more conditions.

Default Commission Group

Every program has a mandatory Default Commission Group.

If you only have one Commission Group, all partners will receive that rate unless they have been assigned a specific Publisher Commission Rate.

• You can change the commission rate on the Default group.

• You can’t delete the Default Commission Group, nor change its name.

Each group has a unique Commission Group Code. When a transaction matches a group’s conditions, the corresponding rate is applied.

If a transaction doesn’t match any group, it falls back to the Default Commission Group.  

Creating a Commission Group

1. In the platform go to Commission > Rules > Commission Manager.

2. Open the Commission Groups tab.

3. Click Edit Commission Groups.

4. Click Add Commission Group - a new row appears at the bottom of the table.

5. Complete the fields (double-click into each field):

   • Commission Group Name - A clear name that partners can understand.

   • Commission Group Code - A unique code that links tracking data to this group. You can’t edit this code once the group is created.

   • Description - Internal notes about how you use this group.

   • Transaction Type - Sale or Lead. It can’t be changed after the group is created.

   • Commission Type - Percentage (for Sale only) or Fixed.

   • Publisher Commission - The rate or amount to pay.

   • Condition - Conditions determine when a commission group is applied.

6. Click Apply to confirm condition changes.

7. Click Save above the commission groups table to store all changes.

To test that the group tracks correctly, run a test transaction via Support > Integration > Tracking diagnosis.

Conditions

The Condition field will prepopulate with the Tracked Part Code parameter. Click it to amend it or add more conditions.

Choose a condition parameter (also known as a flexible commission rule) and a matching operator type from the dropdown menu.

Parameters available for all plans:

• Tracked part code

• Customer acquisition

• Product category

• Product ID

• Product name

Additional parameters for Accelerate and Advanced:

• Product SKU

• Voucher code

• Transaction date

• Click ref

• Publisher tag

• Custom parameter (only available for Awin Advanced, if implemented in tracking)

For many parameters, you can enter multiple matching condition operators and control how they match:

• In list: Returns values that match any string within a list of character strings.

• Starts with: Returns values that have a defined character string at the start of the value.

• Contains: Returns values that have a defined character string anywhere within the value.

• Ends with: Returns values that have a defined character string at the end of the value.

• Not in list: Returns values that don’t have a defined character string within each value.

Note

All commission group condition matching is case insensitive. For example, SUMMER, summer, and Summer are treated as the same value.

To learn more about how you can leverage each flexible rule, read our article on Commission flexibility.

Important

Partners need at least 7 days’ notice for any changes in commission you plan to apply. Commission reductions can be a maximum of 20% at a time and are allowed once every 30 days. You can inform the partners about the changes through the Communication Center.  

Ordering commission groups

After configuring conditions for commission flexibility, it’s important to apply them in the correct order. Whenever you submit a tracking code, the system applies the conditions in sequential order, and searches for matching commission groups. When a commission group matches all the conditions, the system maps the data to that condition and then stops the search.

If a tracked part code is present in the conditions of two different commission groups, the system maps it to the commission group that appears first in the list of conditions.

To reorder your commission groups, in the top right corner of the page, click Tracking Order. Drag and drop the commission groups to rearrange them, then click Save.

When you save a reordered list of commission groups, it is treated as a new commission rate.

Combining matching condition operators

You can combine multiple matching conditions to build more flexible and accurate commission groups. This helps you tailor commission rates and reduce the total number of groups you need to manage.

Note

It is recommended to choose the complex commission structure for mature and long term partnerships whilst keeping it easy to navigate for new partners.

If you want to pay different commission amounts for new and existing fashion items, you can set up two conditions:

• Tracked part codes: FASHION ITEM 1, FASHION ITEM 2, FASHION ITEM 3.

• Custom parameters: NEW, EXISTING.

Each commission group needs at least one condition when you use flexible commission rates.

If you don’t want to use flexible commission rates, set the Tracked Part Code condition to the same value as the Commission Group Code.

Here are some ways you can use operators to group products:

• Starts with: Set the operator to Starts with and enter BATH to group all bathroom items. This returns BATHTOWEL, BATHMAT, and BATHROBE.

• Not in list: Use Not in list with SALE to include all products except sale items.

If you use Not in list and one of the tracked part codes includes the DEFAULT parts value, the system treats it like any other tracked part code. To exclude it, make sure you add it to the Not in list operator.