When a commission never appears, check these four limits. Start by working out which kind of campaign you're running, because each limit belongs to a different setup.
Limit 1: sales on a website HighLevel doesn't host
An External Website campaign tracks sales on a site you built somewhere else. It needs the tracking script that HighLevel generates for the campaign, installed on that site. Without it, the campaign can't see what happens on that site.
HighLevel's page on this kind of campaign limits product tracking to sales made through Stripe. A sale taken through another processor on the outside site isn't supported. That restriction is written for External Website campaigns; don't assume it describes every way you sell inside HighLevel.
Two details help once the script is in. One affiliate link covers the website and its subdomains. One-time products sold on the outside site use the campaign's default commission settings, while recurring products there can carry a product-specific rate.
Limit 2: leads from anything but HighLevel's own components
Pay-Per-Lead commissions come from HighLevel forms, surveys and calendar bookings. For tracking to work, those components have to sit inside a HighLevel funnel or website page. A form embedded through an iframe or custom code can still collect submissions, but it won't produce affiliate lead tracking.
HighLevel's newer pay-per-lead page lists more sources to choose from, including funnels, websites, the store and External Website campaigns. It still requires native components for lead tracking, so a wider list isn't a sign that an outside embed will count.
When a lead does count, it shows as Lead Commission in the Product column of the commission record.
If the form isn't HighLevel's own, on a HighLevel page, the lead won't be credited.
Limit 3: a suspended affiliate's links
Suspending an affiliate from a campaign does more than hold their payments. Their referral links stop tracking clicks and sales for as long as the suspension lasts. While they're suspended, you also can't add leads for them by hand, assign them commissions or import their past activity.
Unsuspending them through Manage Affiliate turns their existing links back on. HighLevel's page doesn't say that activity during the suspension is recovered, so treat that period as untracked.
Limit 4: a payment gateway that is connected but not attributed
A payment provider being connected under Payments > Integrations means HighLevel can take payments through it. It doesn't by itself mean Affiliate Manager attributes those sales. HighLevel's own page on Affiliate Manager gateways warns that attribution support may differ between them, so check that page for the provider and sales channel you use before you promise affiliates credit.
Rather have it set up for you?
Following a 30-minute 1:1 with Rob, we set up your affiliate tracking on pages and checkouts HighLevel can credit, then test a referral end to end.
Tracing a commission that didn't show up
Go through these in order. Each one rules out a limit above.
- Identify the campaign type: an External Website campaign for outside sales, or pay-per-lead on HighLevel pages.
- For outside sales, check the External Website campaign (created under Campaigns > +Add > External Website): its website URL, and that the tracking script is on the live site.
- Confirm the product sold through Stripe, and check whether it uses the default commission or a product-specific rate.
- For leads, open the page that captured the lead. Replace any iframe or custom-code embed with a native HighLevel form, survey or calendar.
- In the campaign's Commissions settings, confirm Pay-Per-Lead is on and a Per Lead Commission is set.
- Check whether the affiliate is suspended in that campaign.
- Open the affiliate's profile and the Commissions records and look for Lead Commission entries or the sale itself.